We can only survive about three days without drinking water (as compared with 3 weeks without food) so Water is a crucial part of emergency preparedness.
A few days ago, we looked at the per capita consumption of water in the home as about 25 gallons a day per person… This included drinking, cooking, cleaning, and toilet flushing…
Most water systems in the US are dependent on the electric power grid to operate. So, no power = no water pretty quickly…
In a survival situation, the bare minimum is 1 gallon per person per day. This would be used mainly for drinking and cooking. Cleaning and toilet flushing would need to be curtailed to the least possible usage.
In an emergency situation, you could possibly need up to 7 days supply. This is a good start. So, take the number of people you need to provide for and multiply by 7 and this will give you the number of gallons you need to get by. Just to be safe, you should probably double this number since it is likely that it will take a few days to really start conserving this precious resource.
As an example, for a family of 5 you would need 35 gallons, and doubling it would give you 70 gallons that you should store.
Storing water in empty 2 liter soda bottle is a great idea because it is portable and relatively earthquake proof. If you needed to “Bug Out” and leave your home, you could bring some water with you as part of your Bug Out Bag (to be discussed in greater detail soon)…
Places in your house where you can get water– your hot water heater holds usually 40 gallons. And the tank portion of your toilets has water that can be used for some non-drinking/cooking purposes. And your downspouts can be a great place to collect water. 1 inch of rain on a 1000 square foot roof = over 699 gallons of fresh water…
Lastly, you can fill up sinks and bathtubs ahead of time if you have any warning that you might lose the water supply.
In future posts, we will discuss how you would prepare to provide an on-going supply of clean drinkable water for your family in a longer-term emergency…
Start filling
{ 1 trackback }
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Good start.
Water is heavy, and bulky.
Get a filter system together so you can drink ‘found’ water as well.
Thanks for putting the numbers to it. I remember during the Y2K scare, my fatehr jumped on the band wagon and started purchasing water. I don’t think he put any math to it and just based it more on how many he could fit in the cart.
MissMentor
Rob,
Yes….water and Ammo! A must
Lynn Lane
http://www.Warriorofsuccess.com
You can drink the cistern water as long as you don’t use those tablet things. After one of those is added I’d give it six months of water flowing through before I’d be ok with it. Important to think through how to collect water before you need to do it. Once we are accustomed to turning on a tap we forget how long it would normally resource our own.
Keri Eagan
Anything Alternative
Excellent excellent points. Water being in most cases the most important emergency preparedness item since we cannot go without if for long.
I’ve convinced my sis that we need to have 3-7 days worth of drinking water stored. Californians are used to discussing earthquake preparedness. Las Vegans, well, we want to horde water anyway because of the desert heat. We likely need more.
Looking forward to your further developments here.
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell
Single Baby Boomer Dating Success Expert
Unless the apocalypse changes the weather system (which it could do), all we need in the UK is a few buckets to catch the rain and maybe some water purification tablets.
http://www.martin-wright.com
This is perfect. I now have a clear plan of how much water I need to store in case of an emergency.
Jose Escalante
http://www.joseescalante.com
We take our running water for granted. Anytime we have had to shut the water off in the house for a repair etc. I still turn on the faucet at least 50 times during the day forgetting that it won’t work.
I checked under the bed Rob, to see if I had room to store anything. There’s already a bin of lingerie under there! I guess I could dump that, because in an emergency situation – it won’t do any of us any good – none of it is built for comfort or warmth!!! lol
Lisa McLellan
Babysitting Services – Babysitters and Nannies
I’m thirsty for more.
Martin O’Connor
http://smallbusinessdesigncenter.com
I’m filling! I’m filling! Any websites that you would recommend that are legit to get the supplies you discuss?
Jen B
The Harwood Center – Tinnitus, Chronic Illness, Fears, and Anxiety
When the water is gone, I turn to wine. Couldn’t resist. In all seriousness, 7 gallons per person is not as crazy trying to store 25 gallons/day per person. I like this.
Katie
No doubt storing 7 gallons per person is a managable goal. I remember stocking up on water a few times with my Dad in Berkeley. You never knew when a big earthquake might hit so you had to be prepared.
To this day I keep canned goods in my pantry – foods I don’t even eat – just in case. I figured out the protein/carb/fat ratio that would allow me to survive and reduce my metabolism (by eating less – calorie restriction) so I’d need less to survive.
Not fun to think about, but better to consider in advance!
Kate
Water is the most critical element for survival in the short to medium term. Great advice for storing and finding the necessary supplies.
Steve Chambers
Sales Training Speaker
We have a well were we can hand pump water which is a big plus in time of need. I think 7 gallons is a good start/reserve. It would be the first thing I would stock if we didn’t have a well though. The thought of saving rain water from roofs for showering ect. would be a must to make supplies last longer.
Vicki http://www.bridal-threads.com
When the Y2K bug was near abck in late 1999, I bought a decent water filter that was used by Red Cross internationally where water quaility was dubious in war torn areas. We had a swimming pool with about 50,000 litres. So I feel safe that if needed be, I could filter the water for drinking purpose.
John Ho
Numerology Expert Helps Understanding Personality for Better Influence & Persuasion
I like the 7 gallons ideas. I can work with that.
Robert Martin
http://www.carbuyinghq.com
Im with Rob Martn, I love the idea of the 7 gallons of water…!
Right on Rob. I bought a Berkey light a few months back for this very reason. Everyone should have some sort of off the grid water filter system accessible to them in times of crisis.
http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/berkey-filter-systems-c-1/berkey-light-w-o-led-p-180
Great info, Rob!
Health, Fitness for Working People — Darryl Pace