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EMERGENCY WATER
by Ken Larson
American Survival Guide Vol. 13, No. 4
To the surprise of many, the need
for water is much higher than for food. Many people have lived for 30 days with
no food, but without water, after three or four days you are in serious trouble.
People tend to underestimate how
much water is actually needed to perform normal, routine tasks of daily living.
Drinking water is the primary need, but you may need additional water for baths,
cooking, flushing toilets, cleaning eating utensils, washing clothes and other
chores.
Water availability is affected in
natural and man made disasters. In every disaster, the majority of the general
population is totally unprepared for even a small interruptions in normal
utility and food distribution services. In most disasters, the victims expect
and sometimes demand that "someone" provide needed protection, water,
shelter and food.
There are myriad ways the water
supply can be disrupted. The most common way is due to lack of electricity. With
no electricity, there will be no water from water purification plants or your
well--unless it is a non-electric well.
The second most common way is a
water main rupture. Recently, more than 10,000 people in the southeastern United
States were out of water for over two weeks due to such a rupture.
Wells can be contaminated by
flooding, and well pumps can become damaged by flooding. Freezing weather also
takes its toll on well and city water lines.
Local streams are never safe during
disasters because raw sewerage and polluted surface water can enter the streams.
During a recent hurricane , the wind blew an excessive amount of leaves into the
affected area's reservoirs. The water turned yellow for three weeks and acquired
an objectionable taste due to the abnormal amount of leaves that were
decomposing.
Container storage -- certain plastic
containers such as drywall buckets and plastic trash containers are not intended
for food contact and may leach undesirable chemicals into stored water. These
containers should be used for transporting water or for storage of water not
used for consumption. Although the 5 gallon drywall bucket is not good for
storing drinking water, it is an excellent choice for transporting water and for
storage of water not used for consumption.
Any container used for
transportation or for storage needs a top. during transportation, the top
reduces spillage. Tray transporting water in the care trunk in a bucket without
a top and you will see how much sloshes out. During storage, the top keeps out
dirt, dust, insects, etc.
The 5 gallon buckets used by
restaurants for food products are excellent for storing drinking water. If no
containers are available, plastic sheets or bags can be used to line porous
containers for storing water in emergencies. A depression can ever be dug in the
ground and lined with plastic to hold water temporarily.
In storing water for emergency uses,
most authorities recommend a minimum of 2 gallons per person per day. This
should include one half gallon for drinking and the balance for other uses. It
is preferable not to ration water in a survival situation because this may have
adverse affects on the health of people involved.
I store non-drinking water for
dishwashing, toilets, washing clothes, etc. in 5 gallon plastic drywall buckets.
My drinking water is stored in out bleach bottles and plastic milk jugs. I add
16 drops of liquid bleach (4-6 percent sodium hypochlorite) per gallon of clear
water to protect it during storage form the growth of micro-organisms. I suggest
storing an extra jug of bleach to purify any new water that is of questionable
quality.
Be careful not to misidentify bleach
bottles as containing drinking water if you also have bleach on hand. This is
especially dangerous where children are involved. Always remove the bleach label
and replace it with the word "WATER" in large indelible letters on the
jugs in which the water is stored.
The Utah State University Extension
Service offers the following instructions for heat sterilization when using
glass containers to store water: "fill clean fruit jars with water, leaving
one inch of head space at the top of the jar. Place clean sterilized lids on the
jar and process the water in a boiling water bath as fruit juice is processed.
Quart jars should be processed 20 minutes. Two quart jars 25 minutes."
Whatever the container used, it is
probably a good idea to date each container with a large magic marker or other
marking instrument. I'm glad I did mark my first water storage jugs because I
now have water that is 8 years old. Water is used on a first- in first-out
basis. My water supplies have been used many times in the last 8 years.
Since I do own a generator, a power
outage will shut down my well. No electricity, no electric well pump. On several
other occasions, my well pump had maintenance problems and the stored water came
in very handy while the pump was being repaired.
Don't store plastic containers near
fuels, pesticides or similar materials. The vapors from these can penetrate the
plastic and contaminate the water. Also, store water in the dark to protect the
plastic from sunlight.
One problem commonly encountered in
water storage is inventory control. You must be diligent in replacing the water
you use and rotate your inventory at least every several years. Use the oldest
inventory first. Any questionable water you have in storage can be used for
non-drinking purposes.
The local county extension service
will test your water for purity. This is a good idea when you have water
supplies that have not been rotated for several years.
If you have enough advance notice of
a coming water emergency or possible emergency, fill up extra empty mill
cartons, jars, bathtubs, sinks, wading pools, trash cans and or any other
available container. Obviously water in garbage cans would be used for
non-drinking purposes unless filtered and purified.
OTHER WATER SOURCES
You can use the water for the toilet
tank (not the bowl) and it will offer several gallons. You may want to look in
your tank right now to see if it needs a good cleaning.
Trapped water in house plumbing
lines offers several gallons of clean water. As soon as the water pressure goes
off, be careful to shut off your house lines from the street. This action will
insure you do not draw in contaminated water or allow your trapped water to flow
back into the connecting municipal system. Next, turn off the heat sources to
your water heater. To gain access to trapped water in the house line, crack the
faucet at the lowest level and drain the lines. I have installed a faucet in my
basement to insure I can collect the water from the lines that run under my
house. The basement is where I plan to be during a weather alert.
Your water heater tank holds 30 - 40
gallons. Check your water heater tank because it may have a foot or more of
sediment in the tank bottom. Sediment removal is a good reason to drain the tank
every year. In addition, the removal of sediment will improve the water heater's
efficiency. The hot water tank can be drained by opening the faucet at the
bottom of the tank. You may need to open the hot water faucet elsewhere in the
house to allow the release of the vacuum to allow a free flow of water. The
water inlet valve (faucet) should be turned off if you doubt the quality of the
inlet water. If the inlet valve is turned off, you may need to vent the water
tank by opening the "pop off" valve lever that is used to allow over
heated tanks to vent excessive pressure. The faucet at the bottom is threaded to
receive a regular garden hose.
The water in a water bed can also be
used. Only use this water for non-drinking purposes because of the possibility
of algaecide chemicals in the water and plastic chemicals being leached into the
water.
A swimming pool offers a large
volume of stored water for non- drinking use. In one case a swimming pool
provided a whole neighborhood with water after a hurricane. The neighbors set up
a temporary shower in the backyard next to the pool. Others who lived nearby
carried the water back home in any containers they could find.
If it rains, place buckets or
barrels under rain gutter down spouts. You may have to cut or disconnect them so
the water can flow into the container. If your container is not clean, you can
line it with plastic such as a clean garbage bag. Plastic sheets can be placed
on a hillside or be strung between trees to funnel water into your containers.
PURIFYING WATER
Pollution can affect ice, snow,
water in streams and in shallow wells causing these water sources to be unsafe.
Even clear streams can have parasites in them. Unpolluted water must be boiled
to assure complete destruction of any dangerous organisms.
Properly stored water is the safest
in an emergency. If you have to use water from an unknown source or of unknown
quality, be aware that the following methods of purifying water do not guarantee
the safety of the water but will reduce the risks involved.
Boiling water is one of the safest
methods of water purification. It should be boiled for at least 20 minutes to
insure that bacteria are killed. Boiling does not remove pollution. The boiling
process will make the water taste flat since some air has been driven out. To
add back the oxygen and to improve the taste, pour the water several times from
one container to another. Another method is to pour the water into a closed
container and vigorously shake it. A small piece of wood or a pinch of salt can
be added to the boiling water to improve the taste.
Learn how to start an outdoor fire
to be used in boiling water. Do not depend on electricity or gas for your heat
source.
Only use chemical purification for
questionable water if boiling is not possible. Understand that organic matter in
the water increased the amount of chemical needed. The colder the water, the
more time needed for the chemical to work.
Add 16 drops of bleach per gallon of
water for clear water and double that amount for cloudy or sediment-filled
water. Mix well and wait for 30 minutes before using. You should be able to
smell the bleach after 30 minutes. If not, repeat the process until you smell
the bleach, otherwise do not use the water. If you leave the container uncovered
for several hours, the chlorine taste will be reduced and the water will be more
palatable.
Always use fresh liquid bleach
because it will lose its strength over time. Double the recommended amounts if
the bleach is over one year old and do not use it if over two hears old.
Water purification tablets can be
used to purify water. They are readily available from sporting goods stores and
military surplus outlets.
Use fresh tablets. Normal shelf life
for iodine tablets is 3 to 5 years if unopened. iodine tablets work better than
bleach or halazone tablets for certain intestinal parasites. In addition,
halazone tablets have a shelf life of only 2 year.
Commercial filters combine a filter
substance and active ingredients to filter and treat the water at the same time.
Some brands are not as effective as they claim.
Clear water should be used whenever
possible when purification is needed. If sediment is present, it will settle out
in time and the clear water can be poured off or the water can be poured through
a cloth or coffee filter to speed up the process.
A novel method to clear up water is
to use a cloth siphon arrangement. Place the full cloudy water container higher
than the empty clean water container. Roll up a clean dry piece of cloth and put
one end in the upper container and the other end in the lower clean container.
If the cloth in the lower container is several inches below the cloudy water's
water line, then a siphon effect will begin and the water will be filtered. This
is a very, very slow process, but is good to know about.
In the distilling process,
questionable water is boiled and allowed to condense into safe water.
One method is to allow the water
vapor escaping out of a tea kettle to enter an inverted milk jug. The water
vapor will condense in the milk jug and run out into a pan set nearby to collect
it.
Another method is to run the water
vapor through copper tubing (same as used in your house) to condense the vapor
into pure water. For quantity production, try to visualize a moonshiners still.
Use a larger closed container heated over a fire with copper tubing coiled
several times to make such a still.
CONSERVATION
The more you conserve your water in
an emergency, the less you will use or need from storage. For example, toilets
use 3-4 gallons per each flush. Add several bricks in the tank to reduce usage
(be careful not to have too much waste for each flush). And toilets need not
always be flushed after each use. You might also want to build an outdoor toilet
trench such as is described in "The Boy Scout Handbook" or other
publications.
Stretch out the periods between your
baths or showers, or use a Navy type shower procedure, where you turn on the
water to wet down, turn off water, soap up and then turn on the water to rinse
off. If water is very limited, take a sponge bath when ever practical.
Do not waste water washing clothing
other than under clothing. Before you wash, leave clothes outside over night and
they will pick up additional moister reducing the amount of wash water needed. A
heavy dew will make a wash towel moist enough to use for a sponge bath. It is
even better to roll the clothes in the dew to make them very wet before
beginning the wash.
Never throw water away without
figuring out other uses for it. For example, use the tub water for flushing a
toilet. Save the water when you wash your hands and use it for the initial
clothes washing water.
Do not dispose of dirty water just
because it has sediment in it. You will be surprised how much sediment in dirty
water will settle out over night or in several days if left undisturbed. The
clearer surface water can be used again for non-drinking purposes.
Finally , it is very important to
wash hands when preparing food. Intestinal problems can rapidly dehydrate the
body and cause severe health problems.
As you can see, water storage is
very simple to accomplish. A little advance preparation can add a great deal of
security in our current water-sensitive and highly technological times as well
as in any emergency situation.
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