*Bron: Boere Krisis Aksie. (JP) OPGAAR EN BERE VAN WATER........ SHARE DIE BERIG, more oormore gaan ons dit almal nodig he! Party dorpe het al reeds vir dae lank nie water nie, en dit is NIE agv die droogte nie! BKA voorspel dat die water krisis nog baie gaan vererger!
Kraan en reenwater kan vir tot n jaar gestoor word. Gebottelde water kan vir n onbepaalde tyd gestoor word! Tap jou spaar bad vol water en trek kleefplastiek oor. (sit plastiek om die prop om seker te maak dit gaan nie lek nie!)
To use household bleach for disinfecting water: Add two drops of bleach per quart or liter of water. Stir it well. Let the mixture stand for a half hour before drinking.
Common Questions About Water Storage
Do I need to rotate my water every year?
This is probably the most common question and the most common answer is, yes, you need to change your water out at least once a year. But after looking into it, I found that this isn’t necessarily true. First, it’s important to understand that water doesn’t have an expiration date. If properly stored, water doesn’t spoil. What makes water go bad is contamination that gets into it. If you take proper precautions in sealing and storing your water so that bacteria or other contaminants don’t get into it, your water could theoretically stay good forever. In fact, I’ve read lots of blog posts from folks who’ve imbibed five-year-old stored water without any problems. So, as long as you take proper precautions, no, you don’t need to change your water out every year. However, if you’re worried about contamination, then go ahead and do it.
Do I need to treat my water with chlorine before I store it?
A few prepper sites recommend that you treat your water with chlorine before you seal its storage container. But if you’re using tap water from your city to fill your water storage, it’s unnecessary. Tap water has already been treated with chlorine. If you properly seal your bottle or drum, you shouldn’t have to worry about bacteria or algae growth. If the day comes that you have to crack open your water source and you’re worried about contamination, feel free to add chlorine. The proper amount is 1/8 teaspoon of chlorine per gallon of water. To make it easier, just buy some water treatment drops. They tell you exactly what you need to add.
Do I need to boil my stored water before I drink it?
If you have reason to believe that your water has been contaminated, then boil it. If not, don’t. It’s a waste of fuel.
Why does my stored water taste funny? Is it contaminated?
Stored water will often taste flat and weird because there’s no oxygen in it. To get rid of that weird stored water taste, simply swish your water around your cup a few times before drinking.
Do I need to store my water off the cement?
If you plan on storing water in 55-gallon barrels, you’ll likely come across recommendations to not store the barrels on your garage’s cement floor and to instead place them on wooden pallets. The reason given is that chemicals in the cement can cause a chemical reaction with the plastic storage container and possibly contaminate the water. Looking into this a bit more, this seems to be more of an old prepper wives’ tale. I couldn’t find any scientific research to back up this claim. A few prepper sites claimed that storing your water on cement only became a problem when your cement got really hot.
To be on the safe side, I went ahead and put my water barrels on a pallet. Didn’t cost me much more and didn’t take up much more space. You can also use carpet or flattened cardboard boxes too.
I have a swimming pool. Can’t I just use that for my emergency water? If you have an average size swimming pool out back, you have around 20,000 gallons of water at your disposal in case of an emergency. It’s certainly drinkable. You just have to be smart about it. Because of the chlorine and pump/filter, pool water is typically free of contaminants like algae and bacteria. Don’t be freaked out about drinking chlorinated pool water. The recommended chlorine levels for pools is 2 parts per million. Water with chlorine levels below 4 parts per million is safe for humans to drink.
The problem with relying on pool water for a long-term water solution is that in a grid-down situation in which water and electricity are out for more than a week, that pool water is going to go bad. First, chlorine levels will drop in a few days unless you keep adding chlorine to the pool. If you don’t have enough chlorine on hand, that means the water will become an algae and bacteria breeding ground in a short while. Second, without electricity, your pool’s pump and filter can’t clean out the gunk. So after a week, your pristine drinkable pool water will start to “spoil.” With that in mind, you might consider having several collapsible water carriers on hand and filling them up with pool water if you think the power will be down for more than a week. Fill as many as you can and put them in your garage. You should boil or chemically treat any pool water before drinking it just to be safe.
What about saltwater pools? Well, that’s a bit trickier. There’s a lot of mixed info out there on the topic. A few people make the case that salt levels in saltwater pools aren’t as high as you’d think they’d be, and are arguably in the safe range for drinking. On the other hand, their levels are still pretty high and too much salt consumption in a survival situation can be detrimental to your overall well-being, so you’re better off not swigging the stuff. It’s better to play it safe by avoiding drinking the saltwater from your pool. If you do have a saltwater pool and would like to use the water, consider using it only for hygiene purposes. If you want to use it for drinking, use a solar desalination device like this one. Just be warned, it takes a long time to produce drinkable water.
Rainwater can be wonderfully pure when it falls through unpolluted air directly into a clean, properly constructed container. The rain that falls in cities or flows across outdoor basins, roofs and other open air surfaces on its way to a barrel is another story. Contamination from animal feces, dead insects, engine oil, car exhaust, lead paint and other substances can make drinking it a health hazard. Rainwater collected from rooftops is unsafe; always treat it before drinking.
Minimizing Contamination
If you intend to use rainwater for drinking, minimizing contamination is essential. Keep the rain barrel clean; remove overhanging branches and any debris on roofs or gutters. Use fine wire mesh to keep leaves, bugs and other materials from getting into the rain barrel. The barrel itself should be lightproof and tightly sealed to keep mosquitoes from getting in and laying eggs in your water supply. Use a diverter to prevent the first flush of rainwater, which will carry the most contaminants, from entering the container.
Boiling
For emergency or short-term use of rain barrel water for drinking, boiling is the best way to purify rainwater because it kills viruses, parasites and bacteria that cause diarrhea. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends bringing water to a rolling boil for at least one minute and then letting it cool to room temperature. Boil the water for 3 minutes at higher altitudes. A pinch of salt in each quart of the boiled water is supposed to improve the taste.
Chemical Treatment
If you cannot boil the rain barrel water, the World Health Organization advises filtering the water first, then disinfecting with chemicals. Commercial water purification products using either chlorine or iodine are widely available. If the water is cloudy, strain it through a clean, porous fabric, such as a cotton bandana, to remove sediments and other debris. The CDC warns that chemical treatment does not always kill certain parasites. Iodine is more effective than chlorine, but do not use iodine-treated water for more than a few weeks at a time, or for pregnant women, people with thyroid conditions or anyone who is hypersensitive to iodine. In its crystalline form, swallowing as little as 4 grams of iodine can be deadly, according to the CDC.
When it comes to storing water for long periods, the answer is “Yes,” your H2O can certainly become unsafe to drink, says Zane Satterfield, an engineer scientist with the National Environmental Services Center at West Virginia University. “Most experts will tell you tap water has a shelf-life of six months,” Satterfield says. “After that point, the chlorine dissipates to the point that bacteria and algae start to grow.” That growth will speed up if you store your water in a warm or sunny spot—or in a glass container that hasn’t been thoroughly washed or sealed, he adds.
If you’re a doomsday hoarder with giant vats of pre-packaged water in your basement, you should know that will last at least a year. But after 12 months you’re best off swapping out what you have for fresh stores, Satterfield advises. “You’ll see that some of the water will evaporate during that time, which is proof that the plastic isn’t impermeable,” he explains.
If you want to play it safe when it comes to water that’s been stored for long periods, Satterfield says adding a few drops of plain, unscented bleach and waiting 30 minutes will make your water safe to drink. (Specifically, that’s four drops per gallon, he adds.) Good to know in case of an apocalypse—zombie or otherwise.
Place a date on the outside of the container so you can know when you filled it. Store in cool, dark place. Water can also be treated with water purification tablets that can be purchased at most sporting goods stores.
Water Treatment
If you have used all of your stored water and there are no other reliable clean water sources, it may become necessary in an emergency situation to treat suspicious water. Treat all water of uncertain quality before using it for drinking, food washing or preparation, washing dishes, brushing teeth or making ice. In addition to having a bad odor and taste, contaminated water can contain microorganisms (germs) that cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis.
There are many ways to treat water. None is perfect. Often the best solution is a combination of methods. Before treating, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom or strain them through coffee filters or layers of clean cloth. Make sure you have the necessary materials in your disaster supplies kit for the chosen water treatment method.
BOILING
Boiling is the safest method of treating water. In a large pot or kettle, bring water to a rolling boil for one full minute, 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. This also will improve the taste of stored water.
CHLORINATION
You can use household liquid bleach to kill microorganisms. Use only regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 to 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented bleaches, color safe bleaches or bleaches with added cleaners. Because the potency of bleach diminishes with time, use bleach from a newly opened or unopened bottle.
Add 16 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If it doesn’t, then repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still does not smell of chlorine, discard it and find another source of water.
Other chemicals, such as iodine or water treatment products sold in camping or surplus stores that do not contain 5.25 or 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite as the only active ingredient, are not recommended and should not be used.
DISTILLATION
While boiling and chlorination will kill most microbes in water, distillation will remove microbes (germs) that resist these methods, as well as heavy metals, salts and most other chemicals. Distillation involves boiling water and then collection of only the vapor that condenses. The condensed vapor will not include salt or most other impurities. 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.
