# Storing water..



## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

*There was a thread about storing water a while back and I thought I'd post a e mail I got from a friend in a local small prepper group here, I found this interesting...hope it helps some of you..I sure didn't know this!

These Dooms Day Preppers get all wrapped up in saving food but may forget about water. The year we lived in the woods outside of Fairfield, we had an ice storm that knocked out our electricity for three days. A neighbor lost his for three weeks. We couldn't get water out of our well. I have been very aware of maintaining a reliable source of water ever since.

Everyone, even those living in the city should develop a plan for their water. When that hurricane wiped out New Orleans, people were wading waist deep in water contaminated with sewerage. Remember, you can live three weeks without food, but only three days without water. Bleach works well in purifying water, but it degrades at 20% a year. I had several gallons put away till I learned this. It was over five years old. All I had was several gallons of salty water. Fresh bleach is good to purify water however.
Check the label
1% hypochlorite present 40 drops per gallon
4 to 6% 8 drops per gallon
7 to 10% 4 drops per gallon
Mix thoroughly and let it stand for 30 minutes

Bring water to a rolling boil for 10 minutes and all the pathogens are killed. Water purification tablets can be purchased at most sporting goods stores.
Sodium Hypochlorite is better. It is the stuff you put in your swimming pool . It keeps well in the dry form, but not once mixed with water. Once mixed, It should be replaced every three months. Make a stock solution of a heaping teaspoon of 78% to two gallons of water. To disinfect water, add one part stock to 100 parts water. A box of the stuff from Wal Mart doesn't cost much and will last a lifetime.

When we moved here I bought two 1,500 gallon tanks from Tractor Supply and put them up on the hill. I built a 40" by 40' shop on top of them and every time it rains water from the roof flushes out the tanks and fills them with fresh, drinkable rainwater. Any time I lose electricity I need only move some valves and gravity will bring the water to the house. Most anyone can do something on a smaller scale by putting a couple of 50 gallon rain barrels under the down spout of the rain gutters of their house. One can order the barrels on line from one of those outfits that supplies survival foods for long term storage.

Just surviving on Pepsi Cola doesn't work. I get a back ache if I don't flush the kidneys out with water.
*


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## JoKing (Mar 11, 2012)

You got my brain moving a bit. Thanks for the info. 
I was poking around the web to see how much rainwater I could collect and found the following site with easy to follow formulas and information to use.


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