Prepping basics: Essential tips on how to prepare for a long-term water supply disruption

05/28/2024 / By HRS Editors

Having an assortment of survival gear is nice, but when SHTF, you will also need clean drinking water in your stockpile.

Before disaster strikes, learn how to store and purify water for your daily needs. (h/t to BackdoorSurvival.com)

Clean water is something that many people, especially non-preppers, take for granted. When dealing with an emergency, you will have one less thing to worry about if you know that you have access to clean drinking water, so it’s essential to learn how to find, store and purify water for your stockpile.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends storing at least one gallon of water per person and pet, per day, for a minimum of three days. However, preppers know that you might need more than that when SHTF.

A more reasonable recommendation is that you store enough water for at least two weeks. That means if you are prepping for two people, you would need 28 gallons. This much water should cover your basic needs for drinking, food preparation and hygiene. (Related: HRS solutions: Must-have survival drinks for your pantry.)

DIY water storage

To save money on water storage, you can start your stockpile by filling thoroughly washed plastic or glass containers with tap water and sealing them tightly.

Follow these steps to store water for emergency use:

Thoroughly clean plastic bottles and jugs with dishwashing soap and water. Rinse them well to get rid of any residual soap.
Sanitize the containers by adding a solution of one teaspoon of unscented liquid household chlorine bleach to one quart of water. Make sure that the bleach you are using is fresh.
Swish the sanitizing solution in the containers to cover all interior surfaces. Sanitize the lids and caps as well.
After sanitizing the containers and caps, thoroughly rinse out the bleach solution with clean water.
Wear latex or nitrile gloves to maintain sanitation and avoid contaminating the caps by touching the inside of them with your fingers. Fill all sanitized containers to the top with tap water.
Add two drops of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to the water, then tightly close the containers using the original caps.
Label the outside of the bottles with the date using a permanent marker.
Store the containers in a cool, dark place.

As a precaution, rotate your water supply every six months to a year. Dump the water, re-sanitize the jugs and start the process all over. If you have the space, mark the jugs as “non-potable” and save the water for non-drinking emergency purposes.

Where to get high-quality water filters

The Health Ranger Store is committed to helping you prepare for any emergency and ensuring that you have a convenient means of filtering water after SHTF.

That’s why we’re proud to introduce products like the AquaPail Water Filter and the Berkey PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements.

The AquaPail Water Filter is a must-have for your prepping stockpile.

AquaPail is the world’s only Gravity-Fed Emergency Water Filter with “end-of-life” testing. This means that the DuraFlo™ Water Filter used in the AquaPail has been tested and certified by top U.S. independent laboratories to establish the water filter’s “end-of-life,” or its actual usage capacity.

Aquapails are available in 3 sizes:

Small – 1,100 gallons = Equivalent of one person’s total water needs for one year
Medium – 3,300 gallons = Equivalent to three people’s total water needs for one year
Large – 5,500 gallons = Equivalent to five people’s total water needs for one year

Berkey PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements (Set of 2 Filters) are designed to be used with Black Berkey water purification elements to adsorb unwanted elements found in drinking water such as fluoride, arsenic V and pre-oxidized arsenic III, along with other residual heavy metal ions.

Note that high levels of fluoride, arsenic and heavy metals may reduce the capacity and efficiency of Berkey PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements.

Visit SurvivalGear.news for more articles about must-have items and tools for your survival stockpile.

You can also check out Health Ranger Store and Brighteon Store for more clean food supplies for your prepping needs.

Watch the video below for more tips about survival, water and waste management.

This video is from the Dr. John Bergman D.C. channel on Brighteon.com.