Drinking Water Storage for long term
November 16, 2010, Submitted by: Ken TweetPermalink
Long term water storage is priority-1 for most people looking to store survival preparedness items to protect themselves in a survival situation, and to provide some life insurance for an emergency or disaster.
The human body needs water before it needs food, and therefore water storage should be the first thing dealt with while building up some supplies for just-in-case.
Some people that live in earthquake prone regions are familiar with how to store water and food, and have already taken precautionary action for a scenario that will surely come to pass (but no one knows exactly when). Unfortunately not enough people in earthquake-country think about storing water, which could prove disastrous during the-big-one.
We currently live near two major earthquake faults in California (San Andreas and the Hayward fault), and like many of the other people that live here, are aware of the dangers of a major earthquake and the likely loss of utilities for a period of time afterward.
It isn’t just living near fault-lines that should prompt you to take action to store some water and food, there are many other scenarios where this would be wise action. It really is a sort of life insurance policy.
Drinking water containers and long term storage
There are lots of containers that could be used, including those that are specifically designed for the purpose of water storage (with convenient spouts, spigots, and water-tight seals). Whatever container you choose to use, just be sure that the material is food grade.
This particular long term water storage method I find to be convenient in a number of ways. It allows for various options of where and how to stack and store the containers, and is not too heavy to handle.
More specifically, 5 gallon buckets, food grade.
5 gallons of water weighs about 40 pounds and although heavy, it can be handled. 5 gallon buckets are stack-able! You could stack a fair number of them inside of a closet, a corner of the room, or down in the basement.
I use Gamma Seal lids
How to treat water for long term water storage
Here is a short video which shows how to properly treat the water prior to storage, which is very important to be sure that there is enough disinfectant (chlorine level) to prohibit bad things from growing. It is simple, but an important step to take.
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I think the most important to know, that you missed, is, “How long will this water stay safely drinkable”?
Best place to store?
To answer your question, what is the best place to store water… (Anyplace that is absent of light, away from excessive heat, and stored in a sealed ‘water safe’ container).
To answer your question, how long will this water stay safely drinkable… (Although the water will taste ‘flat’ after awhile, it will remain ‘safe’ so long as it is stored properly. That is the key – proper storage for longevity. The tiny bit of chlorine that is mixed in with the water (up to a maximum of 4 ppm) will break down when exposed to sunlight, so a dark container is important for longevity, or, storage in a dark environment. Water will last forever in a sealed container. If the water was safe going in, the water will be safe coming out, provided it is stored properly. To help with the ‘flat’ taste of old water, pour it back in forth from one container to another.
This i something that I need to be informed about. Have a couple of cases of Arrowhead bottled water that has gone beyond the expired date on the bottles. Water stored in plastic bottles are suppose to eventually become contaminated with the plastic from the bottles. I do not know if this is true.
I have thought of boiling the water as you would use each bottle, or as you say putting a drop or less of bleach in it. Or would it be better to pour the water through a good water filter that would catch any of the plastic contaminants that might have gotten into the water? Calling any water company would be fruitless as they would just want you to buy more water, and they don’t want to be sued for anything that would arise from their company’s water that was sold.
I am sure that there are other people that have forgotten about any water stored and it has gone beyond the expiration date and would also like to know this. If there is problems with plastic bottles then which brand of water filter will sift it out so the water is safe to use? Why do they stick a expired date on a sealed water bottle? Is this solely out of taste factor?
In my opinion, if you can ‘taste’ the plastic, discard the water. Generally speaking, you’re probably OK with the water in the plastic containers, but may be a bit more at risk if the water was stored in high temperature conditions. I know that water bottles (Arrowhead or other brand plastic water containers) left in the car where it gets pretty hot in the summer, will, after a while start to taste slightly ‘plastic’. That can’t be too good… The water itself won’t be bad, but, there may be some questionable toxins in the water that leached from the plastic. I believe that if this were really a bad or real problem, that we would have seen plenty of lawsuits by now in that area. I’m not aware of that at this time…