Water
is one of your most urgent needs in a survival situation. You can’t
live long without it, especially in hot areas where you lose water
rapidly through perspiration. Even in cold areas, you need a minimum of 2
liters of water each day
to maintain efficiency.
More than three-fourths of your body is composed of fluids. Your body
loses fluid as a result of heat, cold, stress and exertion. To function
effectively, you must replace the fluid your body loses. So, one of your
first goals is to obtain an adequate supply of water.
Securing
a dependable supply of drinking water may be your greatest challenge.
Indeed, the entire world seems to be entering a crisis mode — one-fifth
of humanity has no access to safe drinking water and it’s only getting
worse. For most everyone reading this, however, there’s still plenty of
easily accessible water, but water main breaks, flooding and
contamination may change things abruptly. In addition, more regions of
the country are facing long-term drought conditions that may break the
back of public water systems. Whatever may come, I never want end up
standing in line for bottled water.
General Guidelines
Water resists any “improvement” in portability and compactness. A gallon
of water weighs just over 8 pounds and fills up a space about the size
of a basketball… ALWAYS! So you’ll just have to “store, carry, or
filter”.
Ideally, you will need a gallon of water per person per day
(half a gallon for drinking, the rest for cooking and other uses). If
you intend to keep using a flush toilet, you’ll need to look into
getting larger water containers (plastic rain barrels are ideal) or look
into portable chemical toilets. Keep in mind that the water in your
water heater tank is also available for drinking or flushing. At a
minimum, make sure you have a toilet that only uses 1.6 gallons per
flush (the capacity for most toilets made since 1982).
Avoid storing
water in plastic containers for extended periods since they may leach
toxins into the water. True, there are certain types of plastic that
show no evidence of leaching, but I just avoid the whole controversy by
sticking largely with non-reactive materials. FEMA says to avoid glass
because of breakability and weight, but I prefer using recycled glass
bottles for long-term storage rather than depending solely on suspect
plastic. The weight issue doesn’t concern me since I don’t intend to
transport the glass containers. On the other hand, if children or clumsy
adults are around, you may have to use plastic. If so, just keep
plastic bottles away from heat and flush them out or replace them after a
year or so.
Try to select storage container types in order to
maximize quantity and accessibility. Ask yourself, ” how can I store the
most water in the least amount of space while retaining easy access?”
First off, if you can’t stack the containers, you’re severely limiting
the amount that can be stored. Unless they are in closed cases, you
can’t safely stack plastic or narrow neck glass bottles. One storage
option often used — the large 5-gallon narrow-necked water bottle – is a
challenge for stacking and moving.
Technolithic Recommendations
Staying Put
As I’ve already said, I don’t use plastic containers for long-term
storage, despite the fact that everyone from the Mormons to FEMA says
you should. So here’s my recommendation for long-term drinking water
storage:
Buy cases of glass-bottled, wide-mouthed, quart-size
fruit juices or sports drinks in cardboard boxes or trays (preferably
light-colored liquids with reduced sugar and minimal sediment). You can
use larger glass bottles, but the weight may become a problem.
Consume the original contents at your leisure, but NEVER DRINK DIRECTLY FROM THE BOTTLES — YOUR MOUTH IS FILTHY!
Wash and thoroughly rinse the bottles and tops (use the hottest water
possible with biodegradable dish soap to avoid the nastier forms of soap
residue — I use heat-resistant silicon gloves during cleaning).
Refill with filtered tap water and place the bottles back in the
original cardboard containers. You’ll want to relabel the bottles as
well, since mysterious clear liquids are always unwelcome. With shallow
cardboard cases, wrap some clear duct tape around the bottle clusters to
keep them more stable.
Full cases can be stacked to a stable height
(about shoulder high), especially in a corner or up against a wall.
Remember, you will want to be able to safely reach the upper cases.
With this method I can store 21 GALLONS in about the same space taken up by a standing, slightly obese, 6-foot human.
Bulk Water Storage:
If you have the space outdoors, set up rain barrels
to collect and hold water that can be used for toilet flushing, or with
filtering, can serve as a backup drinking and washing supply.
Portable Toilets:
Most people usually find out the hard way, but sewage
can make an enclosed space — like a shelter or your house —
uninhabitable in short order. If you lose your water supply and you
don’t have backup water to fill the toilets, you’d better invest in a
portable chemical toilet. The simplest ones, like the Reliance Hassock,
work just fine and are very inexpensive. They’re basically a short
barrel with a seat and chemical treatment kit.
Body Cleansing:
Another unpleasant development that usually blossoms in a few days is
body order. Without showers or even extra water for washing, you and
your mates can get pretty ripe. Having pre-moistened handiwipes around
is a good start, but you should pick up few packs of body wipes that
feature large biodegrable pre-moistened sheets that will take care of
your entire body. These are also a great friend to have during an
evacuation.
If you just have to shower now and then, there’s
always the trusty solar shower. My favorite is the 5-gallon Marine
model from Coleman. You can also go a step further and treat yourself
with a battery-powered shower.
Evacuation:
If you’re forced
to leave the comforts of plumbing — or your reserve of stored water —
there are just a few simple, obvious guidelines. First, be certain you
have enough lightweight water containers to carry about a gallon per
person (if it’s a vehicle evacuation aim for three gallons per person if
possible). Second, be sure to have at least one high-quality portable
water purifier system. Remember you’re not preparing for an
ultra-lightweight expedition, just trying to get the best of price,
portability and performance. Of course, these same portable water
purifiers and filters can be used at home if there are alternative water
sources nearby.
Bottles:
This is the one instance where it
makes sense to use plastic bottles especially with all the Nalgene and
similar types already in use. If you do, try to stick with #2, #4, #5
plastics. Avoid all others especially those made of Lexan. Sorry for
sounding like a broken record, but the rap sheet on plastics is only
getting longer. If you’re in the market for new bottles, get some of the
lightweight stainless steel types. Buy three or four 32 oz. or 40 oz.
bottles for each person.
Water Purifiers:
There are dozens or
different options for water filters and purifiers (know the difference?)
and doing all the research and trying figure out the best option will
drive you crazy. If you want to take the course, REI has a good “Expert
Advice” feature. Here are my picks with a slight bias for portability
over output:
First Need Deluxe Portable Water Purifier by
General Ecology: this outstanding, affordable all-around portable unit
won a “Gear of The Year” award from Outside magazine. General Ecology’s
chemical free “Structured Matrix” purifier technology is the best
around. If you like it, buy some extra filters since you’ll need to
change them out after 125 gallons. Yes, the filters are about half the
price of the full unit, but the filters have all the magic! As an added
feature, the tote bag doubles as a water sac and gravity feed kit that
permits filtering without pumping. General Ecology also offers a superb
upscale version, the “Base Camp Purifier” with a higher output rate and a
filter life up to 1,000 gallons, but it’s an expense that can only be
justified if you need to provide for more than a small group over an
extended period.
Katadyn Hiker PRO Water Filter: since I’ve used
Katadyn’s for quite a while, I had to add one of their great products.
Except for viruses, the PRO has about the same performance as the First
Need line. This sturdy, compact unit gives solid results, but, once
again, if you need to provide water for a large group, you might want
consider the more expensive Katadyn Expedition filter.
LifeStraw:
this amazing little drinking water device was developed in Switzerland
as an inexpensive, quick-impact remedy for the growing lack of safe
drinking water in many of the world’s poorer regions. It’s really just a
big drinking straw — stick one end in the water and start sucking on
the other. Each LifeStraw has an effective life of 700 liters, or about a
year’s worth of water for a single person. A combination of seven
filters takes out most waterborne bacteria and viruses, but since the
present version technically doesn’t have the filter specs to remove
Giardia, I can’t rightly recommend it for use in North America. But as
thousands of users on other continents can testify, the LifeStraw really
does the job, but its makers are moving forward with an upgrade that
will officially handle Giardia. In the meantime, I keep them on hand as a
kind of “third world” backup. At present, there is no U.S. distributor,
but you can get it from the U.K. on the web. Check out LifeStraw in
action on YouTube. LifeStraw 2 EA Personal Portable Water Filters
While we’re on the subject of straws, Aquamira
Technologies makes a range of nifty no-pump water filter systems
including called the straw-shaped “Frontier.” It’s only good for 20
gallons, but the Frontier works much the same way as LifeStraw, defeats
Giardia and weighs less than an ounce.
TIPS:
Keep some
coffee filters and rubber bands handy — when tapping turbid or muddy
water, you can wrap them around the prefilters on the intake tubes to
lessen the filtration load on the units.
It’s also a good idea to
keep a supply of chemical water purification tablets or liquids on hand
(go with chlorine dioxide products — they’re more effective than
iodine). Backpacking Light has a concise write-up about the most popular
types including my favorite, Katadyn’s MicroPUR 1 tablets.
There’s lots of reading, but there’s also a lot of valuable info all in one place. So stick with it.
Information courtesy of the U.S. Army Survival Manual.
WaterBOB Emergency Drinking Water Storage - 100 Gal. - Nebudchenezzar Shipworks
Urban Survival – Emergency Water sources
There are a number of things you need to do during a major disaster to ensure that you have the water you need to survive.
So what should you do if you find yourself in an emergency situation without water?
- Once a disaster hits you have to act quick. The first thing you
should do is find a way to store as much water as possible. Fill your
bathtubs, sinks, pots and other large storage containers with water.
The average bathtub holds somewhere around 50 gallons of water. Check
out the WaterBOB Emergency Drinking Water Storage it’s a good system to have on hand.
- Immediately shut off your water main to prevent contamination to
your hot water heater which is a great source of emergency water.
Where to find water during an emergency.
Your home has a number of place where you can find emergency water.
- Hot Water Heater Tank - Your hot water heater is a great source of emergency water.
- Canned Goods – Tuna, canned vegetables, beans and fruit all contain liquids that can be drained.
- If you live in a multilevel home, you can drain the water in your
pipes by using gravity to your advantage. After the water lines into
your house have been shut off, drain your pipes by using the lowest
faucet in your house.
- Toilet Water – In an emergency you can boil the
water from the flush tank (not the bowl) of your toilet. I would only
use this water as a last resort and only if I was sure it was free of chemicals.
- Rainwater - Use large pots and containers to catch and store rainwater.
How to Generate your own Water
- If your really prepared you can actually generate your own water with the EcoloBlue 28 Atmospheric Water Generator
while it’s not cheap and you will need a source of power, it may be a
great option for those that can afford such a device. The system
generates up to 7 gallons of pure drinking water per day from the
humidity in the air.
No comments:
Post a Comment