NOTICE:

Supply of products subject to stock on hand - current terrorism, flood, tornado and hurricane emergencies has reduced our normal inventory.

Potassium Iodate completely sold out!!

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TO GO DIRECTLY TO WATER STORAGE BAG ORDERING AREA - CLICK HERE.

Using the following water storage guidelines:

(1) each family should provide a means for BULK STORAGE of water for all uses(drinking, cooking and personal hygiene) which would last at least three to four weeks.

(2) For a family of four, this equates to a need for 500-600 gallons of water to last a month.

(3) For a family of two(seniors, young married.), that number would be around 300 gal.

For your family, multiply the number of family members by 150 gallons and add 30 gallons for each large pet. A retired couple with a large dog would therefore require around 330 gallons per month.

Three techniques for storing this amount of water are available:

(a) plastic jugs of the 1-gallon to 5-gallon variety

(b) plastic 30 or 55-gallon drums

(c) inflatable, heavy-duty food-grade plastic storage bags

TRANSPORTABLE PLASTIC JUGS AND PUMPS

One or two five gallon water jugs would normally be suitable for short-term drinking water needs. However, in the case of an extended emergency, where one could expect to be without all types of safe water for 3-4 weeks, close to 250, 1-gallon jugs of purified water would be required for a family of four for drinking water alone for one month.

This may be impractical. Adding water for sanitation and other domestic uses makes the problem becomes even more difficult with small water jugs.

Using larger water containers such as 5-gallon jugs will reduce the number and probably some of the physical storage space required.

It may be wise to store a few gallons of pure distilled water obtained from a reliable grocery store to ensure that you will have at least a few gallons to start with until you can adjust to a routine during the emergency.

Storing tap water in soft drink bottles is not recommended unless the bottles are cleaned from any prior product and rinsed/sterilized with 3% hydrogen peroxide. The remainder of the necessary water for the month will need to be stored by other means.

HERE IS THE ITEM EVERY HOUSEHOLD SHOULD HAVE AVAILABLE...PERIOD!!

BUY ONE FOR EACH FAMILY MEMBER WHO DOES NOT LIVE WITH YOU - WE WILL DROP SHIP.

Pump as shown above for 3, 4, 5, and 6-gallon water jugs: $25.95 - ORDER HERE

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Storage Drums

Size: ~2' round x 3' high.; available in 30 and 55 gallon sizes

Construction: Durable, FDA-approved materials

Cost: ~$50-$80 per drum(for 30 to 55 gallon sizes), plus shipping(add ~$15.00). Approximately $1.50 per stored gallon after all expenses.

Accessories Required: requires hand pump(~$25.00) to extract water from drum.

RECOMMENDED SOURCE: UNITED STATES PLASTIC CORPORATION: 1=800-537-9724. or see http://www.usplastic.com.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Drums which have previously held food or beverage products should be avoided due to possible bacterial infestations. Also, storage drums which are merchandised as "FDA APPROVED MATERIALS" may have contained products which would prevent the subsequent use of the drum for water. Sometimes the drum contains markings saying

"not for reuse with water or food products".

You may not see this notice until after you purchase the product(as I did some time ago with some "FDA material drums") and it is too late. Check with the distributor and find out what use the drums had before they were made available for the present market. For that reason we are not recommending specific vendors for this type of storage system.

If the distributor cannot provide that information, select another method, namely unused, inflatable water storage bags such as those described below. Storage drums which have been used for other food products such as honey or other organics are not safe for long-term water storage due to the preponderance of organic material available for biological activity. Check it out---better safe than sorry later.

In general, we do not recommend this type of container due to the high probablility of prior product use in the container. We recommend polycarbonate bottles or the inflatable water storage bags illustrated below.

Inflatable(AquaFlex) Water Bags:

Emergency Water Storage Systems

 

(110 Gallon Bag shown on Pickup Truck Bed) Products currently available:

SIZE	CAPACITY	PRICE	CLICK BELOW TO ORDER
3 ft x 3 ft	30 gallons	STANDARD $69 Order HERE HEAVY DUTY $125.00 Order HERE	Standard Design - AquaFlex
3 ft x 4 ft	60 gallons	STANDARD $79.00 ORDER HERE HEAVY DUTY $135.00 ORDER HERE	Extra Heavy Duty Design! AQUATANK II
3 ft x6 ft	110 gallons	STANDARD $99.00 Order HERE	Our Most Popular size
3 ft x 8 ft	150 gallons	STANDARD $129.00 Order HERE HEAVY DUTY $225.00	FAMILY SIZE
4.5 ft x 12 ft	300 gallons	$325.00	Multiple Family EXTRA HEAVY DUTY DESIGN! - MATERIAL SIMILAR TO 60 GAL BAG ILLUSTRATED ABOVE Order HERE

 

Technical Details of Materials Used and Operational Information for Aquaflex and Aquatank II

• Bag dry weight: 1 lb to 5lb depending on bag size;
• folds for easy storage when not in use
• Larger volumes: Sizes to 3000 gallons available on special order.

 



 

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This is one tough water storage bag!!

 



Construction: FDA food-grade material( no PVC--no odor or tastes added by material).

Durable: Outstanding tensile, tear, impact and abrasion resistance

Excellent freeze/thaw ability.

Utility: Two openings---a fill connection for garden hose; drain with lever-style faucet

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This might be a good place to inject the following caution.

Individuals who are experiencing some type of immune system dysfunction or general immune suppression are particularly susceptible to even low levels of bacteria and or parasitic problems.

Those who are undergoing chemotherapy treatment, who are on sustained antibiotic prescriptions, diabetics, children with cystic fibrosis , individuals with AIDS, HIV, hepatitis(any species) or other serious adult or childhood illnesses are more susceptible than individuals with strong immune systems.

As we grow older, in general our immune system gradually loses its "zip" to fight infections. Seniors and others who are under doctor's care should therefore take any emergency water storage necessity seriously.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin a few years ago, runoff from a local farmyard cattle pen entered a stream feeding the municipal water supply. Cryptosporidium parasites caused 110 individuals to die and 450,000 to be acutely ill with a wide variety of gastrointestinal disorders for a few days to several weeks. The 110 individuals who died all had impaired immune systems: 84 were HIV positive and the remainder were under chemotherapy treatment.

This problem has occurred in dozens of other cities since then and although not with the intensity of the Milwaukee situation, has claimed scores of other lives and left tens of thousands ill for extended periods of time. These problems all occurred in communities with FULLY FUNCTIONAL municipal water supplies.

What is happening is that conventional water treatment procedures are unable to deal with some of the more complex microbiological impurities showing up in our nation's water supplies. Simple chlorination techniques cannot even touch contamination problems such as Cryptosporidum and Giardia. Imagine the situation without adequate city water treatment.

Special water purification techniques such as steam distillation(for everyday drinking water use) and ceramic filters(described below for emergency situations) are the only methods which can reliably deal with some of these new and dangerous micro-organisms.

Much more can be said about water storage---and we can supply those details later. The preceding section on storage and fresh water supplies will hopefully provide a stimulus for these considerations for storing pure drinking and utility water during an emergency.

Assuming clean and deodorized food-grade water storage containers are used, untreated water straight from your tap should keep 6 months, but MUST be changed thereafter. Bacteria-free water, which means successful treatment by one of the accepted methods described below, will keep several years depending on heat, light, degradation of the container, etc.

Store your water away from paint and petroleum products, acids or anything releasing objectionable odors like fertilizers or household cleaners. In addition to being able to hold water, high grade containers such as glass(not recommended for emergency situations) and the inflatable storage bags shown earlier can keep out these odors. Lower grade containers such as the common, 1-gallon water jugs from the grocery store or even soft drink containers will allow absorption of various odors and chemicals if they are stored nearby.

Also not recommended under any conditions are milk cartons or other containers which have previously held perishable food products.

Do not forget the extra water available in water beds, water heaters and garden hoses. These types of water must be processed by either special filters(described later) or chemical additives to ensure that no bacterial contamination exists.

An incredible article entitled "Finding Survival Water" appeared on the Internet at

www.millennium-ark.net/News Files/Finding Survival Water1.html.

This article is probably the most comprehensive one we have seen for locating water in an emergency and should be required reading for anyone expecting to survive an extended period of time, particularly in desert country, without normal fresh, purified water supplies..

Diverting rainwater from downspouts into storage drums, plastic bags or other containers should not be overlooked. Begin examining the drain spouts on your home and determining how you can divert this free water source to your storage system. Remember, it too must be treated or filtered before using---and this will be covered in a later section.

A note regarding the retrieval of fresh water from lakes and especially seasonal creeks which meander toward the ocean or local reservoirs through residential and park areas. These seasonal creeks may have their sources in agricultural areas where barnyard runoff can seriously contaminate these supplies. High levels of bacteria and parasites such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia are commonplace in these environments.

This water can be made safe to drink by special filtration processes described later in this note. Chemical(iodine, chlorox, etc.) treatments will destroy most of the bacteria but will leave parasites(Cryptosporidum, etc.) untouched. Filtration(or boiling the water for 10-15 minutes---if energy supplies are available) using special technologies described below solve that problem.

Finally, a few words about using swimming pool water.

If you(or your neighbor) own a pool, you should always view the pool water as "backup water"; keep the water treated; you never know when it might be needed.

The maintenance of the free chlorine residual will prevent establishment of significant growths of micro-organisms. The maintenance level should be kept around 3-5 parts per million(ppm) of free chlorine. Use your chlorine tester to monitor this. If you don't have one, visit your local pool supply company soon.

The principal problem with using swimming pool water is that organics can enter through dirt, sweat, body oils and the inevitable kiddie tinkle. This can form carcinogenic(cancer causing) chloramines(e.g. chloroform) which are not good to drink. In a survival or emergency situation, steps can be taken to minimize or completely eliminate such contaminants.

Partial and complete water changes should be done when possible. Although it is impossible to make a general rule, change the pool water at least 1-2 times per year and make partial changes after a lot of use.

In a sealed drum, water can stay good for years, but we still recommend changing it at least once a year. Now, imagine going in and out of your emergency(pool) water a hundred times and then drinking it. Don't let pool water clarity fool you---some crystal clear mountain springs have tested out to be laced with cholera, Giardia and Cryptosporidium parasites.

Return to Emergency Water Overview Materials

Go to Emergency Water Treatment Methods

Go to Emergency Ceramic Water Filtration Systems