Dehydrated Water - Having all the water you need!

[Copper Catcher]

Now that I have your attention....

If you are like me you have been trying to figure out what the optimum solution is to prepare yourself for any worst case scenario that might happen but not go too overboard and waste lots of money, time or additional resources.

I want to share with you what my research uncovered as the solution for having enough water, when you need, in any emergency situation!

First this question has to be answered! How much water is enough?

If you search online you will read different websites touting the amount you should have on hand. Some say you need to have a minimum 3-day supply which they define as 3 gallons per person i.e. both water to drink when you are thirsty, especially in hot weather, and using additional water for cooking and sanitation. I’m in no way saying this is the correct amount but you might consider using this as a starting point!

Also I think it is important to understand my logic and where I’m coming from when I am discussing the need for having water on hand.

Natural disasters can and will happen. Electric and water outages occur but it is extremely rare that whatever event occurs will last forever causing people to have to only rely on their own sources for an indefinite period of time.

Economies have collapsed before and will in the future but this does not necessarily mean all services like water and sewer cease to exist. To me this is illogical. However if people feel that strongly, then by all means find a place where you can dig your own well for drinking water and be prepared to use an out house!

However I’m not one who thinks even if we have a SHTF situation that all of a sudden everyone will stop doing their "day job" and all decided to go home and live off the land and be farmers. It is not going to happen.

Regardless here is my solution to being prepared for both the more expected and unexpected disasters that might occur.

I live on the east coast and hurricanes are a way of life. Generally there is plenty of advance notice. One fairly cheap solution is buying and using a waterBOB as I mentioned in an earlier post. http://www.waterbob.com

In short a waterBOB® is a water containment system that holds up to 100 gallons of fresh drinking water in any standard bathtub in the event of an emergency. Constructed of heavy duty food grade plastic, the waterBOB® keeps water fresh and clean for drinking, cooking, washing and flushing. Water stored in an open bathtub, with dirt, soap film and exposure to debris will spoil and become useless. It is constructed of heavy duty plastic that is FDA compliant for food storage, the waterBOB® keeps water fresh and clean for up to 4 weeks. Simply lay the liner in any standard bathtub, attach the fill sock to the faucet and fill the bladder to capacity, which takes approximately 20 minutes. A siphon pump is included to easily dispense the water into jugs or pitchers.

Next…. I found locally for ten dollars each a food grade five gallon stackable water jug. While some might like the idea of getting a larger plastic container it is helpful to note that water weights 8.3 pounds per gallon! So for me a five gallon container is all I want to heft.

Another key to any container is keeping it in a place where if they leak it want cause other issues. The following is a good read about water storage:
http://www.rocketcityrockcrawlers.com/m ... 20V2.6.pdf

Ok, let’s say you run out of all the water supplies you have saved. What is next? I have two answers!

The most rugged and longest lasting water filter available is the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter! Their exclusively silver impregnated ceramic cartridge last up to 13,000 gallons and comes with a lifetime warranty. The average person drinks somewhere around 1.9 Liters a day, so that averages out to roughly 71 year’s worth of drinking water from this one filter. The pump filters one quart per minute and all this weights only 20 ounces. Granted, this is not cheap but what is your life worth?
http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-8013618-P ... B0007U00YE

Next and probably one of the most interesting products I’ve ever seen called a Hydropack!

The HydroPack uses a process called forward osmosis to draw water into the pouch while leaving contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and cysts behind. All you have to do is place a pouch in a water source of questionable quality and come back in 10 hours to enjoy a drink of clean drinking water.

You can read all about the company here: http://www.htiwater.com/default.html

This video will show you all about it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctlJxcKrq7k

You might be able to find somewhere cheaper but I found the following website that provides a bucket that contains 108 HydroPack pouches. The shipping is free and so it cost you $1.82 per pouch for 12oz of clean drinking water. http://www.emergencyfoodwarehouse.com/product42.html

I see this as a great product to have in a bug out bag where you do not want to have to worry about the weight. The empty pouches are not heavy, and you can relax knowing you have a safe source of drinking water anywhere there is any type of water source.

[Copper Catcher]

Questions or Comments?

[John_doe]

:D Questions or Comments?

cool insight as usual, not too over the top. always enjoy reading your stuff. a realist prepper.

[NHsorter]

I will second that those Katadyn filters are the balls.

[Rosco]

I purchased a Big Berkey Stainless water filter it treats about 2 1/2 gal sits on counter or table has low mounted spout will treat thousands of gal of water takes out the chlorine an most objectionable odors. We now use it every day an take it with us in our RV the water tastes good, not cheep but worth it IMHO

All our self stored water is filtered then stored in 3 qt or 1 gal juice jugs about 20 Gal+

[John_doe]

im about to increase my water bottle hoard.


I want enough for a 1-2 week supply at all times.

[fb101]

I keep about a 2 week supply handy. The hydropack is interesting.