The Elixir of Life: Securing and Purifying Water in an Emergency

You can survive 3 weeks without food, but only 3 days without water. In a disaster, waterborne disease is a primary killer.

1. Storage (The First Line)

• Quantity: 1 gallon per person per day (drinking + hygiene).
• Containers:
  • WaterBricks / Scepter Cans: Durable, stackable, portable.
  • Bathtub Liner (WaterBOB): Fill your bathtub immediately upon alert. Holds ~100 gallons.
  • Rain Barrels: Catch runoff from your roof (filter before drinking!).

2. Sourcing (When Storage Runs Dry)

• Natural Sources: Rivers, lakes, springs. Always assume they are contaminated.
• Rainwater: The cleanest natural source, but still requires treatment.
• Morning Dew: Can be collected with absorbent cloths in dire situations.

3. Purification (Making it Safe)

Never drink raw water. Use the Two-Step Method: Filtration + Disinfection.

Step A: Filtration (Removes sediment, bacteria, protozoa)

• Sawyer Squeeze / Mini: Inexpensive, lasts for 100,000 gallons. Filters down to 0.1 microns.
• Berkey / Alexapure: Gravity-fed countertop filters. Excellent for home base.
• DIY Sand Filter: Layers of gravel, sand, and charcoal. Removes sediment but not viruses.

Step B: Disinfection (Kills viruses)

Filtration often misses viruses (which are tiny). Disinfection kills them.

• Boiling: The most reliable method. Rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes at high altitude).
• Bleach: Regular unscented bleach (sodium hypochlorite). 8 drops per gallon. Let sit for 30 minutes.
• Calcium Hypochlorite (Pool Shock): Long-term storage powder. A tiny amount treats thousands of gallons. Handle with extreme care.