Priority Four: Water

This is a crucial area that can be helped a lot with very cheap and easy actions before TSHTF (The S Hits The Fan). This is probably the thing you can do with the highest payoff for amount of effort. The only problem with water is that it is heavy and can take up a lot of room. If you have storage room and are staying home this isn’t a problem but if you are on the move it can become a driving factor in your progress. Long term solutions are also difficult if your primary water source (city water or well) goes out and you are not near a river or lake.

Used plastic soda bottles and orange juice jugs with screw tops make very convenient water storage containers. Just rinse them a few times with hot water. Old liquor bottles and wine box bladders work well too. I also have several canteens and rugged 5 gallon containers with taps. The five gallon containers weigh about 40 pounds each and are about as big as can be easily moved (larger drums can go in your basement or garage or under a rain spout). A few collapsible containers might also be useful because they can be stored and carried empty. Tap water can last for years without going bad if kept in a cool dark place. But you should check water that has been stored for clarity and odors. If in doubt, treat it with one of the methods below. You can also freeze the plastic soda or oj containers (these do crack sometimes when freezing) and use them in a cooler to keep food cold if the power goes out before drinking it. If you know a disaster is coming fill up any container you can including the coffee maker, crystal vase, bucket, bathtub, sink, and kiddy pool (some of these could be spilled or contaminated but hopefully some will make it).

Most sources recommend about a gallon per person per day. People consume about 2 quarts in cool low activity environments but much more if hot or active. You should have at least 2 weeks worth per person in your primary residence (but why not have months worth if you have the room). If you are traveling by car, three days worth per person is minimum (more for bathing), and if you are walking take as much as you reasonably can carry but at least one days worth (several small bottles are better for diversification if one leaks and also to let you know to start looking for more water before you are on your last bottle). I also store extra water for washing and bathing. Here the container doesn’t matter quite as much. I use old liquid detergent jugs. You should also have at least two methods of sterilizing water.

The first step in sterilizing water is to get the water as clear as possible. If it is cloudy, strain it with coffee filters, a clean cloth, or sand. Or you can let it settle and pour off the more clear water.

The primary and most reliable method of sterilizing water is boiling. You actually do not need to boil the water just heat it past 145 degrees for long enough. But if you don’t do it right you can get sick. So to be safe, boil it for 5 minutes if you can. If you are walking, a metal cup (enamel or stainless) or a converted tin can is easier to boil than a full pot. You can carry a backpacking stove or a Kelly Kettle. You can use solar power to sterilize water (in a soda bottle) if no cooking is possible. Other stoves are suggested below under food.

To sterilize water with bleach use 2 drops of plain unscented bleach per quart of water (or 8 drops per gallon or ¼ tsp per 2 gallons). If you don’t have a dropper you can wet a paper towel and then drip it (wear gloves). Let the water sit for 20 minutes and then smell it. If it smells like chorine then its good to go. If it doesn’t, repeat with the same amount of bleach. If that doesn’t work try to find other water. (Really bad water or salt water requires a still.) Bleach is cheap but does not last forever – rotate.

There are also Potable Aqua iodine tablets that are more compact for sterilizing water. You can also use Tincture of Iodine. Iodine and chlorine are poisons so be careful (kill the bacteria not yourself).

Any of the chemical treatments can make the water taste funny. You can use drink mixes to make it taste better. I’m not sure if sports drinks are really better, but Gatorade seems more thirst quenching to me than water. The powder form is more convenient and cheaper. You can also make your own sports drink (1/4 tsp nu salt(potassium), ¼ tsp salt, 3-6 tbl sugar (to taste), juice of 1 lemon (or orange), and optional flavoring (kool aide) per gallon of water) or switchel.

Of course you can spend money for water if you want to. You can buy prepackaged water or expensive filters. There are backpacking filters but I have found these to be temperamental. A water bottle with a filter would be a good backup or a straw. You can also go the more expensive route with a good gravity fed filter like this: http://www.doultonfilters.com/gravity.html. This is a great looking solar still but doesn’t appear to be for sale right now.

If you are a homebrewer (or like beer), you can add some dry malt extract, hops, and dry yeast to your stash. Beer is boiled as part of the brewing process. Then the alcohol and hops act as a natural preservative. For the long term you can get some sproutable barley, grow some hops, and culture yeast. If you or someone with you doesn’t handle alcohol well, skip this.