How Long Can You Survive without Water???

As I review the surveys, I have noticed that many families have little or no water supply.Establishing a supply of food is essential in many ways, but water is more important than any food you may have.
A person can go without food for several weeks or more, but without water you can survive only a few days.
How much water do you need? For a 2 week supply you need 28 gallons a person- 14 for drinking and 14 for washing, per person.
You may need more if:
-you have pets
-you have a baby in need of water for formula
-you have any dehydrated foods that will need water prior to eating
-you live in extreme hot temperatures
What if a disaster struck today and you have no water supply? There is some other options.

1. Hot water heater: can hold up to 50 gallons of water. The trick is to getting it out. Opening the drain faucet at the bottom of the tank can access the water. To get the water to flow, you have to turn the faucet on somewhere else in the house to release the pressure. BUT if the source of your "emergency situation" is an earthquake your water heater could tip or break and lose all of your water. Also, in my case it is in the basement and may not be accessible in an emergency.

2.Toilet tank: I am talking about the tank in the back, not the bowl:) It can hold anywhere from 3-5 gallons of water. I personally don't want to rely on my source of water coming from the toilet, but I would use it for my pet or for cleaning. It IS clean water but still...it's the toilet.

3.Can foods: You can get liquid source from can fruits, vegetables, soups that may be on your shelf. It will sustain you but may not be the most refreshing or the most practical for washing purposes.

Anyway, there is no need for any of those options if we start now to prepare.
There are plenty of options for all budgets.

1. Milk jugs- This is the cheapest but not a long term solution. After you finish a gallon of milk, rinse it in cold water and fill it up to store. This plastic is thin and disintegrates quickly. I bought water in the gallon containers and in less than a year they collapsed and leaked all over my garage.


2. 2-liter soda pop bottles- These containers or juice containers are made of a thicker plastic and last longer. This is economic if you drink these on a regular basis and have them laying around anyway. It would take a lot of them to equal the suggested 14 gallons. I have a few of them and they have stored well for many years.




3. Single serve water bottles- These are the most convenient, although you would need quite a bit of them as well. For one person's 14 gallons you would need 5 of the 24 packs. I have these and stack them up in my garage. When summer comes they get to amazing prices to stock up on. You shouldn't pay more than $3 for a 24 pack of water. In the summer they can get to just under $2 and you could easily get your supply. Every 2 weeks I would buy 4 of them and spend less than $10.


4. 5 Gallon water jug. There are a lot of different sizes that you can get to store your water. They all range in prcie as well. These containers are square shaped which makes it convenient to stack. Although you will need quite a few for your family.You will need 5-6 per person to meet the suggested amount. These can be found at Emergency Essentials for $11 each. I am currently trying to see if they will give me a group discount.
5. Water barrels- This is a great way to store a lot of water without having tons of containers around.I keep them against my garage wall. They need to be inside in our Utah temperatures. For a family of 2 you would need one 55 gallon container for both your drinking and cleaning. Once you fill it though it can be over 400 pounds. Every year you can empty it and water your grass, and put fresh water inside. They may seem bulky but I have 3 of them in the far end of my garage and I can still park my SUV and open my trunk and have plenty of space to walk around.

A siphon hose pump is the easiest and most logical way to get it out.I bought one for $6 when Macey's has their preparedness sales. You may have seen these barrels and noticed that they range around $50 a piece. But because I am cheap I looked for another option:) I found a woman on KSL who sold them previously used for juice concentrate. I bought 3 of them for $10 each. I now have enough water for all of my family and another one in the future. It is an amazing piece of mind. I talked to this same person last week and she told me she can get more of these containers if any one is interested. Because she now works full time she cannot keep up with the cleaning of them. This should not be a problem for any of us. It is a simple solution and water and you are set.We could even plan a day to do it in the park in warmer weather. LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO BE PUT ON THE WAITING LIST! She will start collecting them depending on the need.

Rotation- Water can be stored up to 5 years at a time or more. It may not taste that great but any stored water is without oxygen will not maintain a overly pleasant taste. Think about it- tasty water or no water at all...With my bottle waters I use the oldest ones first for our current use. When I see a good deal I will get another one to replace it.

Place all water containers on top of a wood board if it is stored on top of cement. My husband just used some 2x4's and created a platform pretty simple. He can help out anyone as well who needs some assistance with that.I do not know the scientific reason, but the concrete can contaminate your supply.