Water.
Water Basics.
Water is critical for survival. An average person can only survive 3 days without water.
Every person needs 1 gallon of water per day (half for drinking and half for hygiene and cooking).
Water can be stored indefinitely if kept in food-grade containers, in dark cool environments, and with continued chemical treatments.
Simple Purification Techniques.
Straw Purification.
Perfect for personal water purification while on the go. These essentials use membrane microfilters to capture bacteria, parasites, microplastics, dirt, sand and small particulates. They have no shelf life and are easy to store.
Lifestraw (treats 1,000 gal)
Bottle Purification.
Similar to the straw purification, bottle and tote purifiers can treat larger volumes of water to support an individual for longer term or larger groups of people.
Lifestraw Family (treats 4,755 gal)
Lifestraw Max (treats 4,000 gal)
Lifestraw Community (treats 26,000 gal)
Tablet Purification.
Water purification tablets or chemicals use active chemicals to treat and settle out contaminates in water. These products typically are packaged in quick personal size tablet form, or can be provided in bottles.
Aquatabs (treats 2qt)
Aquamira drops (treats 30 gal)
Bleach (8 drops of 6%; 6 drops of 8.25% per gal)
Methods to obtain Water.
Fetching Water.
Fetching water is probably the least attractive and most labor intensive of the water collection techniques. Typical of pre-industrialization this technique includes taking a barrel, bottle, or bucket to a nearby water sources and carrying water back. Bicycles or other mechanically advantaged transportation is recommended if possible.
Rainwater Harvesting.
Rainwater harvesting comes in many forms. Many people divert downspouts on houses into cisterns or barrels near their home. Tarps can be suspended between structures or trees to capture rainfall and hold in buckets or larger barrels and cisterns. Tubing and hoses can also be used to convey water from where it is harvested to a nearby storage location.
Surface Water Diversion.
Surface water diversion requires additional work in advance. Usually this is accomplished through the use of a small low-head dam, or small diameter piping from a nearby creek, pond, or lake. Valves to control flow of water are important. It is recommended to use barrels or cisterns to store the water nearby your location if possible.
Groundwater Well.
Groundwater wells can be a great source of drinking water. A good well can provide safe drinking water on demand without need for treatment or storage. Hand, mechanically, or electrically operated pumps are needed to pump the water to the surface. Groundwater wells need to be tested to confirm that water is safe to drink, otherwise treatment as discussed below can be added.
Water Treatment.
Filtration.
Filtration is key to overall water quality. High quality membranes and microfilter can remove 99+% of bacteria, parasites, microplastics, and other sediments and metals from drinking water. High quality filtration is often enough to improve water quality to levels needed for drinking water. Small particulate filters are often combined with activated carbon for use in in-home systems. These however, are not enough to eliminate bacteria and parasites, only membrane microfilters are suitable for direct to drinking water.
Disinfection.
Disinfection is the process of water treatment that eliminates bacteria, parasites, and viruses from the water. Disinfection can be accomplished using chemicals such as tablets or drops or through the use of ultraviolet rays. Chemical disinfection can leave disinfection byproducts in the water, but tend to be ideal when also storing water.