Water Storage

“Water is the only drink for a wise man.” - Henry David Thoreau

As discussed in the blog Insufficient Water Storage, water is often the Achille's heel in any preparedness plan. A person needs a gallon a day to drink plus extra water for washing clothes, dishes, teeth, body, etc. If your food storage consists of dehydrated foods, then you'll need water to rehydrate the foods. A gallon is about two 2-liter soda bottles. For a family of 4 you'll need 24 "soda" bottles of drinking water for a 72-hour "kit" push optional water for washing. That's a bit much to carry in back packs.

In our kits we pack iodine and water filters to purify any water we might find. We also have fire making supplies (matches, flint/steel) and a metal cup to boil water. We carry perhaps a liter a person and hope to find the rest.

As the blog Insufficient Water Storage points out, you can use some clever tricks to store water at home. For example the liquid in canned food counts as drinking water and can be used for cooking. Canned soups (no extra liquid required) are useful. And why not stock up on actual sodas, juice drinks and other beverages that you like to drink.

Bottom Line

Plan ahead to have adequate water. Stock what you can and purify the rest.