Water, Water Everywhere
I am sometimes reminded of the line from the poem (I think it’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner), “Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink.” Water is so basic, but I think it is often overlooked. We assume that when we turn on our faucets that clean water will come out. But in an emergency or disaster, water is one of the first things contaminated. The first thing that clears off store shelves when a hurricane is approaching or a big winter storm is on the horizon is water.
Storing water is essential to be prepared. You need one gallon of water per person per day. Storing a two week supply of water is the minimum that we should all be doing. That’s 14 gallons for each person in your household. There are 6 people in my family, so we need 84 gallons. That is a lot of water. But it is too important to ignore or put off.
So, how do you store all that water? I like the 5 gallon stackable water containers because they have grooved rims so that they can stack without falling over. The 5 gallon stackable water container comes with a handle and is portable. A gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds, so a 5 gallon container would weigh about 40 lbs. You wouldn’t want to carry that too far, but it’s great for grabbing and throwing in your car in the case of an emergency.
I also like the big barrels. You can fill it up and know that you have a lot of water. But the barrels are obviously not portable…a fully loaded one can weigh over 400 lbs! If you would need to shelter in your home, barrels are great for giving you access to a huge amount of clean water.
Tomorrow we will focus on water rotation and why you should have 3 different ways to get water.
