3 sources of water.

[jansman]

I always feel that Water is a prep that is somewhat less than 'sexy' when compared to stuff like equipment. Thing is , it is our most basic requirement after air.

I am a fan of Ragnar Benson, who has been around the survivalist scene since before the Internet. He has lived in many third world countries, and his approach to staying alive is boiled down to very simple methods. He also adopts the 'Rule of Three' which means you have to have three separate ways of doing something or re supplying. This applies to water.

My own set up is a combination of 125 litres ( 25 gallons) stored. This leaves 5x 25 litre containers for re filling when empty. Then there is the rainwater collection. This amounts to 300 gallons. And these are supplied by rain. Then there is the brook over the road as the third source of water.

We have three Water filters ( Sawyer) which can be set up as a gravity filter ( thanks for the tutorial Yorkshire Andy!) and large enough vessels to boil it too. With this set up , water is sorted ( at least in the short to medium term). What are your plans?

[Arzosah]

Good post! I have stored water ... about 30 litres (just for me). I have a mini Katadyn filter. I have purification tabs. I have sand, charcoal and cloth to set up 2 expedient filters from empty supermarket water bottles. And there's a stream very close to me that I need to think/learn how to get the water up from it - there's a drop of eight feet from the pedestrian bridge over it.

[Deeps]

Like Jansman I've got some 25 Ltr containers (4) and also other water bottles taking it up to about 150 ltr's in the house. Secondary source would be the pond, it's a reasonable size (I should know, I dug it. ) but would require to either go through the sawyer or puritabs, I don't have a ready made filter to get rid of the bigger bits but have access to sand and moss. Tertiary source would be other nearby water sources, we have a few but I'd be either putting them through the sawyer or puritabing them, we don't have a close free flowing burn and although I'm a couple of hundred yards from the Forth, I'm at the salty end so not much use. Even in summer we have plenty pools/big puddles of water that are fairly close, the water 'problem' isn't one that I dwell on although in some of the more 'exotic' SHTF scenario's I suppose I'd be down to what I've got in the house and the pond but personally I'm not really planning for the extreme.

I've got to the stage (for some reason) that I have about 30 ltrs of lemonade, about 10-20 ltrs of fresh orange juice in usually as well, this is something that's accumulated since I officially became a prepper, I suppose it appeals to the hoarder in me to store these, it wasn't a conscious decision but now that I've got them I intend to keep them going. Wine, well I'm fairly well stocked on that front too, the zombie apocalypse will be viewed through a drunken haze !

[Vespa]

Excellent topic and excellent post. Like Jansman said water is absolutely essential but not very sexy.

I store very little water though I think I should. I have two 55 gallon plastic drums that take rain water from the roof of my house, rarely empty and mainly used for my garden.
I'm blessed by the fact that I have access to several reservoirs, moorland streams and I've made a point of locating several moorland springs. One reservoir is a five minute walk. I have enough steri tbs and milton fluid to treat 25000l and the ability to boil without any mains gas or electricity.

And if all that fails then I still have a life saver bottle and two straws.

[Nate66]

I currrently have 6 x 25 ltr containers filled and doctored with a cap full of bleach to keep any contaminants at bay and a 230ltr water tank in the attic. I have a small fairly clean fast running river just a short distance away with plenty of bleach, iodine, purification tabs etc. I also have plenty of sand and charcoal if needed. So I have close to 400ltrs of water on hand at any given time with plenty in reserve I can purify. Water (i believe) is sorted.

[BaseOne]

Also remember that rivers and streams in urban areas would be very different post-SHTF. If the mains water is cut, some ignorant people will be washing their dishes, the kids pottie and maybe their own genitals/feet/anus in there.

Another good water prep isn't related to finding water, but working out how you will make "wild water" palatable. Most "keyboard preppers" have never drank water from anywhere but a tap, and would be in for a shock once they taste river/lake/pond water. Even after filtering, there are all sorts of "flavours" in there, some are unpleasant. Of course if you're really thirsty, you'll drink anthing, but why "rough it"? You therefore might want to consider prepping some juice mixes/concentrates (the stuff you mix 1 part concentrate to 5 parts water).

[jansman]

It is great that other folks think like me. On the subject of 'wild water ' , yes , it can taste a little interesting, but as long as it is safe that is ok. I really feel that water should have a higher profile in our preparations. When we were first married we had an ice storm that knocked out power. For a week!

Of course that power loss soon meant that the water stopped , as water does not pump uphill. Severn Trent did not have a 'Plan B' so they were appealing for generators on local radio. They had sold all their assets to privatise!!!! We were boiling snow at that point. It was a Sunday, and shops did not open back then ( to buy water) and the water company did not distribute it like they do now. I guess even 25 years ago the population was more resilient.

Ever since then we have kept at least two jerrycans of water and purification tablets. One week without running water was a chore. When I stepped up my game and became a 'prepper' I made sure water would not be an issue, at least in the short to medium term.

[Mad Scientist]

Happily, we have access to two streams and 2 reservoirs. Working in a lab I have filtering and distilling equipment, as well as iodine, sterilising tabs and Miltons. The floods from a few years ago taught me a lot. With regards to washing stuff, my only problem is drying big stuff, so I'm looking for a mangle or something.

[unsure]

Good post! I have stored water ... about 30 litres (just for me). I have a mini Katadyn filter. I have purification tabs. I have sand, charcoal and cloth to set up 2 expedient filters from empty supermarket water bottles. And there's a stream very close to me that I need to think/learn how to get the water up from it - there's a drop of eight feet from the pedestrian bridge over it.

a drop of 8 feet you say . a bucket an a lenth of rope and your sorted , hard work but do-able .

i/we have around 150 litres in bottles and another 24 froze in the bottom of the freezer . catching rain off he roof is`nt practical as my drain pipe is on the front of the house .the nearest pond is 10 mins walk away , that would need to be boiled at the very least ,then chemical treated . if all else fails its going to be down to the life saver bottle .

[Deeps]

Good post! I have stored water ... about 30 litres (just for me). I have a mini Katadyn filter. I have purification tabs. I have sand, charcoal and cloth to set up 2 expedient filters from empty supermarket water bottles. And there's a stream very close to me that I need to think/learn how to get the water up from it - there's a drop of eight feet from the pedestrian bridge over it.

a drop of 8 feet you say . a bucket an a lenth of rope and your sorted , hard work but do-able .

i/we have around 150 litres in bottles and another 24 froze in the bottom of the freezer . catching rain off he roof is`nt practical as my drain pipe is on the front of the house .the nearest pond is 10 mins walk away , that would need to be boiled at the very least ,then chemical treated . if all else fails its going to be down to the life saver bottle .

You've just reminded me that I have another probably 7 ltrs of water in the garage freezer, I've go 4 2 ltr bottle with enough of a gap set aside for expansion. They're there for the occasional loss of lecky, a wee trick I learned from this site, put the frozen bottles in the fridge to keep it cold while there's a loss of lecky. We've not had one since I've prepped for it (damn you lecky board, I wanted to test it !!!!).