Water

One of the most vital parts of your food storage is your water storage. I’m not going to spend a lot of time telling you how to store water, whether to chlorinate or not because there are experts that have a lot more knowledge than I do. I just want to emphasize what an important and essential thing it is that you store water.

If you have city water, you may not realize what a scary feeling it is to turn on the tap and have nothing come out. Having lived in an older home that was on an unreliable and often contaminated water supply, I learned early on what a sick feeling it is to suddenly be "out of water". Drinking water is essential but we need water for so many other things. With just a gallon or two of stored water you soon learn just how much water it takes to survive. If you have babies or young children it becomes even more critical.

Much of your decision on how to store water will depend on where you are going to store it. We all know that storing water in milk jugs or even the jugs that you buy drinking water in can be disastrous. They won’t last long and you’ll have a soggy mess. The large barrels that store water are really the most economical way space-wise to store water because you can store 50 gallon in about a 2-3 foot square area. However they are harder to use. An ideal situation would be enough of the barrels for your long term storage plus smaller, manageable containers for emergency access. Two-liter bottles work great but remember if they or any other storage container is clear, they must be stored where it is dark to prevent the growth of algae in them. One of my favorite storage containers is the mylar bags that are inside the cardboard boxes that will stack. I have used them in an emergency and the water tastes wonderful and stays good.

Whatever you decide to use for storing water, get it done! The containers may be an expense but at some point they may save your lives or the lives of your children.

For more information on how to safely store water see: http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm/emergwatersuppl.html