# About water?????????



## anna40 (Mar 3, 2010)

Im totally new at this and i have a question that may seem rather...stupid. In an emergency do you just quit getting water from your faucet? Would it be because there is no electricity to pump it through the pipes? Or is it that we would get water but it could be contaminated? Also, would purifcation tablets work as well as a water filter? It seems like they would be much easier. Im starting to stockpile some food, and want to tackle the water issue but just dont know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Welcome to the forum!

You can continue to get public water until the towers go dry and/or the pumps stop running. Fill your sinks, tubs... anything that will hold water. With some relatively easy purification it can be used for drinking water.

Here's a couple sources for some good info on purifying.

A) Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water | Safewater | Water | US EPA

B) There's a decent PDF document at FEMA. Do a google search for FEMA water purification. It should be the first site that appears.

C) For Calcium Hypochlorite, do a google search for same. Here's a site that discusses what I'm referring to. Perma Pak How to make chlorine from pool shock


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Most municiple water supplies are pumped to tank at an elevated location then the water flows by gravity to the homes/businesses in the area. If the city has standby pumps to continue pumping in the event of a power outage you will continue to have water. The best thing is to fill everything in the house that will hold water. Go to the websites listed for water purification info. If you have any reason to believe the water supply is contaminated by terrorists or chemicals do not drink it. Used water you have in storage for that. If you don't have stored water begin storing it now. You should have at least a three day supply on hand at all times.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Unless you have an artesian well 20' from your door.  :sssh:


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

I have a 24ft pool and it holds 13,500 gals. That I plan to use for cleaning clothes and dishes ( after I boil it). And probably us too. Also, in my area where I live there are underground springs. Right along side the hard top road, some of them come up right out of the ground. I've made note where they are all along the road. We have the berkey filters and two 5 gallon buckets to make our filtering system. This year is the year that I will make rain barrels a priority. Not only for the gardens but for us also.
I would advise anna to start cleaning out and keeping her milk jugs. Fill them with water for *the toilet only*. I also have kept alot of juice jugs for water storage. I just make sure that I use a bleach solution to clean them really well.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Something else that Anna may wish to do is use part of her freezer for water-storage. Re-using Gatoraid-style bottles works well. Instead of recycling the bottle for money, 3/4 fill the bottle, lightly cap and place in the freezer. When the bottle is frozen solid, screw the cap on solid and leave at the bottom of the freezer.

In case of power-outtage, the frozen water bottles will help keep the food in the freezer frozen for longer and when the water in the bottles melts, it can be used for drinking, washing or whatever it is needed for.


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## truthfulwon (Jan 27, 2010)

I save my laundry detergent bottles as well as bleach bottles. That is for my dishes water or washing hands primarily disposable water. That way my drinking is not used for any other purpose. 

I use my 2 litre bottles and juice bottles for my drinking water and cooking. I also have my bottled water from the store. I made the mistake of filling my milk jugs with water. And they started to desinagrate and water got all over the floor. They are biodegradable. But glad I found that out now then later.


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

truthfulwon said:


> I save my laundry detergent bottles as well as bleach bottles. That is for my dishes water or washing hands primarily disposable water. That way my drinking is not used for any other purpose.
> 
> I use my 2 litre bottles and juice bottles for my drinking water and cooking. I also have my bottled water from the store. I made the mistake of filling my milk jugs with water. And they started to desinagrate and water got all over the floor. They are biodegradable. But glad I found that out now then later.


Milk jugs are biodegradable? I've used them to store water, still do..how long does it take before they leak? I've had some for a long time..??? in fact I had one half full in the back of my pickup for almost over a year, just sitting there...

Learn something new every day...:dunno:


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

anna40 said:


> Im totally new at this and i have a question that may seem rather...stupid. In an emergency do you just quit getting water from your faucet? Would it be because there is no electricity to pump it through the pipes? Or is it that we would get water but it could be contaminated? Also, would purifcation tablets work as well as a water filter? It seems like they would be much easier. Im starting to stockpile some food, and want to tackle the water issue but just dont know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Just watched the movie 'Waterborne', may enlighten some on the water issue and how precious it is. I rate it about 3 stars, its ok but has a good point, BE PREPARED!


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

I'm relatively safe for fresh water, just concerned about its purity, 20% of the WORLDS fresh water is right here in the great lakes basin.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

bunkerbob said:


> Just watched the movie 'Waterborne', may enlighten some on the water issue and how precious it is. I rate it about 3 stars, its ok but has a good point, BE PREPARED!


Awesome movie!!! Watched it several times. I was thinking about commenting about it in this thread, glad you did :wave:


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## NavyKen (Feb 14, 2010)

I have six 55 gallon barrels that used to have Mountain Dew syrup in them they are sold for $20.00 each and need to be cleaned out. Rinse with fresh water, then strong bleach solution, then baking soda solution rinse and finally another fresh water rinse. Really helps but it will take a while for the flavor to completely go away. I change the water every six months. this means I have 330 gallons of water on hand at all times.


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## ampastor69 (Feb 18, 2010)

*slightly smaller bowl inside larger one distiller*

clear plastic teepeee catches evaporated dirty water from inner bowl,condenses n runs into outer bowl, scale up or down as bowls fit. can do with 2 litter water bottles too.enough to drink


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## SaskBound (Feb 13, 2010)

ampastor69 said:


> clear plastic teepeee catches evaporated dirty water from inner bowl,condenses n runs into outer bowl, scale up or down as bowls fit. can do with 2 litter water bottles too.enough to drink


This works for bacteria and viruses, but does not remove all chemical contamination, as a lot of chemicals evaporate at a lower temp than water does. So although it is useful in some situations, I wouldn't want to rely on it.

Short term, I would suggest buying a few home water cooler refill bottles. They cost under $5 for 20L in Canada. Count on a minimum of 4L per person per day to cover cooking and cleaning. Don't forget to account for pets. We keep a minimum 100L on hand in the house for 2 people, 2 large dogs, and 3 cats, which we figure amounts to at least 10 days' worth. It isn't too bad an amount to store, being only 5 cooler bottles. We also keep 2L in each car, and an extra 4L when we are going on a long trip.

For longer term, you'll probably want a few methods of purifying water. You can boil it, which will kill a lot of bacteria and viruses. Water treatment tablets will also kill germs. Chlorination is effective, and a bottle of bleach is cheap. Physical filtration will remove chemicals that other methods won't. We keep multiple methods on hand, so that we can use whatever best fits the situation. We looked into a Berkey, but it was way beyond our budget. Instead we got a "Just Water" ceramic filter from Monolithic. While we haven't used it yet, we were pleased with the price and the quick service. I think we paid around $30 with shipping to Canada, but that was awhile ago.

Here is the website:
A Practical, Life-Sustaining Water Filter | Monolithic


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## texican (Feb 15, 2010)

I keep a 50 million gallon reservoir full, right above my home, for gravity fed water. I don't care if the grid goes down... as long as the laws of gravity are in effect, I'll have water!


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## shadowrider (Mar 13, 2010)

"I would advise anna to start cleaning out and keeping her milk jugs. Fill them with water for the toilet only."

This may only work with a septic system. If the city water pumps are down from lose of power the sewer pumps will be also.

texican are you below the dam at Possum Kingdom? Man thats one big tank!:scratch
sahdowrider


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

yea. you're right shadow. I forget that others AREN'T on a septic. lol I'm so used to conserving water and such because this is the way I've lived for 30yrs now. Just a habit I guess lol


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## hurst_guy (Mar 19, 2010)

*I'm new here too*

Anyway I just received my Katadyn Siphon filter today. It's gravity fed and will filter 5300 gallons of water. Cost was 75 dollars delivered and an absolute best buy for the money.


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## Ponce (May 3, 2009)

If you live in a city apartment then buy a large water bed and placed it under your regular bed and then fill it up, some bleach before filling.

Many here are getting ready like if this is going to last only for a few hours, days, weeks, months........well, is going to last for years and years and years.

Before the US becomes, once again, what it was in the past (if ever) it will take at least two to three generations.......buy silver, buy gold and hold it.

"If you don't hold it, you don't own it"... Ponce


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## SaskBound (Feb 13, 2010)

Ponce said:


> If you live in a city apartment then buy a large water bed and placed it under your regular bed and then fill it up, some bleach before filling.
> 
> Many here are getting ready like if this is going to last only for a few hours, days, weeks, months........well, is going to last for years and years and years.


The thing is, Ponce, everyone has to start somewhere, and teh easiest place to start is to prep for a short-term emergency. Once you've got three days' worth of food, water, and medical supplies, then you can start working towards three weeks or three months' worth...or three years' worth. But unless they are rich, people have to start small...


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## obikenobi (Mar 30, 2010)

This is a great thread. Thanks to the OP. I am also new to this and just starting to get my s**t together. Water was always my main concern. I have a spring in back of my house. It's going gang busters now with all the rain we have here in the North East. I also have a well that I am trying to find a manual pump for. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

WELCOME, :welcomebikenobi from a long time preparer. Look forward to your replies and posts.


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## SaskBound (Feb 13, 2010)

obikenobi said:


> This is a great thread. Thanks to the OP. I am also new to this and just starting to get my s**t together. Water was always my main concern. I have a spring in back of my house. It's going gang busters now with all the rain we have here in the North East. I also have a well that I am trying to find a manual pump for. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.


Try Lehman's for a manual pump. I can't specifically recommend them, as I've never tried anything from them myself, but I've heard positive things about them...


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## HALMAN (Oct 25, 2008)

Hi all! First post for me I think?!? Have a question for you: 

I've had 4 55 gallon plastic drums I purchased for the Y2K frezy, (yeah, I drank the Y2k Kool Aid) and I put water preservative in the drums before sealing them up. The water has not been disturbed since March of '99'. 

My question is, if we boil the water would it be drinkable or should we just use it for washing and toilette use?

Thanks, great site btw! :usaflag:


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

Being able to boil water would be a good start.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

HALMAN said:


> Hi all! First post for me I think?!? Have a question for you:
> 
> I've had 4 55 gallon plastic drums I purchased for the Y2K frezy, (yeah, I drank the Y2k Kool Aid) and I put water preservative in the drums before sealing them up. The water has not been disturbed since March of '99'.
> 
> ...


WELCOME, :welcome:HALMAN from a long time preparer. Look forward to your replies and posts. Don't forget to intro yourself in the introduction post.


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## JeepHammer (Oct 10, 2008)

It wound up costing me $12.50 a food for my deep water well, but I have a limestone filtered sweetwater well now.

The well head is at the end of my 'Power House'.
Water is pumped via solar/wind generators,
Runs around the storage batteries to keep them cool in summer,
and exits to the cistern for use on 'Farm'...

I also have a hand pump installed for emergencies.
-----------------------

Before the well, we pumped from a clean lake,
Through a series of filters for human consumption,
And use it raw for livestock/utility use.

We could go back to that, but the filtering process was 'Extensive' and the lake was susceptible to contamination from farm chemicals.

The well is limestone filtered, and VERY good water quality.
Needs no filtering.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

JeepHammer said:


> It wound up costing me $12.50 a food for my deep water well, but I have a limestone filtered sweetwater well now.
> 
> I also have a hand pump installed for emergencies


Hello JeepHammer, what make and model of hand pump do you have. My well gets water at 80-120-220 feet, pretty deep like yours. The well head has a 1" plug on top for access.


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## Al-Thi'b (Jan 6, 2010)

anna40 said:


> Im totally new at this and i have a question that may seem rather...stupid. In an emergency do you just quit getting water from your faucet? Would it be because there is no electricity to pump it through the pipes? Or is it that we would get water but it could be contaminated? Also, would purifcation tablets work as well as a water filter? It seems like they would be much easier. Im starting to stockpile some food, and want to tackle the water issue but just dont know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Welcome new comer,
Water depending on where you are and the given emergency really makes up the answer to your question. Yes you will "stop" getting water if there is a large power loss if you live in a city same as running off of a private pump system. However if you have a generator you can continue to get water if you hook your pump up to it.

Now whether or not you want to get water is another thing all together, water could be infected or impure in some cases of biological attack or fallout something like that.

IMO Store water if you can in a cool dark place in containers specifically meant to store liquids otherwise the container may react with the water making it dangerous for anyone to drink over time. There are treatments you can purchase to help stabilize the water better for long term storage. You should even store water if you live in a remote area and have your own pump.

It's best to purify the water before storing also, for that you can just use a market filter like brita or something similar. As far as purifying water from other sources, I wouldn't drink water that has been subject to nuclear waste regardless of the tablets I had to "clean" it with, unless I was already in the process of dying. It's just not worth the risk IMO, which is why storing water is the best thing to do. However in the case there's no chance the water is nuked, there's plenty of tablets and other methods or purifying water. Some can be as simple as boiling it, this can also depend on where the water came from.

Just a note on stored water, try to put some water in easy to grab n go containers encase you have to defect from your safe place you can take at least some water with you.

You will find the best info searching this forum or by reading survival guides and ebooks, a lot of water information is covered because it is so very important to survival. You can go a long time without food but you absolutely cannot go without water in any situation.


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## JeepHammer (Oct 10, 2008)

bunkerbob said:


> Hello JeepHammer, what make and model of hand pump do you have. My well gets water at 80-120-220 feet, pretty deep like yours. The well head has a 1" plug on top for access.


I have a Shurflow pump now, but when I go to a larger pump, it will be a Grundfos pump.
They are just better made and last a lot longer.

When I put this in, getting the well drilled was SUPER EXPENSIVE, and I about lost my mind when the bill came in,
So I cut some corners when I set up the pump.

Most wells are 6" or 8" diameter, I had a 12" well drilled so I could use a manual lift pump along side the usual electric pump.

Your well cap should be removable, at some point they will have to clean the well out (Sediment) so there is usually a flat cap at the top so they can get the suction hose down in there,

I just drilled a 1.5" hole in the cap and inserted a manual pump (my well is under roof now, so the hole in the cap isn't a big thing).

The had pump is at 35' and the electric pump is at 150' so I don't have much issue with lack of water!
(I drilled deep, 300', because I didn't know how much flow I was going to get in the well or how much water we will use when I move out there full time)
---------------------------------------

As for 'Nuked'....
Not likely to happen in any event.

I'm more concered with the quality of the 'City' water I have in town now...
A 5 stage RO filter to make it 'Drinkable' and remove rust from 150 year old water lines,
Farm run off (animal waste), farm chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fuel, oil, ect.), and the use of lead pipes and seals in much of the old water system is more what I think someone should condition water for.

I live in 'Farm Country', but around cities, industrial waste is just as important.
And since most smaller municipalities pump water from local wells,
Instead of using aquifers like larger cities do,
Anything anyone has dumped in the area in the last 400 years can haunt you...

Water storage should be geared towards ACTUAL things that can happen...
In order of likely hood.

1. Water Main Break close to your home/work.
This lets ground contaminants directly into your drinking supply,
*IF* you have enough water pressure to get anything out of the Tap!

Water storage in this case would mean the difference between rationing while waiting for relief water to show up.
Since you will EVENTUALLY get some potable water imported, some stored water will hold you over, and will cut down on the running back and forth for the 'Clean' source.

2. Natural Disaster.
Lightening strike on the treatment plant,
Tornado/Hurricane tearing up the water plant or water towers,
Earthquake breaking water lines and downing electric lines to water treatment plant,
Flooding of water treatment plant, ect.

See #1.
You will EVENTUALLY get relief from government/relief agencies,
But some stored water would relieve you from having to make as many trips and put up with what will be long lines.

3. REALLY LARGE SCALE DISASTERS...
Super Volcano, Asteroid impact, Radiation Fallout Zone, ect.

In this case, you would be on your own, and if you were in an effected area, you would be MUCH better off moving out to safe area than shelter in place with limited resources.
--------------------------------------------

In any case,
A good water filter (NOT one of those dinky pitcher filter types) will trap most particles that carry things like disease, heavy metals, radiation would be advised.

Chemicals can be trapped in most cases with a activated carbon filter,
The really small biologicals (Viruses) are trapped with a 'Membrain' filter...
Or with medical grade UV lights if you have a power source.
-----------------------------------------------------

With my move to the 'Boonies', I used sand barrel for trapping the bigger stuff, 
Charcoal filter for chemical removal,
And UV light for biologicals since we were drawing out of a lake.

The water was tested several times, and it passed with flying colors where my 'City' water would fail every time...

Our 'City' water is actually several times under minimum 'Safe' standards according the federal government guidelines,
So we have a big honkin' 5 stage filter on the 'City' water to make it 'Safe' and better tasting...


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

JeepHammer said:


> I have a Shurflow pump now, but when I go to a larger pump, it will be a Grundfos pump.
> They are just better made and last a lot longer.
> 
> When I put this in, getting the well drilled was SUPER EXPENSIVE, and I about lost my mind when the bill came in,
> ...


My 250' well cost about $15,000 total. I have a 1 1/2hp 220vac Grundfos Gold deep well pump that runs off of the SW4024 Xantrex inverters which provide the 220vac. It only runs 1 1/2 hours a day to keep the water tanks full. Then I use a 24vdc Flowlight booster pump for pressure to the house.
What brand manual hand pump did you install.


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## JeepHammer (Oct 10, 2008)

bunkerbob said:


> My 250' well cost about $15,000 total. I have a 1 1/2hp 220vac Grundfos Gold deep well pump that runs off of the SW4024 Xantrex inverters which provide the 220vac. It only runs 1 1/2 hours a day to keep the water tanks full. Then I use a 24vdc Flowlight booster pump for pressure to the house.
> What brand manual hand pump did you install.


Grundfos is superior in every since of the word to what I have...
I've had to rebuild it about once a year since I got it, and I'm not happy with it at all...
It will do until I start living out there or raising livestock out there,
but it's on my list of things to change REAL SOON!

I don't think the hand pump has a 'Brand'.
It was made by the Graber metalworking up in the Amish country.
VERY good pump so far,
Pump is at the bottom of the shaft, which was a PAIN to get in the hole without dropping it before we screwed the head on it!
It's all stainless, and I like that part!
Brass bushings in the wear points,
Ran me about $350, but worth every penny!

I'm running on 12 Kyocera panels right now, but I have room for 48 on the mount.
When I'm actually running a farm out there, I might need that much, and since the panel mount is an old house trailer frame, the extra space is free.

I though that old house trailer frame was a stupid idea when I first came up with it,
But it allows me sun tracking which REALLY increases my production, 
Up to 40% sometimes!

I'm also planning a barn that will have PLENTY of roof space for panels, both PV and Thermal.
Doesn't make sense to put the thermal way out by the pump house/power house and try to pipe it all the way to the house,
But AC current is EASY to transport to the house, 
So the PV panels and their motors, pump motor, and wind generator are all out at the pump house to keep noise down,
And nice quite Thermal panels will adorn the house roof when it's rebuilt.
Maybe the garage also.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

Thanks for the info, looks like you have or will have a nice setup.:earthhug::2thumb: for off-grid living, I will never go back.


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## JeepHammer (Oct 10, 2008)

We'll be completely 'Off Grid' when it's done.
The only thing I will miss is high speed internet, 
But since I have access to a T3 line all day when I'm in my office, it shouldn't be too bad.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

JeepHammer said:


> We'll be completely 'Off Grid' when it's done.
> The only thing I will miss is high speed internet,
> But since I have access to a T3 line all day when I'm in my office, it shouldn't be too bad.


 I have a Verizon wireless broadband card, use an external antenna and booster for out here in the country, just checked it with Speakeasy Speed test, 1.59 Mbps download and .53 Mbps upload, not bad. Of course this is for my laptop, use this because we are off-grid. Nearest cell tower is about 15-20 miles away.


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## JeepHammer (Oct 10, 2008)

bunkerbob said:


> I have a Verizon wireless broadband card, use an external antenna and booster for out here in the country, just checked it with Speakeasy Speed test, 1.59 Mbps download and .53 Mbps upload, not bad. Of course this is for my laptop, use this because we are off-grid. Nearest cell tower is about 15-20 miles away.


I'll have to check it out when I get out there,
Right now, until the new house is finished, I'll be in town with wires to get me online.


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## cattchels (Apr 8, 2010)

Municipal water supplies use power to clean the water, right? So if the power is out, how long before the clean water is depleted? It doesn't seem like it'd be very long.


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## Bigdog57 (Oct 9, 2008)

I'd worry more about Municipal Water shutting down completely, rather than 'bad' water - but there have been times when my water gets yellowish, cloudy and even sandy - it happens when they are working on the line somewhere and had the water shutdown. Running it for awhile usually cleans it up. 
Not a problem, as I keep a couple months supply stored.

I do need a well though......


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