Water Storage

A sister in the ward asked me a question about storing water. While answering her, I realized it's that time of year to start thinking about Hurricane season (June 1 - November something), and where is the best place to start thinking? WATER!!!!

First and foremost, how much water should you store?

Many sources recommend 1 gallon per person per day for 14 days, so how much water would a family of three need to store?
1 gallon x 3 people x 14 days = 42 gallons of water.

Where do you store all that water?

The best answer is wherever you can. I have boxes of cheap store bought water in the corner of my sons' room and used juice, soda pop, and Gatorade bottles in the boys' closet. I have a friend who's been storing hers in her laundry room/closet.

How do you store that water?

In the Water Storage Guidelines on providentliving.org, they say...

Containers

• Use only food-grade containers. Smaller containers made of PETE plastic or heavier plastic buckets or drums work well.
• Clean, sanitize, and thoroughly rinse all containers prior to use. A sanitizing solution can be prepared by adding 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) to one quart (1 liter) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.
• Do not use plastic milk jugs, because they do not seal well and tend to become brittle over time.
• Do not use containers previously used to store non-food products.

Note: They suggest sanitizing all containers with that 1 teaspoon of bleach to one quart of water solution. I've actually never done that before, but I think I'll start...to be on the safe side.

Water Pretreatment

• Water from a chlorinated municipal water supply does not need further treatment when stored in clean, food-grade containers.
• Non-chlorinated water should be treated with bleach. Add 1/8 of a teaspoon (8 drops) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for every gallon (4 liters) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.

Note: You should not only treat non-chlorinated water with bleach, but also all water that's questionable.

After Hurricane Ike, the mayor said not to use the water coming out of the tab. To disinfect the water, you could use this bleach method. Nate and I actually boiled it. Providentliving.org says, "bringing water to a rolling boil for 3 to 5 minutes will kill most water-borne microorganisms. However, prolonged boiling of small quantities of water may concentrate toxic contaminants if present." For Hurricane Ike, we used our water storage for cooking with and brushing teeth. We used boiled water for everything else.

Storage

• Containers should be emptied and refilled regularly.
• Store water only where potential leakage would not damage your home or apartment.
• Protect stored water from light and heat. Some containers may also require protection from freezing.
• The taste of stored water can be improved by pouring it back and forth between two containers before use.

Note: I've read on beprepared.com that "if water is: A) Free of Microorganisms. B) If the container is made of food grade materials. C) The container is clean and tightly closed. D) The container is kept from sunlight. Then it will remain safe indefinitely." Another source says to rotate your water storage at least once a year.

I personally have been rotating water every other year because most of the bottled water I've bought usually expires in two years, so I just go ahead and empty and refill my recycled bottles every other year as well.

Another Note: When ever I empty water bottles, I feel bad watching all that water go down the drain, and that's what I did until I realized I could be using that stored water to water my plants.

I kept potted plants last year, and I also had a lot of water that needed to be refilled. It was so easy to use a bottle or two of water storage to water my plants and then refill it, write on a new date, and put it back in storage. I didn't feel like I was wasting water any more, and I don't think my plants minded at all that the water had been sitting in my sons' closet for two years either.

I'd like to know if you have thought of ways to rotate your water. Have you?

Happy Water Storing!