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Hope you have a life straw just in case it takes you longer than you think to get to where you want to go.
How much water do you have on hand currently?
- Thread starter havasu
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Those are good for removing biologicals and particulates, but not chemicals. Radiation, that don't remove that per se, but particulates that have become contaminated would be filtered out, which would help. But I believe that water itself can become radioactive (I'm not sure about that, my memory fails me sometimes).
In my area, I'd still have to get ground water to use the life straw. Surface water here is so contaminated with agricultural chemicals and livestock run off that I don't think a life straw will do any good. I know boiling doesn't make it safe, although I'm not certain that drinking a few liters of boiled water would be harmful. I suppose it depends on the time of year, relative to the application of fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides...
Water cannot become radioactive. It can only be contaminated with radioactive particles.
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We've got a 650' deep well and a spring fed pond. We have other springs on the property and more in the area. A couple creeks and several alpine lakes in the area. From the end of October through April we have 2 - 6 feet of snow on the ground. I'm planning on putting in another well closer to the house and possibly a couple more ponds.
Aerindel is correct. The particles in the water are radioactive, not the water itself. My group works on equipment that monitors a downstream lake from a burial ground. It has nasty sediment in it. Silt will build up in our system and the count rate meter climbs up. Once we clean it up and just water is flowing again, the CRM drops back to background counts.
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Like Spikedriver, I'm on city water. My fridge has about 5-6 gallons in it. I've got about 10 gallons currently in the storage closet. Started acquiring water briks. Got my first 6 bricks--they hold 3.5 gallons each and stack nicely for storage. Five rain barrels holding 50 gallons each. Less than a quarter mile away from a tributary of a large river. Also stashed away one of those LifeStraw bags that filter a gallon at a time (lasts for around 80,000 gallons).
If I'm up at the cabin there's a 85 foot well, 15 gallons in Aquatainers and the St. Lawrence River 50 feet from the front porch. Plan on getting another one of those LifeStraw bags for up there.
If I'm up at the cabin there's a 85 foot well, 15 gallons in Aquatainers and the St. Lawrence River 50 feet from the front porch. Plan on getting another one of those LifeStraw bags for up there.
We have 750 gallons total stored but having a well it is unlikely we will need stored water. It takes 730 gallons for 2 people for a year when you are conserving to extend supply. I normally drink a gallon a day but I can get by with less.
4-6,000 gallons in the main cistern, 4,500 in a reserve cistern.
We are good on water.....it's the beer I'm worried about!
(a toss to @Wingnut ) Can you imagine life without beer?
)We have proven in past hurricanes that this should be stockpiled.
I should be rotating 20 cases if I was a good prepper.
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I feel left out!We are good on water.....it's the beer I'm worried about!
(a toss to @Wingnut ) Can you imagine life without beer?
We have proven in past hurricanes that this should be stockpiled.
I should be rotating 20 cases if I was a good prepper.
It's ok. You can play along too.I feel left out!
It stores fine for months at normal-lower temperatures.
Do you really think all of this is going to be drank in 2 months?:
(Yes, I recognise the things on the left as my minions, ERC060VG's, still getting stuff done
.)
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Not a beer drinker myself...but one interesting thing about canned beer, is that it lasts longer than soda because it only has a fraction of the acidity.
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Berkey? Better check up on that one. They're a bit fraudulent in their reports and that is why California banned them. Youtube TexasBoys exposed them as well. They do not remove pathogens and microbials.
I am an interstate truckdriver so I am limited, I keep about a gallon stored and a gallon on hand and replenish daily. At home I have a 55 gallon drum; 4, 5 gallon military jugs, a 6 gallon jug, an igloo five gallon drum, igloo half gallon jugs, Nalgene 40 and 32 ounce bottles about a dozen. I also have the Trinity River and Lake Livingston, an ammo can full of pool shock, katadyn and sawyer filters and spare filters...
I consider a gallon a day to be less than minimum. I drink close to two gallons most days, maybe 5 quarts if I'm just being lazy around the house. When I get up in the morning I usually drink a quart in the first ten or 15 minutes. Then I reload and drink a second quart in an hour or so. I spent most of my younger years drinking diet soda and beer instead of water and never worried about hydration. It's amazing how much better one feels when hydrated...
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I drink a lot of water, usually a quart at a time which is maybe 3 or 4 sips for me. I keep several 20 oz and 1 quart bottles in the fridge and refill when empty. Our well has the best tasting water that I've ever drank.
I recently bought a Soda Stream gadget for making carbonated drinks. It works OK.
I heard one time that by the time you start to feel thirsty, your already on the way to dehydration. So I guess you should drink something before you feel thirsty.
Feeling thirsty is sure sign of dehydration. Keeping drinking constantly to avoid that
Fascinating how much water you guys drink. This time of year? Maaybe a quart a day. You guys must spend hours a day filling water bottles and going to the bathroom.
A quart a day would be extremely unhealthy for me, maybe even fatal.
I haven't even finished my 12oz coffee.....5:15 local time. Not even thirsty.
Yeah, I think its totally fascinating how this varies. I know people who I never see without a drink in their hand and don't understand how they do it.
I mean, if its 100º and I'm outside working hard I can drink a lot of water, but in winter, just doing stuff in the house or shop...I can easily go until dinner with just a small cup of coffee. Usually a cup of water with dinner....usually another before I got sleep. A quart a day would be a lot of water for me in normal circumstances.
For me it's a matter of being a type 1 diabetic. Chronic dehydration is dangerous for me. Over the years I've gotten used to drinking at least a gallon of fluids a day and now I feel terrible if I don't drink that much.
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I drink a lot throughout the day. I think it really depends on how much output we do, as in physical labor. Work come home to do more work. . That is life.
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I drink a lot of water year round. That's probably because I'm always outside working regardless of the weather or temp, plus I just like the taste of our ice cold water. This time of year it doesn't take long for my water bottle to freeze up.
I likely drink a gallon or so per day, more if I'm really exerting phyisically.
I totally agree. I plan for 3-5 gallons per day per person. Fortumately I am storing it, not carrying it, and storage space is ample and not an issue.
If you have pets don't forget to include them in your plans, and make sure you have water for them. I believe the rule of thumb is an ounce of water per pound of body weight per day for dogs and cats. If you have other pets I would check with your Vet to see what is recommended.
Pets can drink creek water, as far as I'm concerned...
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Water is one of the most important things to have a plan on, second only to air. Thus, I've tried to cover my bases on it. We use well water and actually have 2 wells on the property. I have 3 Berkeys, several life straws, a sawyer, and some of the pitcher type of refrigerator filters. I also have probably 20 of the 5 gallon bottles stored. I don't dump and rotate those as many people suggest. I figure if I'm at a point where I need to use them, I won't mind 'old' water. I'd still run them through a Berkey though just for good measure if I was drinking it. They've been stored with a bit of bleech and I've just kept adding them to the stockpile over the years. I typically have 4-6 cases of regular bottled water too, even though I typically drink tap water.
A few years ago I purchased a manual well pump and also a slim water pail that can be dropped into our well to retrieve water if the power went out. We also have several lakes, streams, and rivers nearby and could use snow in the winter as long as there were no contamination issues to deal with such as fallout. I'm thinking well water could still be used if fallout was a concern, but I'm not sure about that. I'd test it first with my docimeter before using.
One thing many people forget regarding water is the need to use it in cooking, bathing, washing clothes, and plant watering. There's no future food sources without clean water. Water.....it's not just for drinking anymore.
Oh, and we have a few dehumidifiers. If it was possible to continue to use those, I'd use that water for plants, but I wouldn't drink it unless I ran it through a filter system.....and that would be a last resort.
I think it's important to keep water sources stored in the area of your retreat, whether it's a basement, BOL, home, etc. It may not be possible (for several reasons) to leave your shelter, so it's important to have that water right there, along with a means to dispose of it in a cleanly way. I think I have enough stored, but if I had a 'heads up' of an event coming, I'd still fill the tubs and make sure to finsih up any laundry, since that is a water hog.
A few years ago I purchased a manual well pump and also a slim water pail that can be dropped into our well to retrieve water if the power went out. We also have several lakes, streams, and rivers nearby and could use snow in the winter as long as there were no contamination issues to deal with such as fallout. I'm thinking well water could still be used if fallout was a concern, but I'm not sure about that. I'd test it first with my docimeter before using.
One thing many people forget regarding water is the need to use it in cooking, bathing, washing clothes, and plant watering. There's no future food sources without clean water. Water.....it's not just for drinking anymore.
Oh, and we have a few dehumidifiers. If it was possible to continue to use those, I'd use that water for plants, but I wouldn't drink it unless I ran it through a filter system.....and that would be a last resort.
I think it's important to keep water sources stored in the area of your retreat, whether it's a basement, BOL, home, etc. It may not be possible (for several reasons) to leave your shelter, so it's important to have that water right there, along with a means to dispose of it in a cleanly way. I think I have enough stored, but if I had a 'heads up' of an event coming, I'd still fill the tubs and make sure to finsih up any laundry, since that is a water hog.
