Water Storage
In an emergency, water is one of the most valuable resources you can have. Simply put, we MUST have water to live. The estimates vary from source to source, but they all agree that the average human can survive for several months without food, but less than a week without water. You would be surprised how much water we use in a day between drinking, washing clothes or dishes, flushing, bathing, and (hopefully) washing your hands. When we talk about an emergency it is usually caused by one of the following events: Loss of electricity, loss of water, loss of shelter, loss of food, or an unusual abundance of something like in the cases of wind damage, flooding, heat waves, cold streaks, or fire. Some of these may cause inconveniences, while others can cause death. Be prepared to provide for yourself, your family, friends, and loved ones.
Other reasons to store water
You don’t just need water for drinking, you need some for washing hands, washing dishes, washing clothing, bathing or flushing toilets. Having water to flush your toilet is something that is often overlooked, but usually just the one time. Anyone who has ever made this mistake of not having water to flush a toilet knows the consequences all too well. You can flush most toilets with a gallon of water or less, depending on when the toilet was made. As long as the jugs are clean, the water stored in them should be potable (able to be drank) as well.
Tap Water
You can also use containers to store tap water. Tap water that has been stored for a while may not taste as good when you use it in an emergency as it would have when it was fresh from the tap, but in a real emergency, you won’t care. You can store some sport drink or other type of drink mix to help with this issue and to help rehydrate you. Any tap water you plan to store to drink should have a small amount of chlorine in it to keep bacteria from being able to form. It is recommended that you use 4 to 5 drops of unscented liquid chlorine bleach (5.25% to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for each gallon of water. You would need 1 teaspoon of bleach to disinfect 5 gallons of water. It is recommended that you store 1 gallon of water per person per day, and that you have enough for at least 2 weeks. This is based on each person drinking 2 quarts (½ gallon) each day, and another 2 quarts (½ gallon) per person per day for other limited uses such as hand washing, teeth brushing and washing dishes. This is a total of 14 gallons per person to last for 2 weeks.
How and Where to Store Water
Keep in mind that wherever you store your water you will need to ensure the water does not freeze. Water expands when it freezes and it can burst the container it is in. If you must store water somewhere that it could possibly freeze, leave enough air gap in the container to allow the water to expand (10 – 15% of the total capacity to be safe). Never store water near anything that gives off an odor, since the water could absorb that odor or even hazardous vapors from things like gasoline. Keep your water stored away from sunlight or other UV light as this may degrade the container it is in. Also, keep your water somewhere that the heat won’t affect it. The hotter the water gets, the faster it will evaporate and escape through the pores of the container (if it is stored in a plastic container).
The Weight of Water
Each gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. So, a 5 gallon container would weigh almost 42 pounds. That’s not so terrible and most people can move that much weight if needed, but if you need to move or lift it frequently, it might be a bit much for some people. A 55 gallon drum (barrel) would weight over 458 pounds when filled with water. Not only is that really hard to move without a dolly or cart of some kind, but it will put a lot of extra weight on whatever surface it is on. If you are storing it somewhere in your house that is not rated for that kind of weight (a second floor or attic for example), it could potentially cause issues. So put some thought into where you will need to use the water in an emergency, and how you can move the required amounts of water to those areas. It might make sense to store several 55 gallon drums somewhere like a garage or shed, and use much smaller containers to move water out of them in times of need. It would probably be better to have some 1 gallon containers for flushing toilets or washing dishes, while it would probably make sense to use bottled water for drinking and brushing your teeth.
Water Storage Containers
Bottled Water
The absolute simplest, and one of the most cost effective, ways to store water for an emergency is to buy bottled water. Whether you buy gallon jugs, or smaller 12 or 16 ounce bottles, this is an extremely simply way to guarantee you have potable water in an emergency. When bottled water goes on sale, stock up. You can store bottled water just about anywhere in your house that is out of the way. In the garage, under your bed, behind or under a couch, in a cupboard, in an unused room, or anywhere else that it will fit and be out of the sun. Keep in mind, that when you store bottled water, over time the water will SLOWLY evaporate through the tiny pores in the bottle. You will notice the bottles start to look slightly “deflated”. This is normal, and there is nothing to be done about except cycle the bottles out from time-to-time and replace them with newer “fresh” bottles. For water storage, just use a Sharpie pen and write the date you bought the water on the packaging. Then, cycle out the oldest water when you need bottled water for something else, and replace it when you get a chance.
55 Gallon Drums
In most areas, you can find someone selling the traditional blue 55 gallon drums made of HDPE plastic. There are a lot of things that ship to businesses in these drums, and they get rid of them once they are empty. Usually an employee takes them to make some extra money on the side, or the business sells them to someone cheap so they can resell them for a profit to make it worth their time to haul them off. As long as whatever was stored in these drums originally was a food-grade product, they are safe to use for water.
If you want the convenience and peace of mind that comes from a new food-grade 55 gallon drum with everything you would need, Amazon has a great deal on this package that comes with a brand new BPA-free food grade 55 gallon water barrel, a siphon water pump, liquid water-treatment drops, and a nice wrench for opening barrels or removing 5-gallon bucket lids.
Gallon Milk Jugs
There are many other types of containers that you can use to store water. If you need a cheap way to store water you can use your empty milk jugs. Make sure they are really CLEAN (use soap and water, and a little vinegar) to wash them thoroughly and then fill them almost completely full using tap water. Make sure the cap is on tight, and store them somewhere out of sunlight since UV light will degrade the HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic that they are made from. These are not the best containers, but they have some advantages. They are generally easy or cheap to acquire. Even if you don’t buy milk in plastic containers, you probably have friends or neighbors who do that would be glad to give you their empties. They allow you to slowly build up your water storage supply. They are light enough to be easily moved when needed. They are perfect for using to wash hands, dishes, or flush a toilet.
Non-permanent Solutions
You don’t have to have to water stored permanently if you don’t have the budget or room to do so. You can start off by making sure you have a way to store water when you think a situation might occur that would warrant water storage, like a large storm approaching. Most of us already have some type of water storage container that can be used in an emergency as long as you have enough warning to fill them. Small water coolers that have a spout on them are ideal to use in places like kitchens as a water distribution point in an emergency. You can easily refill them from a larger water storage area as needed. We use an Igloo 2-gallon sports cooler for a lot of events, and around the house in the summer. It’s small and easily portable, yet it holds enough to supply drinks for all 6 of use for a while before it needs to be refilled.
The next step up would be the larger sports-style water coolers that hold 5 gallons (or more) that can be used for drinking water, or as a source for water to wash hands or dishes. These are useful for lots of occasions. My family has a 5 gallon cooler that we use just for water or sports drinks that has a push-button style spigot that you must hold in to dispense water. This is nice since it is harder to accidentally overfill a cup when using this type of spigot valve.
We also have another 5 gallon water cooler that has a flip-up style faucet that can be left open so the water keeps flowing until you turn it off. This second type is handy for washing our hands or dishes when camping, but is also useful if you will be filling gallon or other large containers from it since you don’t have to hold a button in the whole time to fill another container.
Bathtubs for Water Storage
The next step up in temporary water storage would be the collapsible water storage products. Any bathtub can hold enough water to cover your flushing and hand-washing needs for a long time. If you know there is inclement weather approaching, you can quickly fill your tub with water just in case it is needed. I would not consider this water potable if it is direct contact with your tub. If you want potable water, you will need to buy a container to put in the tub to keep the water from actually contacting the tub. Read more below for this option.
If you buy a collapsible container for your tub, you can also store a lot of potable water in your bathtub in emergencies. These containers are collapsible so when not in use they will fit just about anywhere. When needed, you put them in your tub and fill them with safe, potable tap water for when it is needed. When the emergency is over, you just drain them. If you are able to allow them to dry thoroughly, you can possibly fold them up and store them away until they are needed again, but I would consider them a one-time-use option. Also, if you buy one of these, make sure you have some way to get the water in them (usually a funnel works great) and some way to pump the water out of them. Some come with a fill tube and a hand pump, so watch for this or simply buy your own separately.