Remember this is for actual WATER STORAGE, if you have some solutions in place for purification/filtration your storage needs may be less. However, we feel like it is never a bad thing to have lots of actual water stored in case you don’t have access to ANY water in an emergency.

Used 2 Liter Pop Bottles or Juice Bottles

Pros
– Essentially FREE if you buy them anyway or get from someone else
– Convenient size for smaller water emergencies
– Easy to store anywhere in the house

Cons
– Must rotate every 6 months to 1 year
– Hard to clean out enough that the taste isn’t a bit “off”
– Concern about bacteria if not cleaned out well enough

Best Used For
– 72 Hour Kits
– People on a tight budget
– Small spaces storage solutions

Store-Bought Water Bottles

Pros
– Great tasting, so it’s ideal for drinking water
– Easy to rotate through the individual bottles
– Easy to store anywhere in the house

Cons
– Must rotate every 6 months to 1 year
– Price per gallon can be fairly expensive
– Difficult to store in large quantities
– Bottles will freeze in winter, and chemicals can leach into them in severe heat, so not ideal for car kits in extreme conditions

Best Used For
– 72 hour kits
– People concerned with taste of drinking water
– Small emergencies

Small Water Pouches or Water Cartons

  

Pros
– 5 year shelf life!
– Awesome for 72 hour kits
– Water typically won’t freeze in the pouches or small water boxes

Cons
– Expensive storage method
– Not ideal for large quantities
– Not available in local stores everywhere

Best Used For
– 72 Hour Kits
– Car kits

Found Online
– Mayday Emergency Water Pouch
– Aqua Blox Water Box

5/6 Gallon Plastic Jugs

Pros
– Decent price per gallon
– More convenient size than large barrels
– Pretty easy to empty and rotate
– Easy to find in the camping section of most stores

Cons
– Many of these jugs end up having problems with cracking and leaking so beware
– 5 or 6 gallon jugs can be HEAVY if you are trying to pour with them and haul them up and down stairs by yourself
– Must be rotated every 6 months to 1 year
– Take up a lot of space in storage since you can’t stack them

Best Used For
– Smaller storage spaces
– Tighter budgets

Found Online
– Options at Amazon.com
– 5 Gallon Container from Shelf Reliance

Water Box Kits (Mylar bags inside cardboard boxes)

Pros
– Good price per gallon
– Stackable up to 3 boxes high
– Only have to rotate every 5 years

Cons
– A little bit complicated to set them up and fill them
– Wasted space in your storage room above the stack of boxes
– Not very convenient for accessing small amounts of your water storage
– Not available in local stores everywhere

Best Used For
– Larger quantities for people who don’t like rotating
– Great for sliding under beds or sticking on closet shelves

Found Online
– Water Storage Box Kit from Emergency Essentials

Water Bricks

Pros
– 3.5 gallons per brick makes it more manageable than 5/6 gallon containers
– Stackable from floor to ceiling!
– 15+ year shelf life
– Great size to stash under beds, in closets, etc.

Cons
– A little more expensive per gallon
– Not available in local stores everywhere

Best Used For
– Storage rooms where space is an issue
– Shorter term water emergencies for drinking and cooking
– People without considerable budget restraints

Found Online
– WaterBricks from Shelf Reliance

Water Barrels

Pros
– Best solution for storing LOTS of water
– Available in multiple sizes from 30 gallons up to 250 gallons
– With additives, can extend rotation needs to every 5 years
– Great use of floor space in a storage room with water barrel towers

Cons
– Slightly difficult to fill and rotate
– Not very accessible when you have to actual USE the water
– Not an ideal solution in small homes/storage areas and can’t be stored outside

Best Used For
– Longer term water shortages
– Large quantities of water storage

Found Online
– Water Barrel Towers
– Water Barrels from Emergency Essentials
– Water Barrels from Shelf Reliance

Remember, you will probably find that a combination of these storage containers works well for you. We use almost all of these options for one purpose or another in our water storage. What water storage solution works best for YOU?

Once you have a little more of a budget to work with you may like storing water in water boxes, and or barrels. After purchasing a few water barrels for ourselves, we asked on our Facebook page if people thought it would be wiser to store these barrels in the garage of the basement. Since we live in Utah, and earthquakes are a threat here, most people recommended storing it in a garage so you would have better access to it in case of an earthquake.

Another suggestion that came through our facebook page was water towers. We were sent a link to Trigen Manufacturing who made these water towers. In a perfect world, our husbands would have enough time to build these for us – but since that’s not happening anytime soon, we got some for ourselves. These are great space savers as opposed to having barrels lined up side by side, and allow for easier filling and draining. These shelves are not cheaply made, or going to break down on you after awhile. They are industrial parts and supplies and therefore will last as long as you need them to. Here’s a little peak into their 3 and 2 barrel towers.

see list below for discounts

	The Triple Barrel Tower is Designed to vertically hold 3 blue 55 Gallon Barrels. This will allow you to have over 160 gallons of water that you know is clean and ready to use. The heavy-duty construction is made of high strength steel and is easy to assemble. It safely stores the barrels vertically which frees up valuable floor space for you. (Barrels Not Included) Dimensions: 6′ 8″ tall x 24.5″ wide x 36.5″ deep
	The Double Barrel Tower is made with the same heavy duty steel as the Triple Barrel Tower but is designed to hold 2 barrels and so it fits into a shorter space. (Barrels Not Included) Dimensions: 4′ 8″ tall x 24.5″ wide x 36.5 ” deep
	When you purchase the Barrel Towers with Trigen you also have the option to get the upgraded plumbing kit. This fully integrated option plumbs the barrels together so that only the top barrel needs to be filled and the water flushes down through to the bottom barrel. This allows for easier draining and rotating of the water. Kit contains all necessary hose, hose clams, fittings, ball joints, and threaded caps for each barrel to make assemble easy.

To order call: 801-997-0575. Make sure you mention Food Storage Made Easy when you order to get the following discounts:

• $20 off the Triple Barrel Tower with Upgraded Plumbing kit
• $10 off Triple Barrel Tower with Basic Plumbing Kit
• $10 off the Double Barrel Tower with Upgraded Plumbing kit
• $10 off the Double Barrel Tower with Basic Plumbing kit

Visit Trigen Manufacturing for pricing and full list of inclusions. To get the discount, make a phone order and mention Food Storage Made Easy.

Pick up your barrels here:

Advanced Preparedness Concepts

In BabyStep 2 we cover water storage. When you are just getting started, even going with the minimum of 14 gallons of storage per person can feel overwhelming. Many people start with just filling up juice and pop bottles as they acquire them, but over time gradually purchase better containers with more capacity.

After going through our 7 Day Challenge each year where we actually live through situations where we are using our stored water, we quickly realized that water storage is not a complete solution. For a long term emergency situation it is important to be able to collect and purify water. If you have to evacuate and can’t bring your water barrels with you, this is an important concept as well.

A few months ago, we asked our Facebook Readers what water filter/purification system they have/love/use. Overwhelmingly the response was BERKEY. We researched Berkey Purification Systems along with other filtration systems and kept feeling like we couldn’t quite get a grasp on what we wanted for ourselves or to recommend to our readers. When we went to the Self Reliance Expo last month we got to talk to a lot of knowledgeable people about water filters and purifiers. While we still don’t feel totally expert on everything, we do feel like Berkey is a product we want to own and want to help our readers get at the lowest prices possible.

Most filtration systems can get out the majority of bad stuff from your water, but to be really safe you would still need to either boil the water or use chemicals to purify it. Because of Berkey’s unique Black Berkey Purification Elements they are able to claim that their filter actually purifies the water as well as filtering it. This is great news if you want to avoid having to go through another process after you filter your water.

We worked out a dealer agreement with Berkey so that we can help our readers get the lowest prices possible (please contact us for special rates on orders of 2 or more units). We are excited to get our own Berkey filters and learn more about them and share on our blog even more information about water filtration, water purification, and some of the other options available to you.

When we did the 7 Day Challenge we learned a lot from our readers about how they saved, or stretched their water supply. Here are some of the great suggestions we received. If you have any others, make sure to leave a comment.

• First off, FILL YOUR WATER CONTAINERS. We heard from SO many people they had containers they just hadn’t gotten around to filling yet. The challenge has been over for a couple weeks, quit procrastinating and get to it TODAY!
• Bathe in a large bucket, and use bottles that have the types of tops that squirt (refillable condiment containers) when pressure is applied. This will help with faster rinsing. Use the remaining bath water in the bucket for flushing toilets.
• Use coralite bath wipes, for quick bathing.
• Store some no rinse shampoo and conditioner for hair.
• Have paper plates, plastic cups, and disposable tableware to use to allow you to cut back on dish water.
• Use recipes that mix most ingredients in one dish, or pan that you serve straight from to cut back on dishes.
• Store wet wipes, and hand sanitizer to help clean up messes, and wash hands.
• Tap into your water heater for water if you run out of stored water.
• Wear your hair in ponytails, or wear hats when you can’t wash your hair as frequently during prolonged times with no water.
• If you have a swamp cooler that runs on water, make sure you have back up cooling methods such as fans, or wet rags to cool your body off during hotter weather.
• Fill liquid soap/detergent bottles with water. You have water for washing small load of dishes. Soapy water for hands, and the bottles squirt out better then soda or juice containers.
• Save water from cooking noodles, or boiling water. Use water from canned vegetables.
• Don’t wait until you are out of clean clothes to do laundry!
• If you have to do laundry get a bucket, put a little baking soda, a tad of water, plunge by hand or with plunger. No need to rinse with baking soda. Baking soda will eradicate smell too.
• If you’re water has a funny taste, store drink flavoring to improve the taste. You can also aerate the water by pouring it back and forth between two containers. It adds oxygen to the water and gets rid of the stale taste.
• Flush conservatively. Use water you previously used for bathing to flush the toilets.

If you are new to food storage and following along with the BabySteps please refer to the Step 2: Water page before you read this post and get overwhelmed. In BabyStep 2 we recommend to store a 2-week supply of water for your family. This should be enough to sustain you through the majority of shorter-term emergencies. But what if water is unavailable for a longer period of time? Do you know where the closest source of water to your house is? Are you sure the water is drinkable? Some people like to have several months to a year worth of water stored (check out these options discussed on the Utah Preppers website), but for a lot of us that just isn’t practical. This post will discuss some other means of finding drinking water in case you are not as amazing as the “Preppers” folks are yet

Alternate Water Sources

Water in your home
- Hot water heater tank
- Toilet tanks (don’t use water that contains colored disinfectant!)
- Water pipes
- Ice in the freezer
- Canned food

Traditional bodies of water near your home
- Rivers and streams
- Ponds and lakes

Collect water from the air and plants
- Snow and ice
- Rain water
- Morning dew can be mopped up from rocks and plants (especially effective in desert areas). The easiest method is to use a handkerchief or shirt to gently mop up the dew and then wring it into a container. It is possible to mop up almost a quart an hour using this method!

Obtaining water from the soil
- A hole dug in a damp or muddy area allows water to seep in and accumulate
- Mud wrong in a shirt or other cloth will force out water (muddy water can be partially cleared by allowing it to stand overnight and then running it through several thickness of cloth)
- Make an evaporation still

Locate sources of groundwater (in mountainous areas)
- Sloping side of the hills in dry mountain ranges
- Small seeps and springs can be found by following narrow canyons and gullies up to their heads
- The water table is usually close to the surface and you could locate it by digging at the base of cliffs and rocks where lots of vegetation is thriving, at the base of large sand dunes on the shady or steep sides, anywhere the ground is damp or muddy, in low spots where patches of salt grass, cattails, willows or elderberries grow

Please note: Depending on the nature of the emergency situation you are in, some of these sources may be contaminated so make sure you have a plan in place for water purification. It never hurts to purify just to be on the safe side.

If you are new to food storage and following along with the BabySteps please refer to the Step 2: Water page before you read this post and get overwhelmed. Our recommendation for beginners is to simply get a 2 week supply of water for your family (1 gallon per day per person). However, this post is the start of a series of more detailed information on water storage which will include storage containers, alternate sources of water, water purification and more.

   

Beyond the BabySteps: Water: Purification

Contaminated water can contain parasites as well as microorganisms that cause disease such as dysentery, typhoid fever, salmonella, giardiasis, and hepatitis as well as having a bad odor and taste. You should purify ALL water before using it for drinking, food preparation, or hygiene. NO WATER CAN BE PRESUMED SAFE! Before you begin a purification process, it’s a good idea to strain the water through some sort of filter such as layers of paper towel or a coffee filter to remove any large particles. There are many ways to purify water but none is perfect. Often the best solution is to use a combination of these methods.

Boiling

Boiling is the most common and safest method of purifying water. Bring water to a rolling boil for 3-5 minutes, keeping in mind that some water will evaporate. Let the water cool before drinking. Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring the water back and forth between two clean containers. (or you can add in some of your stored flavorings such as fruit drink powders, kool-aid, hot cocoa, etc.)

Disinfection

According to the American Red Cross, “The only agent used to purify water should be household liquid bleach.” Add 16 drops of bleach per gallon, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. If the water does not have a slight bleach odor, repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. Do not use scented bleaches, color-safe bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners. This method is highly recommended as a backup in case fuel is not available for boiling or distilling water.

Distillation

Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses back to water. The condensed vapor will not include salt and other impurities such as heavy metals and most other chemicals that are not removed with boiling or disinfection. To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water) and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled.

Water Filters (edited to reflect some tips from the comments)

There are two types of water filters, inexpensive travel water bottle filters and gravity carbon filters. A travel water bottle filter is great to throw into your disaster kit, but in cases of extreme contamination you would still want to add in a few drops of iodine or bleach. If you opt for a gravity carbon filter such as the AquaRain or Berkey ones, it MAY be enough purification, but we still recommend to use one of the other methods as well. It can never hurt to be too safe. If you are conserving fuel or on the run, a filter can definitely be a great option and is MUCH better than no purification at all.

Additional Resources

Water Storage / Purification Handout – EXCELLENT resource which can be printed and put in your Food Storage Made Easy Binder. (Thanks @cboyack)

4 people in my family X 1 gallon of water per day X 14 days = 56 gallons
I bought 10 jugs (6 gallons each) just to be on the safe side.

Confession: I went to fill them and realized I only had SCENTED bleach (see Step 2 page) so I couldn’t do it. They are still empty Don’t tell Julie though, she thinks I’m all on the ball since I bought them first!