Water Storage - Continued

Back in March of 2009 I had a post here about Water Storage. Basically I ran the math on how much you need depending on your situation and number of people to keep alive. And essentially it's like this:

• This is a highly personal decision, but I urge you to store at least three days worth of water for each family member--including pets. A minimum of 1 liter per person per day (for drinking purposes only) is the bare minimum for survival. For our family of 4 people and our dogs, we have stored in excess of 60 liters.

But what about "storage" and how is that best accomplished? Well research says three things.

1. Water has no expiration date, it's water
2. Keeping it commercially available plastic bottles most likely wont harm you. So yeah, keep buying those gallon jugs at the store and storing them in a cool dry place out of sunlight to get the max time out of them.
3. Stored water may eventually develop a disagreeable appearance, taste, or odor.

Inspect your water supply at least every six months (I inspect ours every 4-5 months) to see whether the containers have leaks or if any of the above problems have occurred. And to increase the shelf life of water stored in translucent containers, group the containers together in dark plastic bags to keep out the light. Polyethylene plastics (water, milk, and bleach bottles) can be permeated by hydrocarbon vapors. Store your water supply away from gasoline, kerosene, pesticides, or similar substances.

A good policy I came across is to store water in two different home locations, in case you are unable to access one stash. A suggestion would be half is stored in the basement, while the other half is stored in a freezer. These frozen jugs of water help to improve the efficiency of your half empty freezer, and in the event of a power outage will help to protect the food from thawing. After a disaster, the jugs can be used in a freezer to provide you with an icebox.

A post I came across on the expiration of water was kind of funny but poignant:

Your bottled water wont go bad. Want proof? Put some bottled water in your shelter and wait for the next apocalypse. When your choices of water consumption is a decision between feces infused rot-water from the puddle with the chemical sheen on it or the expired bottled water in your bomb-shelter you'll understand that bottled water doesn't go bad.

Some additional links for Water Storage tips:

FEMA
American Preppers Forum Water Thread


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