With the water issues in and around Toledo, Ohio in the news, this is a good time to discuss water storage. Even though they’ve this morning announced that the water is safe, this had to have been a big scare for those depending on this water supply, and hopefully a wake up call, for all of us. It can happen to all of us!
As I’ve mentioned with probably each preparedness post, some folks think of “preppers” as the crazy folks living in the woods (sounds like us so far!) with bunkers of food, water, ammo and other items buried in the hills out back (not us!), waiting for the world as we know it to come to an end. With each post, I’ve said . . you do not have to be that person . . all you need to be is prepared and the degree of preparedness you choose is relative to the dangers/circumstances you foresee.
How many of the folks in the Toledo, Ohio area do you think expected to face what they’re facing? My guess is . . not many! Suppose you woke up this morning to the same news – your water supply is not safe for drinking. By the time you know it, many of those in your area probably already knew it and chances of finding bottled water in the stores will be slim to none. Then you’re left to scurry around and try to find where water is being distributed and chances are, wait in line for it with others who are in some stage of panic.
Or, you can simply go to your basement, assess your water supply that you’ve been stashing, and decide what steps you’re going to take.
Ready.gov recommends one gallon per day of water per person. For a family of four, 28 gallons of water would be sufficient for one week, based on these recommendations. Preparedness Pro has good advice on preparedness and has an excellent article on water storage.
Don’t forget pets!
There are times when the water supply is safe to be used for everything except drinking and it would be safe for flushing toilets, laundry, maybe a shower. There are times when it wouldn’t be safe for anything or might completely be shut off and we have absolutely no water coming from the faucets. Always heed the local warnings! Hopefully they are going to err on the side of caution.
Some items of preparedness are expensive and some are even extravagant but keeping water on hand, in my opinion, is essential. 28 gallons of bottled water should cost less than $28 in most areas. At our local Wal-Mart, water can be purchased in three gallon packs, in a cardboard box, and these boxes stack nicely.
Any water that is stored in plastic, that is intended for drinking, should be kept in a climate controlled area and I wouldn’t recommend allowing the water to get hot (as in — stored in the garage or shop that isn’t air conditioned if your summers are hot). There’s been some discussion about toxins leaching into the water from heated plastic. Please do your own research and make your decisions based on your findings.
If storing bottled water, watch the expiration dates.
As you’re reading this, please spend a little time thinking about what you would do if you got the news . . this minute . . that your water wasn’t safe to drink. You have choices:
- Get in line with most others in your area to try to find water for you and your family.
- Pull a jug of water from your own supply and keep on doing what you had planned to do today.
Some will make excuses – not enough $$ to stock up (you WILL spend more if there ever is an emergency and you’re having to run around hoping to find water and pay whatever the asking price is at the time of the emergency), or not enough storage space. All I’m suggesting is that you make every effort to have some amount of water stored for an emergency.
sharon says
That should be even if you do have your own well. We were without our well for a week at the beginning of the summer because we were running dry and they had to find out why. Ok, we’re back up and running. Animals and people use lots of water.
Norece says
Enjoyed reading your post, Judy.
Water was the main reason we decide to move. Our new home sits on a small spring fed lake. There is also another spring about 1/4 mile away in the woods. We have a well with a solar pump for the house. We use a rain catchment system for the garden and just put in a solar pump at the lake to help with watering the garden. We have a few different devices to purify the lake water if we have to use it for drinking or cooking.
liz says
My long-term backup is my swimming pool. However, I do have water purifiers (see Katadyn, Sawyer or Life Straw products).
For storage, I have an foldable 5 gallon plastic jug – I fill it up with local water for emergency situations. I rotate the water, by using it to water plants before refilling it. My next purchase will be to get Waterbricks, which are stackable water containers.
I also buy the cases of water so it is easy to grab a bottle or two when I leave the house. I have the metal containers for times that I know that I’ll be at places where I can refill the bottle.
Pam says
This is a good reminder. Here in Portland OR we had a few days where we were under a boil water order due to e-coli in the water. It was so much easier to have water available to us by being prepared!!! The stores were overrun with people buying all the water.
Nancy says
Recently our metro area we had e coli in the water system. Unlike Ohio we were able to boil water for use but not drink without boiling. I had bottled water in the basement. I did not have to boil it for drinking or cooking because I had bottled. I did have to boil water for dish washing so I did not use my bottled water for that just boiled the tap water. Bottled water disappeared off the store shelves quickly at the time. I have since replenished my supply – ready for next time. I do not consider myself a prepper. Just prepared.
CookieE says
We’re on a well and we also keep a several cases of bottled water on hand. However, one of the things I’m doing this summer is to always run a couple of quarts of water every time I use the pressure canner, which right now is almost daily. It doesn’t take up any more space to store mason jars filled with sterile water than it does to store them empty.
Barbara says
How long does water keep when pressure canned at home?
CookieE says
It’s my understanding that water that has been pressure canned or even water bath canned will keep for a couple of years.
Linda says
Never hurts to be prepared!
Susan says
You can’t afford it all at once, unless you have a lot more money than I do, but if you buy just one 2.5 gal. water container each time you go to the grocery store, in a short time, you can have the minimum, and then keep building. That’s my goal for this quarter, though I already do have some stored. I’d love to have a couple of 55 gal. blue drums, but that’s not happening this year or next, I’m sure! In the meantime, anything you save is better than having nothing at all saved. I used to consider my waterbed as storage (using bleach in it, not the stuff in a bottle they gave us!), and that was a comfort, but no waterbed now, sadly.
SaraF says
My family teased me about filling the bath tub with water during an ice storm a few years ago. But when the power went off a few hours later and our well pump didn’t work I was looking pretty smart. We had water for washing up and for flushing the toilet. And I had several pitchers and jugs filled in the utility room for drinking.
Rebecca Haughn says
I have a friend that lives in Toledo and he is married to a nurse, they drank their water and had no ill effects, he said it was one of those false type flag situations. Sure made a mess of things though even in Norwalk where I stopped there was a limit of 3 gals for any one person to buy. Think Norwalk is 60 miles from Toledo. I also have a well so we watched this and shook our heads.
JudyL says
In the medical field or not, I would NEVER recommend going against what the city/county officials are advising. I can’t see how that would ever be a wise move. They may err on the side of caution and there may not be an issue but it’s a chance I would never be willing to take. In fact, even when they gave the all clear, I’d be the one drinking bottled water for a few more days.
A lot of people don’t realize how far these type problems can reach. Staying prepared for as much as we can is always the best plan.
Jackie says
Thanks for the reminder! We are surrounded by farms and I’ve been concerned with our water supply and the potential for sudden problems with water and contamination. Initially my husband thought I was crazy but with everything that has been going on in the world lately he’s finally on board. You just never know and I want to be prepared.
Rebecca in SoCal says
Water is the first thing I thought of when you started talking about being prepared. I found the “bricks” someone else mentioned, but since they are plastic, don’t think I could keep them in the garage. I guess that space under the bed now has a purpose! (An advantage of the bricks over larger storage).