COMMON-SENSE WATER STORAGE

Copyright 2007 by Rocky Mountain Home Solutions/Jim & Lisa Rodgers (Owners of this eBay Store)

Water storage is a must anywhere, but especially in dryer climates like the American West -- in places such as Colorado, Utah, Arizona, parts of California, Wyoming, Nevada, etc., you’re far more likely to run out of water before you do food.  But you simply can’t store a year’s supply of water in a typical home.  There are LOTS of viewpoints and opinions on how to “properly” store water in the home…we advise readers to consult many sources and choose the strategy that is best for them.  Below is how we’ve approached our home water storage, and what we recommend to friends and family.

Our common-sense water storage solution plan has four dimensions, based on the concept of having multiple solutions and sources for emergency water supplies:

First, we bought three 55-gallon plastic food-grade water storage barrels.  We arranged our basement storage room so the barrels were tucked back into the least-used corner...and then placed some shelving over them to allow us to stack other (reasonably light items) on top, to maximize storage space. 

• At the bottom of this section is a picture of what our water barrels look like, filled and tucked into our storage room:

Combine that with what we could scavenge from our water heater and toilet tanks, this provides a sizeable, several weeks-long buffer for emergency situation where water supplies might be interrupted or tainted.  

o        We then pre-positioned accessories like barrel drain pumps and barrel-opening wrenches) nearby--in fact, we tied them to the wall studs with long, strong nylon cords so they couldn’t accidentally walk away. 

o        IMPORTANT:  ensure your water storage barrels are positioned near a drain source, or placed so you can run a hose to a nearby bathtub or sink, to facilitate draining when needed.  Also, you might consider having an extra water tap installed adjacent to your water barrels--makes filling and refilling a lot easier!

o        We have friends who bought and installed a 300-gallon water storage tank in their garage...it was big!!!  We’d love to do that too, but we simply don’t have the room for it.  If you do have the room, such a large water storage system provides great peace of mind in dry climates.

We treat all of our stored water (large or small containers, no matter what type) with the appropriate amounts of unscented household bleach. 

• For example, when storing water we insert 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water; ½ teaspoon of bleach per 5 gallons of water, or 5 teaspoons of bleach per 50 gallons of water, when we first fill up the cans or tanks. 
• This helps prevent algae or bacteria growth, but wait at least 48 hours after adding the bleach to the water, due to the odor, before you try to drink it. 
• We've never had any problems with this treatment regimen, but you also should consult sources such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website for any updated standards for purifying water.

Second, we know some emergency situations could require vacating our premises, or perhaps we'll need to transport some water to another location to share with friends or family members.  To meet this need, we bought several of the familiar, soft-sided five-gallon polyvinyl water containers (available on eBay, of course).  They have a large removable mouth closure for easy filling, but also a plastic spigot to allow controlled dispensing.  And, of course, these come in very handy for family or Scout camping trips.

o        Five gallon polyvinyl water containers are probably a better solution for apartment or condo dwellers...small enough to fit in various nooks or crannies within your home, but not so small that you create a huge burden when it comes time to change out the water (which you should do about once a year, in our opinion). 

• Again, we've included a picture of some of our 5-gallon water containers at the bottom of this section.  Note:  you can choose among several versions of such containers, from fairly firm-sided to very flexible and collapsible.  Choose the type that best fills your needs. 

Third, remembering that an average family simply cannot store enough water for a serious long-term supply, we invested in a portable (camping-style) water purification filtering systems.  Go for the largest-capacity and most comprehensive (e.g., removes Cryptosporidium, Giardia, bacteria, and viruses) purification filtering system your budget can afford, and don’t forget to buy LOTS of spare filters--!!! 

o        The need for spare filters may not be obvious.  Just remember, you’ll always need more water than your filtering systems can actually provide in an emergency system, because you’ll probably want to help family, friends and neighbors. 

o        Just as importantly, however, is that the filter manufacturers periodically change their designs....meaning you might not be able to get replacements if you don’t stock enough spare parts.

Fourth, we also bought a small supply of iodine-based water purification tablets, which we rotate every three years, due to short shelf lives.  Yes, some of these can make the treated water taste awful.  Yes, drinking too much of this type of treated water can unsettle your digestive system.  Still, we decided it was important to have one more line of defense for that all-important drinking water supply, and bad-tasting but pure water is far better than any impure water you can name!!!  Plus, in a pinch, these are the smallest and lightest possible form of water purification you can have—we think they’re worth the cost for peace of mind.

o        You can also use colloidal silver or Aerobic Stabilized Oxygen.  Each of these have pros and cons—make sure you understand what your water treatment tablets do, as well as what they cannot do. 

• Important Update:  We recently tried the Katadyn Micropur MP-1 Water Puriidation Tablets--and became instant converts.
• These are the broadest-acting, best-testing water purification tablets we've ever tried!!!  We're converting our own stores over to these tablets as our other brands are used or expire, and recommend you do the same! 

We also rotate our stored water at least every two years, and recommend at least once a year. 

•   We have seen websites that recommend changing out stored water once per year, and others that recommend only once every other year.  
•  It seems to us you ought to be pretty conservative in this area--protecting your water supply is important.

Finally, you should give ANY stored or purified water a smell and look before you actually drink it.  If it doesn’t seem quite right, it is far easier and better to boil or further purify it some other way, than to treat the potential resulting medical conditions. 

Whichever purification methods you choose, and no matter how you store your water, you MUST remember that YOU are responsible for ensuring the purity of YOUR stored water.  Should you ever be in dire need of water in an emergency, drinking tainted water can only make the situation worse!  So, take care, and ensure the purity of your water, especially during tense times. 

We hope you never need to use your water storage in a real emergency, but if you do, we hope you will have as much as you need, whenever you might need it!  And, if you have any ideas or experiences of your own to share, we’d love to hear about them at rockymtnhome@comcast.net.  Good luck!