U.S. Govt. - LDS Church suggest 1-gallon minimum – Israeli’s suggest 2-gallons minimum
But in times of emergency, on out-door trips, or when traveling in under-developed areas, having access to a source of drinkable water is a matter of first priority. The bacteria, viruses, and parasites in contaminated water can create many kinds of health problems. When the purity of water is questionable, use the following steps to make it safe to drink. Pickup some 5-gallon elastic (paint) strainer bags (5-mil filters) - from the local home center to help filter out chunks that may be in the water and / or a 1- mil Water Sox filter from Utah Civil Defense 800.425.5397.
- Boiling: -Bring water to a rolling boil and maintain for a minimum of 10 minutes. For every 1,000 feet above sea level, add one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes. If the water pot is covered, it will shorten the time to reach a boil. This method is recognized as the safest treatment.
- Liquid Chlorine Bleach: Any brand - 5.25% or 6% sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) (like Ultra Clorox) that contains NO soap, fragrance or phosphates. Do not use scented bleach.
|Amount of water||Clear water||Cloudy water – 1st strain / filter|
|2 quarts||4 drops||1/8 teaspoon|
|1 gallon||1/8 teaspoon – 8-drops||1/4 teaspoon|
|5 gallons||1/2 teaspoon||1 teaspoon|
- Hydrogen Peroxide: Peroxide is a perfectly acceptable disinfectant for water, as it oxidizes, as does chlorine. There are a couple of things with peroxide that make it differ from chlorine as a disinfectant. Peroxide degrades even more rapidly than chlorine and potency may be an issue if it is to be stored. The other thing that makes peroxide more difficult to use is that testing for peroxide residual levels is difficult compared to testing for chlorine residuals. Residuals need to be measured to ensure disinfection is complete.
- Iodine Methods: Iodine has been used to disinfect water since the early 1900’s. In order to destroy Giardia cysts, the drinking water must be at least 68° F, the water can be warmed in the sun before treating or hot water can be added. Iodine should be limited to a short-term disinfectant. Iodine Crystals can be purchased through Nitro-Pac Heber City, Ut. WWW.Nitro-pac.com – 800.866.4876 - Allergy to iodine? Do not use it! The amount of iodine or chlorine necessary to kill giardia depends on water temperature, pH, turbidity, and contact time between the chemical and the parasite. Treats up to 500-gallons – Treat & Wait 30 minutes – Stains / Alcohol - Corrosive – Sublimes – evaporates apply Plumber’s Teflon Tape on the threads of the bottle.
- Two oz treats 10,000 gallons
- Dissolves instantly with no residue
# Black Berkey Water Filters - The ALERT Store - One Academy Blvd. -Big Sandy, TX 75755
Phone: (903) 636-9384 # BuyActivatedCharcoal.com - 308-665-1566 / 888-264-5568 - PO Box 261, Crawford, NE 69339
# Advanced Filtration – Seychelle - David Ostler – this brand is what the overseas missionaries use.
801.830.8488 / 801.465.0655 393 S. Sunnyhill Cir. Payson, UT. 84651
Water Storage Barrels
Cleaning Vanilla and Pepsi barrels - DO NOT use Pickle, Peppers or Olive barrels
- Set the barrel in a sunny location.
- As you fill the barrel with water, add 4 cups of baking soda and 1/4 cup of bleach.
- Stir the mixture and completely fill the barrels to capacity and seal.
- Allow the barrels to “cook” in the sun 4 to 7 days.
- Remove the water and smell the barrel.
- The odor of the “old” product should be gone and a slight chorine smell should remain.
- If the “old” odor remains fill the barrel with fresh water again and duplicate the process.
- Completely drain the barrel.
- Then rinse the inside/outside of the barrels 2 or 3 times, removing all of the baking soda and drain.
- Place the barrel in its final resting spot on top of a piece of OSB or plywood.
- Fill the barrel with tap water and allow 3.25 inches of headspace for possible freezing.
- Add a capful of bleach and seal.
Various Water Storage Containers
Good water storage containers are airtight, resistant to breakage, and heavy enough to hold water. They should have a lining that will not rust or affect the flavor of the water. The following containers are commonly used:
Plastic Juice or Soda Bottles
|Use clear plastic containers made of PETE – PET plastic. Used containers should be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed.|
|Heavy Plastic Buckets or Drums||These should be food grade.|
Close the inlet valve immediately after the water supply is disrupted.
A double waterbed holds about 200 gallons of water. This water contains an algaecide. Do not drink it. Store this water for non-food uses only, such as washing clothes and general cleaning.
Also for non-food usage only.
- 25-month Mission - Managing Director of the Home Storage Center - Springville
- Retired Certified Financial Planner
- Whittier Police Dept. Volunteer - 5 years
- 364 hours of training with SWAT Sergeants
- Ward or Stake Preparedness Director - 17 years
- L.A. County Sheriff's Advisory Committee - 6 years
- Emergency Preparedness Advisor to Smith Barney - 6 years
- 54 hours of First Responder Training - American Red Cross - 1996
- CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) - 2006 - 24-hour class
- 8 days and nights in Alaska (Wilderness Survival Training) - 1996 -128-hour class
- Whittier ALERT Program Volunteer (Area Leaders Emergency Response Training) - 6 years – a series of semi-annual - 20-hour classes per year with Police, Fire, Building & Safety and American Red Cross
- Convey Operations
- Winter Count - 7 days and nights of Primitive Skills with Mountain men – 70-hour class - 2011