Humans are made up of about 75% water. Start losing water and you begin to feel thirsty. If you lose more water, you feel lousy, run-down, irritable, etc. Lose enough and you die.
Depending on the weather, how hard you are working, and other conditions, you have about 3 to 5 days before you can die from lack of water.
Potable Water
One method to prevent this untimely death is to store potable water. Potable water is a term for water that you can drink and put in a pot to cook with. Examples of potable water are store-bought bottled water and properly treated water from your home’s faucets.
Storing water can be accomplished numerous ways.
The first is to throw money at the situation.
Basically, you and your family go to a local store and buy a few cases of bottled water, for each member of the family. You will need at least one gallon (4 liters) of water for each person; each day you are planning to have supplies for an emergency. Two examples: One person preparing for a 3 day emergency needs at least 3 gallons (12 liters) of water. A family of four would need 12 gallons (48 liters), for the same three day emergency.
Remember me writing about opinions. The United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says you should have supplies for at least three days. Some people advocate having enough supplies for at least two-weeks. Me, I suggest you and your family to store 30 to 60 days of water for each person, but this amount depends on how much space and how much money and effort you are willing to spend on storing water for your family.
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Various Plastic Bottles, Suitable for Water Storage
A second method of storing water is to save your money and use recycled containers. The preferred recycled containers are clear 1, 2, and 3 liter plastic soda bottles. These bottles work great; they’re easy to carry by almost everybody, rugged, and easy to obtain. You and your family can use other sizes, too, such as 16 and 20 ounce plastic soda bottles. You can also use colored plastic bottles; just make sure, the bottles only had water, soda, or juice in the bottles. Avoid using plastic milk jugs.
Don't believe me.
Take a water-filled milk jug and a filled 2-liter bottle, hold at head height, and drop. Make sure you do this outside on the concrete and backup real quick. Besides being fragile, used milk jugs are almost impossible to properly clean to use as a potable water container this includes those small 16 ounce chocolate milk plastic bottles, your children may drink.
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Plastic 5-Gallon Bucket with other possible Water Storage Containers
Another recycled container, you can use, for water storage is used 5-gallon buckets. Many different items come in these buckets such as cake icing, berries, pickles, sauces, and other food items. You can get these buckets from school cafeterias, bakeries, or grocery stores.
Do Not, Don’t, Never use buckets that have contained non-food items like asphalt, paint, oil, or cleaning chemicals. The same goes for buckets that you don't know what has been stored in the container.
Another used container for water is the 15, 30, or 55-gallon barrel. They come in a variety of colors. I try to stay with the blue, white or natural plastic colors for my family’s potable water storage, just because. Plus, these are usually the ‘food-safe’ colors.
Now, barrels come in two styles, closed-head and open-head. An open-head barrel, the top of the barrel comes completely off, and it has a large closing ring to hold the top on. A closed-head barrel has two small openings, usually about 3-inches in diameter, with screw in plugs.
If you and your family plan to store large amounts of water, I recommend using closed-head drums for your emergency water storage.
You can find used barrels at salvage stores and manufactures of food items like soda, salsa, and many others, just ask around. Remember, only use recycled containers that have had contained food items for your emergency water storage. New barrels can be found locally and from sources on the internet.
Choosing Water Storage Containers
The next step is to decide on what type of storage containers you are going to use. As I said, the #1 and #2 plastic, the recycle code found on the bottom of plastic containers, soda bottles are lightweight; anyone can carry one, even small children. 5-gallon jugs or buckets weight about 40 pounds (20 kilograms), and a 55-gallon barrel weights over 400 pounds (200 kilograms) when full.
I have found placing 2-liter bottles in cardboard boxes is a great way of storing water. The cardboard box allows me to easily stack the bottles and protects the water from light.
Some of the 5-gallon water jugs you buy at the sporting goods store have little stacking ridges on the top and bottom of the jug to allow them to be stacked one on top of the other.
The 55-gallon barrels allow me to store a lot of water, but once you decide where they will be stored and are filled, you usually have to empty the barrel before you can move it again.
The next method of storing water, you might choose, is bladders; they are flexible containers that hold anywhere from 30 ounces to thousands of gallons. Most people know about bladders because they drink wine in boxes, have used Camelbacks or Platypus bags for hydration during exercising, or bought the new flexible drink boxes. Current and former members of the military may have used large bladders during a deployment; these bladders probably held from 500 to 5000 gallons of potable water.
Yes, just like barrels, you set the larger bladders in place and don't move it until the bladder is empty. I tell you this because you could place a filled 25-gallon water bladder (weighing about 200 pounds or about 100 kilograms) under your bed; additionally, there are a couple of brands of bladders that will fit into a bathtub. These ‘bathtub’ bladders are filled during the early stages of an emergency.
Cleaning Plastic Containers for Potable Water
No matter which type of container, new or used, you use; you will need to clean the container and treat the water. Needless to say, new containers will only need rinsed out before filling.
To clean the used bottle, bucket, or barrel just rinse with tap water using a garden hose and spray nozzle or your kitchen faucet. Insure all solids and residue are removed from the inside and outside of the container, don't forget to clean the lids. If you use any soap, to clean the container, insure you rinse the container to remove any soap residue, before filling with water.
Some people suggest using a power washer for cleaning your larger potable water containers, especially 55-gallon barrels that have held concentrated soda syrup.
I disagree!
Unless it is a brand new, never used power washer, unknown chemicals such as soaps, waxes, degreasers, or other cleaners may have been used in the power washer.
To clean the residue soda taste from used 55-gallon barrels. I have found rinsing several times then filling the barrel with tap water and letting the barrel sit for a few weeks then emptying then rinsing and filling again helps remove the soda taste.
Pretreating Potable Water for Storage
You will also need to pretreat your storage water. To treat the water, I use unscented chlorine bleach. Clorox brand bleach with at least 5.25% sodium hypochlorite has been the standard for years, but Clorox changed the formula. I now use a different brand, but it still has at least 5.25% hypochlorite with no scents or soaps. You will have to read the label to find this information.
Using bleach, which is newly purchased, with at least 5.25% hypochlorite, to treat your water.
4 drops per liter/quart
An example: one 2-liter bottle gets 8 drops of bleach
1 teaspoon/5 mL per 5 gallons
An example: one 5 gallon bucket gets 1 teaspoon of bleach
1/4 of a cup/50 mL per 55 gallon barrel
An example: A 25 gallon barrel gets 1/8 of a cup of bleach
The above recommendations are used to treat the potable water for storage. Some people will tell you it is unnecessary to treat tap water for storage. Remember my advice on opinions.
Storage water should be rotated at least once a year. Rotating insures that you have a reasonably fresh supply of water. I like to do this in the summer. It is warm outside and there is extra chlorine in our municipal water supply (tap water) during that time of the year.
Storing Water
All of your stored water should be placed on pallets. Pallets allow air to circulate around you storage items. For water, the pallets will allow you to see if a container is leaking.
As preppers, a leaking water container is a catastrophic event, so as you are deciding where to place your water storage, you need to determine where any potential water will go, if the container falls over or the container fails in some way, splits, starts to leak, or some other catastrophe.
Needless to say, you want to prevent the spilled water from harming other preparedness supplies, your home, or family mementos, such as long-term food storage in cardboard boxes, finished basement walls, family photos, or other valuables.
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Plastic Closed-Head 55-Gallon Barrels,
used for water storage, on a Wooden Pallet
If you use premade pallets, from shipping companies or work, you need to put something between the pallet and the water container because some pallets are coated with harmful chemicals. I place a piece of cardboard, with a layer of aluminum foil over the cardboard, on the pallet before placing my bottles and barrels of water on the pallet, to protect the barrels from possible contamination from the pallets.
Your stored water should also be stored in a cool, dry, and dark place, protected from freezing. The cool and dry place isn’t so important; it just prohibits the growth of algae on the outside of the container. Plus, your water containers won’t ‘sweat’ causing water to pool, from condensation, under the pallets and causing you to think the containers are leaking.
Protecting your stored water from light and freezing is very important. Light, especially sunlight, will promote the growth of algae in your water, even if you have pretreated it, with chlorine bleach. To protect you stored water from light; you can store it in opaque containers, such as 30-gallon blue barrels, 5-gallon white buckets, or military water jugs. You can also store your transparent one-liter and two-liter bottles in cardboard boxes. Lastly, you can cover the water containers with a blue tarp to protect them from sunlight.
Your family will also have to protect your stored water from freezing. Not so much to protect the water but to protect the water storage containers. Freezing and light, especially sunlight, will cause damage to your containers. Freezing water will expand and possibly split the sides of the container. Sunlight, over time, will also cause the plastic water storage container to weaken and possibly split, sending gallons of water where you probably don’t want the water and that brings up my last point on storing water.
Either way, if you are going to store water in a 15, 30, or 55-gallon barrel, you will need a way to safely remove the water, remember 120 to 400 pounds of water depending on the size of the container!
Water Pumps
One pump, the least expensive, is the siphon pump which is a piece of plastic hose with a small colored finger pump on top to start the siphon. There is a faucet pump; it looks like a faucet with a push down handle. This pump screws into one of the opening on top of the barrel. The last one I know about is the pitcher pump. The type you see next to the sink in historic rural homes.
Faucet Pump and Siphon Pump
If you don't get a pump, you can siphon from the barrel using a length of garden hose. To make a siphon hose, cut a piece of garden hose about 8 to 10 feet long. To use, place one end of the hose in the barrel and suck on the other end. When the water starts to flow, quickly move the end you were sucking on to a container on the floor. Make sure you put the running water in another clean container like a bucket. If you plan to do this, make sure you practice, and you have a dedicated piece of water hose for using to siphon water out of your family’s water containers.
Collecting Water
Sooner or later, during an event, your stored water may run out, so you and your family will need to collect water to survive. There are many ways to collect water, solar stills, plastic sheets catching rain, dedicated rain catchment systems, etc. I will write about a few of them. When you visit this chapter's 'Additional Articles' page, you will find other unique methods of collecting water.
In Your Home
One method of collecting water is to collect water from sources within your home. These sources are your hot water heater, toilet tank (not the toilet bowel), and the water pipes.
To collect water from your hot water heater, turn off the heating element (electric or gas) and your water at the main shut-off. Let the water cool; it can be hotter than 120°F. Once the water heater has cooled, open the hot water tank’s spigot and catch the water in a clean container.
I also most forgot. Some folks’ water heater will have sediment in the bottom of the hot water heater, so you may need to have two clean containers. The first to catch the water with a lot of sediment, and a second bucket, so you can switch, once the water runs clear from the water heater.
To drain the water from your pipes, turn off the main water shut-off valve, then open a faucet at the highest point in the house. Find the lowest water spigot in the house and open, allowing the water to run into a clean bucket or other clean container. You can also use this method to protect your home’s water pipes if you and your family lose heat during the winter
Waterbed
If you have a waterbed, too bad, the plastics and chemicals used make the water non-potable (can't put in a pot to cook with or drink it, the opposite of potable), however; you can still use this water to flush your toilets, water your plants, wash your car, or other non-potable uses. With that said, in an extreme emergency, you may be able to treat the water, but there is only one way, I think, you will be able to treat this water. You will have to construct a water condenser or distiller.
The waterbed's water is removed and the water is heated. The water evaporates leaving behind the chemicals as water vapor is produced. The water vapor condenses on a piece of glass, smooth metal, or plastic sheeting. The water runs down the collector and is collected in a clean bucket or other container, this set-up is similar to a solar still.
In the Wilderness
Depending on the emergency, you and your family will need to collect water from outside sources, such as rivers, lakes, and stream.
Solar Still
Solar stills are a classic method of collecting water. You have probably seen a solar still in most survival manuals. You dig a hole, about one foot to two feet deep. Put a container to collect water in the bottom of the hole, and then form a piece of plastic sheeting into an inverted cone that covers the hole. Small stones or dirt hold the plastic’s edges close to the dirt, sealing the solar still. As the sun shines, it heats the wet ground and evaporates water that collects on the plastic. The water very slowly runs down the plastic and drips into the cup.
The survival manual usually forgets to tell you about the small stone (pierres) and the plastic tubing (tuyau). The small stone is placed on the bottom of the plastic (film plastique) to hold the plastic in a cone shape over the cup. The length of clean tubing, rated for potable water sits in the cup and runs out from under the solar still’s sheet of plastic. This set up allows you to drink the collected water without disturbing the solar still.
Solar stills work, but you have to remember; you are looking to produce one gallon of water a day, just for you. I have heard it takes about 20 of these solar stills for one person to have enough water for one day.
The solar still can be supercharged by urinating into the hole, avoid peeing into the drinking cup, adding green plant material in the bottom of the hole, or putting non-potable (can't put in a pot to cook with or drink it, the opposite of potable) water in the hole before covering with the plastic.
If you supercharge the solar still, insure the non-potable water or plants never touch the plastic. If it does, the water collected may become contaminated.
I can't urge you enough. Don't contaminate your clean equipment and potable water. One drop of non-potable or dirty water can cause severe medical problems.
A modified method is skipping the hole and just putting green plant material in a plastic bag. Set the bags in the sun and water will form on the plastic. If you use this method, make sure you use food-grade bags and avoid poisonous or harmful plants like Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac.
Rain
Another method of collecting water is from rain. There are many methods for collecting rain from complex, such as a dedicated rain catchment system on your family’s home or one of your outbuildings, like a shed or barn, to as simple as a blue tarp in a shallow hole.
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A blue tarp tied to Four Poles, forming a “U”, with a Bucket to catch Rain Water
The simplest method is putting out plastic sheeting just before a rain shower. The rain collects in the plastic and you put the collected rain in a container. If everything is clean, before you start, you don't have to treat the water, maybe. Remember about opinions. I have used this method. I didn't get sick, but maybe you will.
As I said earlier, collecting rain water can be very complex. For those families planning on a long-term event, you and your family may want research, build and install a dedicated rain water catchment system. The states of Hawaii and Texas have excellent rain catchment manuals.
Surface Water
Water, that comes from streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, and puddles; yes, puddles; is known as surface water. You and your family probably already have a couple of ideas on how to collect surface water. You can use buckets, bowls, cups, and anything else that will hold water, even a washcloth. There is an exception; don’t use containers that have held non-food items because the water could become contaminated, from that oily jug.
No matter what, you and your family will have to filter the water to get it ready for treatment.
Filtering Water
There are a couple of methods of treating your family’s collected water, ultraviolet light, chemicals, or boiling the water. Either method, you use, will require your family to obtain the cleanest water possible. If you use rain water, it is already clean enough, to start treating. Surface water will need to be cleaned before being treated either using an improvised filter or a purchased water filter.
Settling Water
No matter which type of filter your family will use, you will need to settle the water. To settle cloudy or dirty water, you and your family pour the water into a clean container and wait. Over the next few hours or days, the sand, dirt, grit, and other material will settle to the bottom of the container. Any floating material will need to be picked out with your clean hands, netted, or dipped out with a clean spoon or ladle. Once the water has settled, you either, very carefully pour the clear water into another clean bucket or dip the water out of the bucket with a cup or pitcher.
Water Filters
After you have settled the water, you will need to filter the water. Your family can use two methods, an improvised or commercially available water filter.
To create an improvised filter from commonly available material, you will need a handkerchief, bath towel, t-shirt, or other filter material such as coffee filters. The cloth is stacked, or folded, layer by layer to create multiple layers of cloth. Once that is finished, you pour the water through the layers of cloth and catch the clear water in an appropriate container. The water should come out reasonably clear. If the water does not come out clear, you will need to increase the layers of cloth.
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An Improvised Cloth Filter (made from a towel and t-shirt) Covering a Two Quart Pot
To maintain the filter, you will need to rinse out the improvised filter every so often with clear water or replace the dirty material with clean cloth when the water starts to come out dirty, again.
If you and your family decide to purchase a water filter, you will want to shop around. As you look, you will find there are two classes of filters, base camp and portable. The base camp water filters are bulky. They usually have multiple filter elements producing many gallons of water, each day. Base camp water filters are great for your home or long-term events. Portable water filters are small, easily carried in a backpack. These filters are usually used to produce about a gallon of water, every day. Portable water filters would be used, if your family is traveling or during a short-term event
Which portable and basecamp filters are the best?
The best portable filter, in my opinion, is the Katadyn Pocket filter. It has problems, but it filters almost everything, for a price. The filter has a great capacity, and it’s cleanable.
The best, once again in my opinion, base camp filter is the Katadyn Drip Ceradyn. The Swiss designed it, manufactured it, and tested it. They planned to use the filter to help survive a nuclear war.
Need I say more?
Second up is the British Berkefeld filter. It works on the same principle, but doesn't filter as well as the Katadyn filter, according to test results. There is a similar filter manufactured by AquaRain.
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Katadyn Pocket Filter with equipment (left) and AquaRain Water Filter with Spare Filters (right)
If you don't want to spend the money to buy a complete Ceradyn or a Berkefeld base camp-type filter, you can jerry-rig a work around which I will discuss in this chapter’s appendix C
Next, after your family has filtered the collected water, using either an improvised method or a commercially available water filter, you have clean water but not drinkable water. To get potable water, you must treat it to kill microorganisms that could make you and your family sick, like E. coli
Water Treatment
Boiling Water
The easiest and hardest method of purifying water (making it safe to drink) is to boil the filtered water. It is the easiest because all you have to do is heat the water, to a vigorous rolling boil, for one minute. It’s the hardest because you must provide the fuel; wood, paper, or other flammable material; to heat the water to a rolling boil for one minute.
For folks living in the mountains or planning to evacuate to the mountains, your family will need to boil the filtered water longer for it to be safe to drink.
How long?
These United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends boiling water for three minutes if you are above 6,562 feet (greater than 2000 meters) to have safe drinking water
Chemicals
In the past, there were three main chemicals for preppers to treat their water, chlorine, iodine, and potassium permanganate. In the last few years, one has been removed for general water treatment by preppers.
Chlorine
We know it as bleach. Its chemical name is sodium hydroxide, the active ingredient in household laundry bleach, and it is the best method for water treatment, with limits.
To use sodium hydroxide, for water treatment, you and your family need to purchase laundry bleach with at least 5.25% sodium hydroxide in the bleach. The bleach should have none, nada, absolutely zero scents, softeners, dyes, or other ingredients. Plus, the bleach should be as new as possible because household bleach will lose its effectiveness as it gets older.
Once you have the bleach, you add the appropriate amount to your clean water. After, adding the bleach, the water needs to sit for thirty minutes.
After, sitting for thirty minutes, the water should smell slightly of bleach. If it doesn’t, your family can add another dose of chlorine bleach, one more time. If the water fails to smell slightly of bleach, a second time, it has to be thrown out or used as non-potable water.
Iodine
There are two methods for treating your water with iodine. The first method is using store-bought iodine tablets from the local sporting goods or backpacking store. You can also find iodine tablets on the internet from such retailers as R.E.I., Cabela’s, or other on-line sources. If you use commercially available iodine tablets, you will need to follow the tablet’s directions.
The second method is using commonly available tincture of iodine to treat your family’s clean water. These tinctures can be found at your local pharmacist with such names as Iodine Topical Solution (2%), Iodine Tincture (2%), Lugol’s Solution, and Providone-Iodine (better known as Betadine®).
Just like chlorine bleach, tincture of iodine requires a specific number of drops per liter.
Needless to say, if you or any family members are sensitive to iodine, are pregnant, or have thyroid problems, your family will not be able to use iodine for water treatment. Plus, the CDC recommends only using iodine for a few weeks.
Potassium Permanganate
In the past, potassium permanganate was used by the British armed forces in their survival kits to treat water. It is still used in municipal water treatment to remove iron and manganese. Needless to say, it doesn’t work very well to remove or destroy harmful microorganisms from your family’s water.
Ultraviolet Light and Sunlight
Some preppers are preparing for events where they will lose electrical power long-term, such as long-term power outages, rolling brown-outs or coronal mass ejections (CMJ), so their families will avoid all advanced technology. Other preppers may decide to use that same advanced technology.
For those preppers that may embrace technology, ultraviolet light will help treat their family’s water.
Steripen
The Steripen is a battery power water purifier that produces ultraviolet light to treat clean water. For those folks sensitive to iodine, the Steripen is an effective alternative for water treatment in the wilderness.
To use the Steripen, the cleanest water possible is placed in a canteen, bottle, or other container. The Steripen is activated, placed in the water, and used to stir the water. After the Steripen has exposed the clean water to its ultraviolet light, the water is safe to drink. If you are interested in using a Steripen to treat your water, a link is provided at this chapter's 'Additional Resources' page.
Your home can also be fitted with an ultraviolet water treatment system; however, your family will need a reliable power source for a home system.
Clear Plastic Bottles (SODIS)
Remember all those clear plastic bottles that you and your family collected for potable water storage? Well, there is a low-tech method (if you consider #1 plastic bottles low-tech) to treat your family’s water using sunlight. It is called SODIS, solar disinfection.
To use this method: you need to acquire a couple of clean glass or plastic bottles with the labels removed from the bottle and with few to no scratches. Next, you fill the two-liter or smaller bottle, three quarters full with water. This water should be clean enough to be able to read a couple of words from a newspaper. Next, you place the cap on the bottle, shake for about thirty-seconds, then remove the cap, and fill the bottle completely full. Third, replace the bottle’s cap and lay the bottle on its side in a very sunny spot. The water filled bottle must remain in the sun for at least six-hours. After the water has been exposed to the sun, for at least six-hours, it is safe to drink.
There are a few ways to improve this method. First, you can place the filled bottle on an angled surface, so the side of the bottle is aligned with the sun. Next, the angle surface should be shiny, so it reflects the sunlight back through the bottle, intensifying the sunlight’s effect. If you don’t have a shiny, angled surface, you and your family can mold aluminum foil, on the bottle’s bottom side, and lay it at an angle on a mound of dirt. Lastly, you and your family can filter the water to make it as clean as possible.
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Two 2-Liter Bottles of Water lying in the Sun with shiny foil (left) reflecting sunlight
and one bottle without (right)
If you and your family decide to use this method, I can’t emphasize enough, your plastic bottle must be as clear as possible. Same goes for the water. Any dirt, even a speck of dust can hide enough microscopic organisms to cause deadly diseases.
Non-Potable Water
By now, you and your family know that non-potable water is undrinkable; it can’t be placed in a pot to cook with, used for washing your hands, or given to your pets for drinking, either.
But, …
Non-potable water may be necessary for your family. You can use non-potable water to flush your toilets during an event, if the sewer system is still intact. Your family can use this water, if it isn’t oily or has harmful chemicals in the water, to water your lawn or garden. Lastly, you and your family can use non-potable water to stop fires before they spread to endanger your family or your supplies.
Expedient sources of non-potable water, that your family may already have, are swimming pools, water beds, or local bodies of waters. For families thinking about storing non-potable water, you could use my family’s technique, 55-gallon barrels. These barrels are marked with “Non-Potable Water” and stored away from our potable water to prevent any confusion.
Appendix A: Common Mistakes
Before I begin, I can’t emphasize enough, water is the most important item you and your partner should acquire for your family before an event.
So, …
To me, the most common mistake is not storing enough water. After shelter, water is the most important item for you and your family’s survival, so I would store more water than you need. If you are planning for a three day event, I would store six days of water, just in case.
Yes, I know the United States’ government recommends only having three days of water on hand for an emergency, but a two-week supply is achievable for most families, especially stored in 15, 30 and 55-gallon plastic barrels.
The next common mistake is not having the means or knowledge to treat water, during an emergency. Yep, people don’t learn the simple methods of treating water using chlorine bleach or learn how to effectively boil water for one-minute.
Lastly, another common mistake is thinking that clean potable water will always be available from your home’s faucets. We have seen time and again, small, medium, and large cities producing low-quality water than leaving their citizens to cope with the problems this substandard water may cause to their health.
So, …
When you and your family have the money available, your family should purchase, at least, two Katadyn Ceradyn Drip filter elements, Berkefeld’s filter elements, or filter elements manufactured by AquaRain because a water plant malfunction, city financial crisis, or other technological disaster may cause your city to produce less than adequate water for your family, in the future.
Appendix B: Other Information
Making a Drop from a Table Spoon
During an emergency, you and your family may not have a dropper to place eight drops of chlorine bleach into a 2-liter bottle. You can improvise a dropper by using a tablespoon.
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Drop of Chlorine Bleach formed with a spoon
First, pour chlorine bleach into the spoon filling the spoon. Next, slowly tilt the spoon towards the front or side until one drop falls into the two-liter bottle. Continue until eight drops have been added to the two-liter container.
Make a Funnel out of a One or Two-liter Plastic Bottle
Take a sharp knife or razor blade and cut around the outside of the plastic bottle. Ta Da! You have a funnel to fill smaller containers from larger containers. Needless to say, you will need to clean (the former plastic bottle) funnel before you use it, to prevent contaminating your potable water.
Make and Use a Siphon from a Length of Garden Hose
Before I begin, some people will, rightly so, point out that most garden hoses are unsuitable for potable water. They are right, so you and your family should purchase a potable water hose, made for travel homes to hook up to a campground’s water spigots, before an event.
To find these hoses, search on-line or in the telephone book for travel trailer dealers or suppliers. I have found potable water hoses at my local China-Mart. They are usually on sale, at a deep discount, after the camping season.
If you can’t find or don’t want to purchase a potable water hose that’s O.K., too. You and your family probably wouldn’t be harmed from a used garden hose that has been in the family since you bought the hose.
A used hose that you bought at a flea market, from your neighbor, or salvaged from a charity shop should be considered unusable because you don’t know what that hose has been used for. Needless to say, during an emergency, any hose that doesn’t smell like motor fuel or is found in someone’s home should be considered safe to use for a siphon hose. Remember, watch those opinions.
With that said, you can use any garden hose to make a siphon. First, you need to determine how long you need the siphon to be. If you are using it to siphon water out of a 55-gallon barrel, the hose should be about 8 to 10 feet long. Next; using a sharp knife, pair of scissors, hatchet, hacksaw, or other cutting instrument; cut the hose to the length you need. That’s it.
To use the siphon, take one end (try to use the same end, so you don’t contaminate the water with your spit from the hose’s other end) and place it in the water. To save yourself time from having to move the siphon deeper into the barrel, place the end all the way to the bottom of the barrel.
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Water Barrel with Siphon Hose and Bucket
Next, find a smaller container that you will be filling from the larger barrel. Place this container next to the barrel. Next, holding the other end, place your lips on the exposed end and suck.
What you are trying to do is fill the siphon with water. Once the hose is filled with water, you quickly bring the hose down and place that end in your smaller container. The water should continue to flow from the water in the hose, falling, creating a suction effect, and pulling more water out of the barrel.
To stop the siphon from flowing; lift the end of the hose, high enough, to allow all of the water to flow back into the barrel.
Needless to say, this is a skill that needs to be practiced by you and your family because there can be problems. Most of these problems are the siphon won’t flow. If the siphon doesn’t flow, you may need to reposition the hose. Next, you will need to suck on the hose, again; filling the siphon with water, again; then bend the siphon hose (close to the end your sucking on) to keep the water from flowing back into the barrel.
Another similar problem, the siphon quits flowing. There are a couple reasons for this problem. First, the water barrel may not be high enough or the smaller bucket may not be low enough. Remember, the water flowing through the hose creates a suction effect. If the suction isn’t powerful enough, the water won’t flow. Next, the siphon may have holes in the hose. The holes will allow air to enter the hose, preventing a suction from forming.
Lastly, you may need to treat the water because the hose was contaminated, your mouth has contaminated the end of the hose, or the bucket may be ‘dirty’ contaminating the water, too.
Boiling Water with a Piece of Plastic
First, you need to build a fire.
Next, place rocks that you can easily lift with a forked stick or two sticks into the fire. Make sure the rocks were collected from a place that does not hold water or is covered with water. The rocks will explode if taken from a stream, river, pond lake, or puddle.
Let the rocks heat for a while.
While the rocks are heating, dig a hole then line the hole with a piece of plastic. Next, fill the plastic-lined hole with water that has been allowed to settle and has been cleaned.
Once the rocks have been heated; take the rocks out of the fire with the sticks. Be careful, the rocks are very Hot!
Place the rocks in the water, and step back real quick. Once the rumbling has stopped the water should be boiling hot.
Make sure the hot rocks do not touch the plastic sticking out of the water. It will melt the plastic. The reason the hot rock doesn't melt the plastic, below the waterline, is because the boiling water keeps the rock off the plastic until the rocks have cooled.
Flavorings
Drinking plain water can become boring, especially for younger members of your family. To help them, and you, to drink enough water, you want to store some drink mixes like Kool-Aid, Crystal-Lite, Propel, Gatorade, and hot chocolate.
Various Flavorings for Your Family’s Water Supply
We are not coffee drinkers, so we don't store coffee even for barter. If you are a coffee drinker, you might want to store some for yourself and other coffee drinkers in the family.
Primitive Methods of Finding Water
Some folks are planning to bugout. Depending on the threat, that might be a good or bad choice. Either way, you are going to have to have water, lots of water
Since water weighs 8.5 pounds (18 kilograms) a gallon, you can't carry all of your water for a multi-day trip, if you're walking, so you are going to have to find water on your journey.
Hopefully, you have preplanned routes, so you can get a map, ahead of time, for your route. These maps will show you ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers.
If the maps don't, you will have to find the stream, ponds, or lakes (before the event) then mark these water sources on your family’s maps. Once you know where these water features are located, you will be able to use them as you travel across the country.
Now, some folks aren't going to plan ahead, so they will have to find water on the way. You will have to use your observational skills to find water, then.
Streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes will be easy to find. You just look for low spots. Rivers and streams run in valleys, so you have to go downhill. Naturally occurring ponds and lakes will also be in low spots.
You can also find water in dry stream beds. To find water in a dry stream bed, you want to find the lowest spot in the stream bed. Usually the low spots are in the outside bends of the stream bed. Dig down until the dirt starts to become damp then stop. The hole will fill up with water. You want to wait and allow the silt and dirt to settle before dipping the water out of the hole.
During winter, some folks are planning to use snow and ice as a possible water source; this can be dangerous to your health. If you directly eat enough of the snow, it will dangerously lower your body’s temperature.
To use snow as a water source, the snow is melted before drinking. There are a couple of ways to do this. First, you can build a small fire to heat the snow and turn it into water. There is a problem with this method, though. It seems snow has to be pushed down, into the cup, as it’s heated because the snow sticks to the sides of a cup. Only the bottom of the snow will melt leaving the top unmelted.
Another method is using body heat to melt the snow for water. A container is filled with snow and placed under your coat. Your body heat will slowly melt the snow. You will have to add snow to the container as the snow melts to fill the bottle with water.
The last method is similar to using body heat. Once again, a container is filled with snow but the container is placed in a protected sunny spot. The sun warms the container, melting the snow.
Of course, ice doesn’t have snow’s characteristics of sticking to the container while it melts. Plus, most families have experience melting ice. If you don’t, get out there and practice melting ice to drink.
No matter the method you use obtaining water, as always make sure you treat the water, and visit the 'Additional Resources' page ....to learn more about finding water in the wilderness.
Appendix C: Two Methods of Making a Water Filter
Improvised Ceramic Filter System
First, you and your family need to acquire one, two, three, or even four Katadyn Ceradyn filters (the British Berkefeld filters also work) and three food grade buckets with lids. Next, label one bucket “Untreated/Dirty Water,” another bucket “Potable Water, Treated Water, or Clean Water” and the last bucket “Non-Potable/Dirty Water.”
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Three Food-Grade Buckets with Suggested Labels
Third, take the “Untreated/Dirty Water” bucket and drill one to four holes in the bottom of the bucket. (Depending on how many filters you are going to use) The holes should be the same size as the treads on the filters.
Place a tight gasket, provided with the filter, on the treads of the filter then screw the filters into the holes of the bucket. Some folks would suggest putting another gasket on the treads sticking through the bottom of the bucket then a washer to compress the gasket and then add a nut to tighten everything up. Of course, it depends on you and your family.
Next, drill holes in one of the lids. These holes must be large enough to allow the filters, with the nuts attached, to pass through without touching the lid.
After you have drilled these holes and attached the filters, place the “untreated/dirty water” bucket on the lid with the large holes and caulk where the bucket sits on the lid, using food-grade silicone caulk.
Let the caulking dry.
Fifth, place the lid and bucket combination on top of the “Potable Water, Treated Water, or Clean Water” bucket.
Lastly, you will also need to test the improvised ceramic filter system for leaks, before you use it!
Testing for Leaks
After you have built the improvised ceramic filter, pour about two-gallons of potable water into the top “Untreated/Dirty Water” bucket. Next, add two to four drops of dark food coloring, such as red or blue then mix with a long handled spoon.
Allow the colored water to sit and filter, just like any other untreated water.
After, half of the colored water has been filtered, check the bottom “Potable Water, Treated Water, or Clean Water” bucket. If you see any colored water, you have a leak that needs to be fixed.
Using the Improvised Ceramic Filter System
To use, the improvised ceramic filter system, fill the third bucket (Non-Potable/Dirty Water bucket) with dirty water and let the water settle. Pour the settled water into the top bucket; don't let the junk in the bottom of the third bucket fall into the “Untreated/Dirty Water” bucket.
When you are pouring the water into the top bucket, make sure you don't overfill the top bucket, it may overflow contaminating the lower “Potable Water, Treated Water, or Clean Water” bucket; additionally, only fill the top bucket halfway to three quarters full. This prevents the filtered water from touching the bottom of the top bucket and possibly contaminating the filtered water.
Once the non-potable (dirty) water goes through the filters, the water is almost ready to drink. As explained earlier, you and your family will need to treat the clean water with chlorine bleach or boil the water, before drinking it.
Of course, your family can have more than one bucket labeled “Potable Water, Treated Water, or Clean Water,” These multiple buckets, after proper water treatment, will allow you to treat and store more water potable water during an event. To do this, all you have to do is remove the top bucket with the caulked lid and cover the bottom bucket with the lid for that bucket. Next, replace the bucket with another “Potable Water, Treated Water, or Clean Water” labeled bucket.
To remove the potable water from the bucket, use a dipper or ladle to take water out of the potable water bucket. Never store the ladle or dipper in the potable water container; it needs to be stored in a separate and clean container. This prevents the dipper from contaminating the water. Additionally, when pouring water into a drinking container, such as a glass or canteen, don't let the water fall back into the water bucket because the water might get contaminated from a used glass or cup.
Some families may also modify the bottom (Potable Water, Treated Water, or Clean Water) bucket by adding a spigot to the bucket. To do this, drill the appropriate sized hole in the bottom side of the bucket and add the spigot, according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Slow Sand Filter
Another long-term method of treating your water is a slow sand filter; it is similar to the way most cities treat their water. To build a slow sand filter, you will need to obtain a large, 55-gallon barrel or larger, container. Next, you add layers of stones, gravel, charcoal, and sand. Once this is completed, water is added to the barrel.
Pretty simple, let’s discuss the details.
Build the Container
There are two methods to build the container for a slow sand filter. The first method is basically, a barrel with holes in the bottom and an open pan to collect the filtered water. This method is excellent because it is simple to improvise; however, the pan full of water can be easily contaminated by spilt dirty water, animals trying to drink from the pan, or leaves and grass falling into the water pan.
To build this container, usually using a 55-gallon barrel or larger container, numerous holes are created in the bottom of the barrel. These holes should be about nail hole sized. Your family can create these holes by drilling (using an electric drill and drill bit) boring the holes using a sharp knife, or carefully shooting the bottom with a rifle and cartridges, in an emergency.
These holes will allow the filtered water to flow through the filter. The slowly flowing water will be filtered and fill the pan, under the barrel. As the pan is filled, water is removed for drinking, cooking, and bathing with a clean ladle or cup.
The second method is a little more complicated to build and requires more equipment because it uses a length of tubing or pipe to collect the filtered water instead of an open pan. This method is safer because the filtered water is more difficult to contaminate.
First, you and your family will need to collect the required material. You will need a 55-gallon barrel, an eight-foot length of PVC tubing, a pipe cap, three 90-degree couplings, PVC pipe cement and primer, and a tube of silicon caulking.
Next, a hole barely larger than the PVC tubing is drilled in the bottom side of the barrel, not the bottom. The tubing is inserted into the hole and shoved all the way in, almost touching the other side. Place your hand, around the pipe protruding from the barrel (the outside) touching the barrel, and make a mark. Remove the tubing and cut the tubing at the mark.
Next, drill 1/8 inch holes into this piece of tubing. Make sure to clean the little pieces of plastic from the holes and inside of the tubing. Insert the tubing with holes into the barrel and glue the cap on the end inside the barrel.
Take a 90-degree coupling; glue it on the end, protruding from the barrel, pointing up.
After gluing that 90-degree coupling, place a piece of PVC pipe into the just glued 90-degree coupling, measure from the top of the 90-degree coupling pointing up, to the top of the barrel, come down two hand widths, and cut. Next, you glue this measured pipe to the first 90-degree coupling, pointing up.
Next, you will form a spout with the remaining PVC tubing by gluing a 90-degree coupling pointing away from the barrel. Add a short length of pipe, about a hand’s width. This piece of tubing is glued to the 90-degree coupling pointing away from the barrel.
The final 90-degree coupling is glued to the short length of PVC tubing making sure it points downward, forming a downward facing spout.
If you’re one of those people that don’t like to mess up, you can ‘dry-fit’ all the PVC tubing and couplings to make sure it’s right before gluing.
Lastly, the PVC tubing is caulked around the bottom hole, inside and out, sealing the tubing at the bottom of the barrel, preventing the water from leaking out of the slow sand filter.
Using either technique, after you have built the container, you will need to find and clean three to four different sizes of rock and some sand. How much of each size of rock and sand will depend on the size of your container.
Fill the Container
No matter which method you use to build the slow sand filter, filling the container with rocks, gravel, and sand are the same, almost.
If you are using a pan to collect the water, add the largest rocks. If you are using a pipe to collect the water, insert the pipe with pre-drilled holes then caulk. Next, add the largest rocks to the bottom of the container. As you add the largest rocks, insure the PVC pipe is protected from being crushed by the rocks by carefully placing the large rocks around the pipe. Also make sure the pipe is still sealed with caulking.
Next, add the second largest layer of rocks then the next layer of smaller rocks. Lastly, add the three to four inches of clean sand to the very top. The top layer of sand should be about six inches below the top of the barrel. Lastly, place a large rock; about the size of your two open hands, side-by-side; on the top of the sand. The large, flat rock prevents a depression being made, as you pour water into the slow sand filter.
Using the Slow Sand Filter
Once the slow sand filter is filled with rocks and sand, all you do is slowly fill the filter with the cleanest water possible by pouring water onto the large flat rock, on top of the sand. Of course, the first 55-gallons of water are discarded because the filter isn’t working yet.
Next, you are going to keep the slow sand filter full of water. To do this, add water as needed to always keep at least two inches of water covering the sand. This constant flow of water will allow living organic organisms to grow on the rocks, cleaning the water.
As the filter works, the PVC tubing that you installed will produce water for you and your family to drink. In all my research, the slow sand filter is the only method that no one suggests treating the water with chlorine bleach, iodine, boiling, or other methods. Remember, watch those opinions, and you may want to treat the slow sand filter’s filtered water with chlorine bleach, iodine, or by boiling.
Cleaning the Slow Sand Filter
There will come a time when the flow of water will decrease, so the slow sand filter will need to be cleaned. A simple cleaning will involve removing the layer of sand, at the very top. To do this, you will need to scoop the sand out of the filter and replace with clean sand.
A deep cleaning will be required when the water stops flowing through the filter. To do a deep cleaning, all the layers of rock and sand are removed, cleaned, and the slow sand filter refilled. Of course, discard the first 55 gallons of water like you did when the slow sand filter was first filled.
How the Slow Sand Filter Works
The top layer of sand removes the ‘big’ chunks of contamination. As the water flows into the lower layers of rock, a layer of microorganisms builds up. This layer of microorganisms removes contaminants from the water.
V
ariations to a Slow Sand Filter
There is one variation from Surfers Without Borders that I would like to mention. Surfers Without Borders suggests adding a layer of charcoal between the sand and rocks.
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