Chapter 4 – Water.
During a pandemic, water is critical to your survival. Not only is it needed to drink, but it is needed for hygiene and washing clothes, bedding, etc. If someone in your family becomes ill, even more water will be needed for cleaning.
Hopefully the water supply will not be interrupted during a pandemic, however, you must plan in case it is. Lack of water can kill you in as few as three days.
You will need a minimum of 30 gallons per person a day, although many recommend as much as 55 gallons. Depending on the amount of cleaning that needs to be done, this number could be higher. If you have pets or livestock, they will need water also. You should therefore store more than you think you will use.
There are two ways to source water if the water supply goes down:
- Store it before the failure
- Scavenge it after the failure.
Because water storage is so bulky, you may end up using both of these methods. We will explore each method below.
Water Storage
You can store water many ways. You can:
- Buy bottled water in drinking bottles or gallon jugs.
- You can fill 5-gallon water bottles or “blocks”. These are generally white or blue in color. You may even have some in your garage or storage if you go camping. These bottles or blocks can be purchased at hardware stores, outdoor stores, and even grocery stores. They are relatively inexpensive and last a long time.
- You can fill a barrel. Restaurants and other food service providers receive ingredients in food safe barrels. These often can be purchased secondhand from recyclers.
- You can use your bathtub. When trouble strikes you can fill the tub. However, this water is exposed and must be sanitized before using. To avoid this, you can purchase a large plastic bladder, called a “waterBOB”. You simply place it in the bathtub and fill it. Granted, you can’t use that tub, but since you will be carefully rationing water, sponge baths are probably in order, anyway.
- Commercial water storage tanks that hold hundreds, and even thousands of gallons are available for purchase if you have the room.
Store your water in a cool location away from sunlight if possible. A basement in a house is a good location. If you have no basement, store it in the bottom you your closets or other unused space in your home, condo or apartment.
Scavenge Water
If you have been unable to store enough water, you will have to scavenge it. Below are some sources of water:
- Siphon. A siphon pump is invaluable for scavenging water. Such a pump has an intake nozzle or hose and an output hose. Stick the intake nozzle into the water source, the output hose into your water container and pump the handle until your container is full.
- Hot Water Tank. You hot water tank holds 40-50 gallons of clean water. Shut off the power/gas, close the intake valve and drain it into containers.
- Rainwater. You can capture rainwater of your roof and gutter. You can also use a tarp to capture rainwater. Elevate the tarp edges so water can puddle in the center.
- Lakes and Streams. If you are fortunate enough to live near a lake, stream or pond, you have a large water source. Definitely filter and boil any water obtained from these sources!
- Fire Hydrant. Although probably illegal in your jurisdiction, you can open a fire hydrant and possibly get some water. You will need a fire hydrant wrench to do so.
- Other Sources. Water can also be obtained from outside faucets that have had the knob removed by using a four-way key to open them. These can be purchased at home improvement and hardware stores.
Water Purification
All scavenged water (except possibly your water heater) will need to be purified. If the water is dirty, let it set still in the container and the sediment will fall to the bottom. Even if the water looks clean, it is not. The water likely contains bacteria, Giardia, Lamblia, Cryptosporidium, and viruses. The water must be purified.
- Boiling. Boiling water for 10 minutes will purify it.
- Bleach Chlorination. You can purify water with regular chlorine bleach. This kills most microorganisms, but it does not kill Giardia. Don’t use bleach with added scents, cleaners, or color safe. Place 10 drops of bleach per gallon of water, shake, and wait 30 minutes before drinking.
- Pool Shock. This is used to clean pool water, and it can also be used to purify water for you to safely use. One heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (pool shock) for each two gallons of water.
- Tablets and drops. You can purchase water purification tablets and drops. These products are quite effective. Follow the instructions on the product.
- Filters. Water filters will remove most all contaminants. The best large water filtration method is a tank system like the Big Birkey System. It is a large stainless- steel tank (2.25 gallons) and a set of filters will purify 3,000 gallons. This is the most popular size of filtration system Birkey offers, but it does come in smaller and larger sizes as well.
- Another option is a lightweight drinking straw like the LifeStraw. It removes virtually all contaminants and you drink directly from it. The downside of the LifeStraw is that you cannot purify water for cleaning, etc. This is a popular item in the hiking community and can be obtained in some outdoor stores and online.
To reiterate, the most critical element in a long-term survival situation is water. Without it you will die in as little as 3 days. The above information should help you obtain a clean source of this vital necessity.
