I like to drink a lot...of water. TX dry climate and heat, what's your water plan?

[breakingcontact]

I really consider obtaining, cleaning and resupplying water to be enemy number one in any kind of long term emergency survival situation here in TX.

 

[F350-6]

What do you consider long term?

 

[TX69]

...

 

[breakingcontact]

What do you consider long term?

As fast as water goes...more than 2 weeks.

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

Some storage and two different filtration systems. There's a pond and a public pool nearby if I had to go get some to treat.

 

[breakingcontact]

I've thought of those sources. The pond wouldn't be a problem with a regular filter. How about the pool water though?

 

[just jk]

in a shtf scenario - potable water - in some parts of texas -would be a commodity equal to gold

 

[SIG_Fiend]

Funny you mentioning this. Just came across this cool vid series, and it's from a guy in San Antonio:

Rainwater Collection System Series - YouTube

Minus the cost of materials, can't beat FREE water!

Also, seems like the most important aspect always boils down to filtering and purification. Any recommendations there? Lately, I've been thinking about getting a Berkey water filter for the kitchen. I looked around at tons of other options, from whole house filtration systems, to portable/semi-portable types like Berkey's, but there are too many options to choose from.

 

[txbikerman]

i read on some of the prepper sites that you can store water in gallon jugs for up to a year with just a few drops of bleach in each container

 

[breakingcontact]

I've just got my water filters from my hiking daze. A lot of work to get a liter of water and it just removes most parasites in the water, not chemicals (which is why I ask about about how to clean the pool water).

I suppose the first question I should ask is how much I can realistically keep on hand, how to store it and how long it will last.

 

[ScorpionHunter]

I'm on full rainwater collection. No public water, no well. We have a 40,000 gallon tank that's full now after the recent rains, and that could last us for about 18 months. The filtration is a sand filter at the tank along with an ozone generator, and two canister filters and a UV light at the house. I haven't actually looked into this, but I suppose you could do without the sand filter if you have a decent filter at the collection point. The ozone is a good disinfectant, but bleach could replace that, I suppose. The final thing is the UV light which kills just about everything and draws about .5 amps. If you can run that and a pump off of some solar, you might have a stand alone system that could sustain you for a while (assuming it rains).

 

[breakingcontact]

I'm on full rainwater collection. No public water, no well. We have a 40,000 gallon tank that's full now after the recent rains, and that could last us for about 18 months. The filtration is a sand filter at the tank along with an ozone generator, and two canister filters and a UV light at the house. I haven't actually looked into this, but I suppose you could do without the sand filter if you have a decent filter at the collection point. The ozone is a good disinfectant, but bleach could replace that, I suppose. The final thing is the UV light which kills just about everything and draws about .5 amps. If you can run that and a pump off of some solar, you might have a stand alone system that could sustain you for a while (assuming it rains).

This sounds so awesome.

 

[mitchntx]

I'm on full rainwater collection. .

Would you mind sharing a few photos of your set-up?

 

[CanTex]

Long term water storage without looking like a prepper. Get a hot tub, fill it and use it. Buy a water bed, fill it and use it. When shtf, take out what you need. Choose your cleaning option Boil it/filter it/treat it, then drink it.

 

[Southpaw]

I have been buying 2.5 gallon containers of water and keeping enough on hand for about a week. I'll rotate the stock from time to time as well. Some sort of filtration system has been in the plans though.

 

[Texan2]

i read on some of the prepper sites that you can store water in gallon jugs for up to a year with just a few drops of bleach in each container

Water from your tap has already been treated if you are on a city water system. But bleach is the easiest and cheapest way to "purify" water. If you are going to treat large amounts you can use pool "shock" which is essentially concentrated bleach.

 

[breakingcontact]

The GI water jugs are really really sturdy. I found some that look similar to them and they are made in Canada so have less bad chemicals in them. They are good to go, but not nearly as sturdy as those GI ones though. I found these at Academy awhile back but now all they have are the thin cheesy ones which are more for a weekend camping trip. I had these before and they do split and leak. I need to just get a 55 gallon barrel and put it in the garage.

 

[just jk]

what is the typical shelf life of bottled water? (store bought)?

 

[Southpaw]

what is the typical shelf life of bottled water? (store bought)?

At least a year on mine that I just checked. It was Ozarka drinking water, not spring water. I say that, because on the HEB spring water, there was no date given. Not sure if the municipal sourced drinking water last longer due to it being processed the way it is rather then the spring water, but I felt better having a date on it.

 

[just jk]

if you drink bottled water regularly - i suppose you could have a base stock - and work thru a rotation of using the oldest stuff and replacing it so that you always have a certain amount on hand