4 replies to this topic

[dcarch]

Not sure where this topic belong.

A tip:

Many of you may find it essential to store water after having seen the destructiveness of the storm Sandy .

The bags from box wines (You wine snobs, shut up. LOL) are perfect for emergency water storage. They take very little room to store, and they are very durable. Each bag can hold about two gallons.

Don't throw them away and mess up our environment.

dcarch

[radtek]

LOL I have a few of those around the house! A fantastic idea!

I keep 5 gallon stainless steel cornelius kegs around for beer and they are awesome for storing clean water. Many homebrewers in Sandy's path were filling these up in anticipation of the loss of drinking and cooking water.

[sparrowgrass]

When you emply a bottle of bleach (unscented, of course), fill the bottle with water and cap it. The residual chlorine will keep the water safe to drink for a long time. I have a dozen or so tucked under my utility sink.

[Jaymes]

There are some really great ideas here already (love the bleach jug). Many folks that have to prepare for, and deal with, storms just like Sandy on a fairly regular basis (ie, Floridians, Gulf-coast residents, etc.) have large-volume water storage vessels (we have two of these: http://www.agrisuppl...CFROnPAodXyAATw ), but that's not practical if you live in an apartment or otherwise have limited storage. In a previous 'preparing for a hurricane/disaster' thread, Andie mentioned canned water, which is a really wonderful product, although again, if you have limited storage space, might be problematic.

And Andie's Berkey water treatment systems sound pretty terrific but of course you only need to decontaminate water if you actually have water, which, after a hurricane, you very often (and I'd actually say, 'usually') don't. In fact, the number-one "tip" that old storm hands invariably give to neophytes is to be certain that you've secured a potable water supply for yourself and your family enough to last you at least 4 days.

For people with limited storage space, Dcarch's wine bag suggestion seems ideal.

Good thinking!

Edited by Jaymes, 05 November 2012 - 11:27 AM.

[andiesenji]

After the 1971 earthquake when I lived in the San Fernando valley and the city water supply was compromised, we were advised to boil water before use but we had no electricity and no gas because many gas lines had ruptured and the service in many areas, especially where houses were built on "fill" in areas that were dry riverbeds in the early '30s and '40s. My husband knew the owner of the sporting goods store in Canoga Park and although his store was not open, he was able to get in and get the water purifier for us and two camp stoves. We did have a camper van and I was able to cook and use the propane fridge for milk and etc.
We used the Berkefeld water purifier when camping in the Sierras, taking water from streams - which I would not drink without boiling or putting it through the purifier.

After the '94 quake my well was impacted - some of the shaft casing cracked and again the water was problematic.

I have enough of the canned, long-term storage water to provide me with drinking and cooking water for a month, just in case, as a backup for the Berkey in case there is NO water service. (I've also got a self-contained incinerating toilet in one of the garden sheds, because that is another problem when there is no water - it has its own propane tank...)

I have learned a lot from being in a couple of disaster zones and am not going to be wishing for something when it is too late to get it.