Health department and public water safety officials
use many safeguards to protect the sanitary quality of your daily drinking
water. However, this protection may break down during emergencies caused
by natural disasters.
During times of serious emergency, the normal water supply to your
home may be cut off or become so polluted that it is undrinkable.
A supply of stored water could be your most precious survival item!
You and your family may then be on your own to provide a safe and
adequate water supply. Remember that typhoid fever, Dysentery, and infectious
hepatitis are diseases often associated with unsafe water.
Don't take a chance! Generally, under serious disaster conditions,
no
water can be presumed safe--all drinking and cooking water should be purified.
Required
Amounts of Drinking Water Per Person
A minimum of two quarts and up to one gallon of water is needed per
day, depending on the size of the person, the amount of exertion, weather,
and perspiration loss. A minimum of seven gallons pure water per person
would be needed for a two-week survival supply. With careful rationing,
this amount would be sufficient for drinking, food preparation, brushing
teeth, etc. Fourteen gallons per person will allow for hygiene care.
Keep an emergency supply of drinking water in plastic containers.
Commercially bottled drinking water is available. It stays pure for months
and has the expiration date clearly marked on it.
There are several other sources of water if your water supply is
turned off--water drained from the hot water tank (usually contains 30
to 60 gallons of usable water), clear water from the toilet flush-tank,
if kept constantly clean ( not the bowl !), melted ice cubes, canned fruits
and vegetable juices, and liquid from other canned goods.
How
to Purify Water for Drinking
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If water is cloudy, smelly, or otherwise polluted, strain it through
a paper towel or several layers of clean cloth into a container in order
to remove any sediment or floating matter.
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Water that is boiled vigorously for five full minutes will usually be
safe from harmful bacterial contamination.
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If boiling is not possible, strain the water as above and treat by adding
ordinary liquid chlorine household bleach or tincture of iodine. Since
liquid chlorine bleach loses strength over time, fresh bleach should be
used as a water disinfectant. If the bleach is a year old the amount should
be doubled. Two-year-old bleach should not be used as a water disinfectant.
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Other chemical treatments for water purification also include halzone
tablets, iodine tablets or crystals.
Mix thoroughly by stirring or shaking the water in its container.
Let it stand for 30 Minutes.
A slight chlorine odor should be detectable in the water; if not,
repeat the dosage and let the water stand for and additional 15 minutes
before using.
Use an eye dropper to add the chlorine or the iodine to the water.
Use it only for this purpose.
How
to Prepare and Store Bottles of Purified Water
Keep the drinking water safe from contamination by carefully storing
in clean non-corrosive, tightly-covered containers.
Use one-gallon containers, preferably made of heavy opaque plastic
with screw-on caps. Plastic milk bottles are not recommended. Sterilize
the bottles.
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Wash bottles with soapy water, then rinse thoroughly.
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Run about three quarts tap water into one of the containers, then add
3/4 cup bleach to the water.
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Shake well, turning upside down a time or two so that the stopper will
be sterilized also.
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Let the mixture stand for two to three minutes, then pour it into the
next container. You can use the same chlorinated water for several containers.
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Fill the empty bottle with pure or purified water and seal it tightly
close with cap or stopper.
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Label with "Drinking Water--Purified", and the date of preparation.
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Water purification tablets may also be used and are available in drug
stores and sporting goods stores. They are recommended for your first aid
kit. Four tablets will purify one quart of water.
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Some stored water may develop a disagreeable appearance, taste, or odor.
These properties are not necessarily harmful. Inspect your water supply
every few months to see whether the containers have leaked or other undesirable
conditions have developed. Replace the water if it becomes contaminated.
Portable
Water Purification Equipment
A high quality filter system should possess the following characteristics:
light-weight; have fewer parts (less to go wrong); a fine pre-filter; a
replaceable or clearable filter; tight, well-made pump; high volume output;
quick filtration; should screen out organisms over 0.5 microns (0.2 microns
is best).
A system with all of these features may not be inexpensive, however.
The cost will usually reflect reliability as well as technology of design.
Always use a filter properly. Use clearest water available, allowing
suspended matter to settle out. Use pre-filter if your system has one.
Do not let outlet end of filter come in contact with contaminated water.
Be sure vessel you're pumping into is clean.
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