How much water? I think I have a clue.

[Black November]

If you live in an urban enviroment with limited storage, 150 gallons is a good start, but there is no way that will last a family for a month. Normally the average household uses 300 gallons pers day. As mentioned above bathing, cooking, toilets, and laundry all require large amounts of water.

IMO a realistic emergency water portions should be about a minimum of 5-7 gallons per person per day. Treating water harvested from other sources is a major part of any system, but don't think you're going to gather water from a nearby lake every time you take a dump.

Homework: Next weekend turn off your water for 24 hours. Try living only off a 5 gallon bucket of water and report back.

[kcor_77]

The mantra I always heard is a gallon per person per day, but that extra gallon for a family of four could be luxurious.

I'm thinking about bathing, dishes and general cooking/cleaning as well.

As for dishes I keep paper plates on hand and plastic silverware. As I can dispose the paper plates easy by turning into mulch as they will rot. One less way to use water as I don't have a lot of room to store water.

As for bathing you will not get to bath every day. Keep clean by all means bath every other day but just do a good wipe down between those days. The reason I say this is the amount of time, effort and resources it takes to heat water is mind boggling.

These are some of my plans and ideas to reduce the amount of water I use. This will reduce the amount I use making it last longer. What other Ideas does anyone have on how to reduce water usage during an emergency? I don't think it is about how much you can store it is about making it last before you have to go looking for more. Storing it is still important but you got to make your supply last.

[duodecima]

My rule is, take whatever you think you need and double it. I know the rule is 1 gal per person per day, but no one is used to rationing like that. Face it, we're a water wasteful society, we don't think about how much we're using. I think you'll find you'll need more water than you stored once you have to use it.

QFT...but since we are on a preparedness website we should advocate learning to conserve before we need to conserve.

Yep - but most people get all grossed out by some of it. There was an interesting comment thread on a food storage/preparedness blog about not flushing the toilet every single time someone goes that drew both proponents and strong grossed out opposition. Not washing clothes every single time you wear them if they're not dirty or not showering every single day (assuming no sweaty stinkiness) are also socially fraught ideas.

I just checked my water bill - I was using 100 gal/day for a family of 4. Add a little for toilet use at work/school. Including drippy faucet that has finally been fixed, should be less next month. We don't water anything outside with city water, that's what the rain barrel is (currently) for. (I want to build a biosand filter in my back yard to pre-filter it before using my other filtration systems on it prior to drinking, but we're not there yet!)

I like the idea of shooting for a month's supply on a "generous" (ie at least a little more than 1 gal/person/day) water budget - I think the OP's point was excellent - NOT being forced out of your hunkered-down bug in location by dehydration at the wrong moment might make all the difference in some situations. It seems good to have the option to pick the moment when you venture out to get water to filter.

[palehorse1301]

Homework: Next weekend turn off your water for 24 hours. Try living only off a 5 gallon bucket of water and report back.

Went two weeks without running water earlier this year. I was bringing a 5 gallon jug home from work every day. Drinking was normal. Washing dishes sucked. Bathing sucked more.

[duodecima]

Homework: Next weekend turn off your water for 24 hours. Try living only off a 5 gallon bucket of water and report back.

Went two weeks without running water earlier this year. I was bringing a 5 gallon jug home from work every day. Drinking was normal. Washing dishes sucked. Bathing sucked more.

Had a friend who went 2 months in a trailer with 3 adults and 3 beautiful but not-angelic children with no running water, until the ground thawed and they could deal with the water pump - sponge baths, camp toilet, and went out to wash hair in a sink at their business twice a week. I believe they invested in massive quantities of paper plates. She says the week they all had the stomach virus was awful.

But I didn't realize until she told me months after, and I doubt anyone at work or school did either...

[Dawgboy]

I currntly have 2 55 gallon barrels, a 30 gallon barrel, and 4) 7 gallon reliance jugs. Also 2) 3 gallon reliance jugs plus a bunch of Crystal Geyser 1 gallon jugs. It's never enough in a desert...

[gunfreak]

1 gallon per day per person just for drinking.

[JustInCase]

Keep in mind of other sources of store water.

Water in the pipes of the house, could have easily another 40 to 50 gallons right there. Key point is shuting off the water valve either at the street or at the house.

Water heater tank could be another 40 to 80 gallons, maybe not for drinking though it could be made fully drinkable, but for other usages.

Most canned goods have a reasonable amount of water in them.

I think a human can get by on two quarts of water a day if not doing heavy labor or in extrem environments.

[ShortFieldBreak]

My rule is, take whatever you think you need and double it. I know the rule is 1 gal per person per day, but no one is used to rationing like that. Face it, we're a water wasteful society, we don't think about how much we're using. I think you'll find you'll need more water than you stored once you have to use it.

^^^ This.

A couple months ago we had a water leak under our house, and a less than responsive property manager. We were without water for a couple days, and got by without too much trouble. Before hurricane Irene blew through I talked to her about storing water for various purposes, so when I made sure I refilled several of those containers and a couple buckets before shutting off the main supply. It was an eye opening experience for her, and a lesson in conservation for both of us. I learned that 1 500mL bottle of water lasted me for 3 days for just brushing teeth. I could probably make it stretch a little more if I had to.

I also agree with shutting off the water for 24 hrs to see what it's really like, figure out how to do your normal chores (cooking, washing, etc), and learn to bathe conservatively. We did it involuntarily, but the lesson was invaluable.

-SFB

[Dooms]

I've got a well that can run off my diesel generator and an in-ground swimming pool, so I'm hoping that would take care of most of my water needs for buggin'-in. With that in mind, I do keep around 12 or so cases of bottled water in the garage that gets replaced/rotated through fairly regularly.

[HKTackDriver]

52,000 gallons in each pool on our block. 9 houses = approximately 468,000 gallons.

Using rain gutters and tarps, you can keep pools pretty full, year-round. A couple buckets of sand and charcoal being gravity fed and it takes relatively no effort to have a good potable water supply.

No pool? No problem! You can get pond liners in large sheets, dig a hole in the ground and line it with the liner. Then fill via rain water and proceed as above. Liners are cheap, you can dig the hole deep and narrow to avoid evaporation and contamination issues. The more you have, the more water you can save. Get creative now and supply yourself now with the items you'll need later.

1' deep x 15'x15' = 1,683 gallons
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=pond+liner&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=11537637745837476582&sa=X&ei=dZzrTvCTBsrr0gGB8pTvBg&ved=0CKIBEPMCMAI#

1' deep x 50x50 = 18,700 gallons
http://www.pondworld.com/50x5030milpepondliner.aspx

[scortez]

What a fantastic idea the use of a pond. I live in suburbia and cant have storage buildings or stuff like that in my yard..but this would provide 260 gal of water for none drinking or drinking i guess if i buy the purifying chems.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_88996-1569-LP72 ... facetInfo=

[by-the-throat]

You might also think of other activities that require water-not even just bathing or sanitation but mechanical and gardening wise as well. (Your car radiator gets water, your plants get water, etc etc but this water does not necessarily need to be potable)

We keep just under a hundred gallons in-home (family of 3) of potable water with chlorine. We also have a set of filters for rainwater but no rain bucket yet; apartment living, bleh. Space is also a concern and one of the most desirable things to have in a crisis is a means to store more water before it gets cut off. Space is at a premium pre SHTF but I do like those collapsible water containers that you can use to quickly double your storage water if you need to for some reason and I have a few of them as well. So you might want to give some thought to expandable capacity in case you get some prior warning-whether old two liter bottles or one of those bathtub sized bladders or whatever works for you.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

Water prep? Get a manual well pump. Wells aren't feasible for everyone, but they work here, so 99% of the US should be okay.

Step 2: #1 goes in the bushes, #2 goes in a cat-trench. There, no more flushing.
Step 3: Start learning to conserve water now, and recycle when you can. You'll save electricity ($), water ($) and can use the saved $$ on other preps.

For instance, most folks don't need to shower every day. Nor do all clothes have to be washed everytime you wear them.

[HKTackDriver]

30 days can be stretched out further if you have baby wipes and are willing to forego some personal hygiene issues. I personally believe a gallon can last me more than a couple days, even with cooking requirements. In any case, I have a 275 gallon oil tank that was never used, I plan on using rainwater to fill it and to pump it and purify it as necessary. Also makes for a handy source of garden water if I have to jump into gardening to survive. May not last that long in feeding hungry plants, but it may prolong the survival of plants (and myself) long enough.

I also have a bunch of tarps I would use as "pool liners." Basically, you dig a deep hole, line it with the tarps and store water in it from rainwater.

For example, if you dug a 10'x10'x5' deep hole, lined it and filled it, you'd have 500 cubic feet or 3740 gallons. Every foot deeper gets you about 750 more gallons. You can then flip the tarp over the top of the hole to prevent evaporation, bird shit, bug infiltration, etc. Throw a chlorine tab in it to prevent growth, etc. No matter what, you'd have to filter/treat it to use it for drinking, but you could use it immediately for crops.

[NamelessStain]

Yep - but most people get all grossed out by some of it. There was an interesting comment thread on a food storage/preparedness blog about not flushing the toilet every single time someone goes that drew both proponents and strong grossed out opposition. Not washing clothes every single time you wear them if they're not dirty or not showering every single day (assuming no sweaty stinkiness) are also socially fraught ideas.

I remember when I was back in High School and our area had a drought, we had a saying about flushing toilets:

"If it's yellow, leave it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down."

[duodecima]

Yep - but most people get all grossed out by some of it. There was an interesting comment thread on a food storage/preparedness blog about not flushing the toilet every single time someone goes that drew both proponents and strong grossed out opposition. Not washing clothes every single time you wear them if they're not dirty or not showering every single day (assuming no sweaty stinkiness) are also socially fraught ideas.

I remember when I was back in High School and our area had a drought, we had a saying about flushing toilets:

"If it's yellow, leave it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down."

Same rule at a friend's cabin where the whole area had septic/water safety issues. 2 years of bringing gallon jugs of water with every time you went to visit, drinkable water was in a 5 gal jug by the sink. Stood me in good stead for going some place where the whole city had giardia in the water, I was temporarily popular with the new apartment roomies because I'd packed a couple collapsible camp jugs. Wish I'd known how to make a slow sand filter out of a bucket back then, as it was I filtered the tap water thru a dishtowel before boiling it. That stuff overwhelmed a standard brita filter in less than 10 gallons.

[NamelessStain]

Same rule at a friend's cabin where the whole area had septic/water safety issues. 2 years of bringing gallon jugs of water with every time you went to visit, drinkable water was in a 5 gal jug by the sink. Stood me in good stead for going some place where the whole city had giardia in the water, I was temporarily popular with the new apartment roomies because I'd packed a couple collapsible camp jugs. Wish I'd known how to make a slow sand filter out of a bucket back then, as it was I filtered the tap water thru a dishtowel before boiling it. That stuff overwhelmed a standard brita filter in less than 10 gallons.

Somewhere on these forums I posted plans for a 5 gallon bucket filter. I'll go find it if you want it.

[duodecima]

Same rule at a friend's cabin where the whole area had septic/water safety issues. 2 years of bringing gallon jugs of water with every time you went to visit, drinkable water was in a 5 gal jug by the sink. Stood me in good stead for going some place where the whole city had giardia in the water, I was temporarily popular with the new apartment roomies because I'd packed a couple collapsible camp jugs. Wish I'd known how to make a slow sand filter out of a bucket back then, as it was I filtered the tap water thru a dishtowel before boiling it. That stuff overwhelmed a standard brita filter in less than 10 gallons.

Somewhere on these forums I posted plans for a 5 gallon bucket filter. I'll go find it if you want it.

Thanks, but I've got those plans now (quite possibly from your thread!). I'd never heard of one back then(eeek, 18 years ago). I couldn't come up with any way to distill, but I KNOW (now!) that the materials to make a slow sand bucket filter was RIGHT OUTSIDE the apartment block we were in, and I know I could have come up with a couple buckets&some basic tools. Given the solid particulates that came out of the tap, we were afraid the giardia was the least of our worries. Also, I think I could have found a bundt/angel food cake pan, and then I could have distilled some, but I didn't think of that set up either, until I caught a link here.

[KnightoftheRoc]

I'm appalled at the amount of water we use in my household. Rationing like it was turned off would send my family into shock.

If you have the room, I'd set up a 55 gallon drum for each family member. At a gallon a day for drinking, that's a month's worth, with enough left over to bathe and do a load of laundry- and after a month, they'll want to.

My only issue with getting more water if the main is off, would be doing so safely- there's a nice, steady spring near the house I could use, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows of it. I'd want one armed person watching while another filled up at the spring. Which could bring problems of it's own, going about armed during an emergency.

[Tater Raider]

There is water and then there is potable water.

I'm starting to stockpile potable water at 2 gallons (US) per person per day for 14 days worth - this is to be used for bug-in and bug-out, so portability is the issue.

For stuff like laundry, bathing, or flushing a toilet you don't need potable water so as long as you have water nearby it doesn't matter if it's safe for drinking or not - it's covered. If you don't have this nearby look to recycle water (grey water system).

Long term water will depend on where I end up in about a year. An acreage with a well doesn't need to address the water issue the same way a house in the 'burbs does.

Plus a bunch on 55 gallon drums for bug in supply and water purification system as part of your preps.

My ultimate preps goal is a year with the ability to self-sustain beyond that if I bug-in, even if it means going without some creature comforts or using 1800's tech to do it, so a manual pump well is definately an option for me. Yes, that means a year's worth of water for bugging in, and not just me but anyone I am willing to allow use of my place as their BOL.

So my goals:

1. 28 gallons - 14 day portable personal potable water supply.
2. 420 gallons - 30 day potable water stored for immediate family. I'm thinking soemthing like a 55 gallon drum system.
3. 10,220/2,520 gallons - 1 year potable water supply/90 days if on wells for anyone allowed to use my place as crisis crash pad. I'm considering in-ground storage for this.

It's a lot of water and it's what's needed if the situation is a long-term one.

It doesn't take too long though. In 3 days I've put away a bit over 2 out of the 28 gallons I need, mostly through recycling 2L diet soda bottles.

[2005RedTJ]

I just went from just a case or two of bottled water to 5 cases plus a 55-gallon drum. It's a start, but my goal by the end of the year is to have 90 days worth of water on hand. My plans include several 55-gallon drums, 4 or so Jerry cans, and the remainder in cases which I will rotate through constantly. I started out shooting for a 30 day supply but finally decided on 90 days just due to my personal opinion.

[KnightoftheRoc]

There is water and then there is potable water.

I'm starting to stockpile potable water at 2 gallons (US) per person per day for 14 days worth - this is to be used for bug-in and bug-out, so portability is the issue.

For stuff like laundry, bathing, or flushing a toilet you don't need potable water so as long as you have water nearby it doesn't matter if it's safe for drinking or not - it's covered. If you don't have this nearby look to recycle water (grey water system).

Long term water will depend on where I end up in about a year. An acreage with a well doesn't need to address the water issue the same way a house in the 'burbs does.

Plus a bunch on 55 gallon drums for bug in supply and water purification system as part of your preps.

My ultimate preps goal is a year with the ability to self-sustain beyond that if I bug-in, even if it means going without some creature comforts or using 1800's tech to do it, so a manual pump well is definately an option for me. Yes, that means a year's worth of water for bugging in, and not just me but anyone I am willing to allow use of my place as their BOL.

So my goals:

1. 28 gallons - 14 day portable personal potable water supply.
2. 420 gallons - 30 day potable water stored for immediate family. I'm thinking something like a 55 gallon drum system.8 drums @ 55 gallons each = 440gallons & 3652 pounds in water weight + the drums and whatever rack you use for them. Can your flooring handle this? Protect it from freezing?
3. 10,220/2,520 gallons - 1 year potable water supply/90 days if on wells for anyone allowed to use my place as crisis crash pad. I'm considering in-ground storage for this.

It's a lot of water and it's what's needed if the situation is a long-term one.Have you considered an in-ground pool with a really good cover?

It doesn't take too long though. In 3 days I've put away a bit over 2 out of the 28 gallons I need, mostly through recycling 2L diet soda bottles.

Water takes up about 3 gallons to the cubic foot (1,000 liters to the cubic meter). If you use a 1 cubic foot/10 pounds rule of thumb, you can determine what your flooring will support, once you know what your flooring rating is. If space is really tight, and you've got the flooring rated to handle the weight, I'd suggest the tote tanks- already piped for valves, self supporting, and stack-able 2 high with no issues (more than 2 high is inconvenient, anyway).

My feeling is, if you are going to store water, make it ALL potable. Push comes to shove, you can go a lot longer without washing your clothes, dishes, or body than you can without drinking any. For washing clothes/body, it's easier to bring the funk to the water than the water to the funk, so go swimming! One part of the group can provide security while the other washes, then switch off. It would also serve as a morale boost. If you do have water hauling capability, fill them up first, and then bring the containers home for treatment on the way back, killing several birds, and a few germs, with one stone.

[cap6888]

How would you go about making swimming pool water potable? Would the pool chemicals affect the potability of the water? I have an above ground pool that has almost 10,000 gallons in it.