WATER LONG TERM STORAGE

[sag45]

Does anyone have any large capacities of water? say- 50 plus gallons. If you do or does anyone know how to keep such a supply stored for years without degrading it. I know there are pills you can use, but I think those are only when you pull or fill a gallon or less, then having to let the pill do its work or purify the water, then you can drink it or use it.
I only have watered bottled and some gallon jugs which are good for at the most 2 years or so. Some of the name brand bottles water and gallon jugs have a longer life date on them. I've seen these blue jugs they sell at Wal-mart, Academy and other places, but still the water can get bad over time.
I was also just thinking what if I was to get some dirty water and just boil it, then consume it. I would think that is not a good idea since I assume there are still other foreign things in it (sorry I'm not a chemist so dont have the proper words) that could make you sick, and probably the overall taste wouldnt be good.

[MCIera]

Sodium Hypoclorite (household bleach) added to the water should keep the water safe to drink. Check some of the LDS or survivialist sites for the proportions of bleach to water (it doesn't take much) There are 55 gallon barrels that are sold for this purpose if you want to store large quantities, along with manual pumps to dispense the water from the barrel.

If you do or does anyone know how to keep such a supply stored for years without degrading it.

[kman]

I've heard household blech recommended, too. The amount I use is 3-4 drops of bleach per 2-liter bottle. We used to go through 2 liter bottles like crazy so I just saved them up and used them for water storage. To make the plastic last longer, you're supposed to keep the bottles out of sunlight, too.

[housil]

Water will spoil if it comes in contact with air (oxygen).
Exacpt glas, no container is "gas proof". "Air" will move thru the plastic container from in- to outside and vice versa.
Also the "desinfection" of the water with any chemicals will only work for a certain time. Bacterias will grow again even in desinfected water.
Boil the water to death, store it vacuumed AND gas proof to keep it good as long as possible.

This "100ml emergency drinik rations" are good for 5 years.
I have Bundeswehr Water (jerry) Cans of 20 liters. I´ll fill them "in case of..." and give water purifying pills (in each German EPa) to them BEFORE using, not before storing.

[German_EPA]

This "100ml emergency drinik rations" are good for 5 years.

i also have some from 1991 left - ok the plasic doenst look like new but its still good. (i also have to say i stored in the the cooler all the years)

[DangerousDave]

Yea, German_EPA. I got a long term water storage. Around 200K gallons on average, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Even if the power goes out, all I need do is pop the top, lower a weighted 5 gallon bucket, and viola, 5 gallons of water. Crisp, Pure, Clean, Chilled. As good as a mountain stream. Only problem is, I'll wear out my 120' hank of Army rappelling rope.

[Garron]

Right now in my area theres talk of the water supply being turned off due to a problem with pipes further up the valley... caused by the cold.

Got a few 5 litre bottles stashed away and also filled up 3 canteens for water so should be ok for a while.

Its making my re-think my water plans... e.g. I don't really have one

Gaz

[kman]

In an emergency (at least, while you still have water but think you're going to lose it), you can always fill up your bathtub(s) with water to use as an emergency supply for toilets, etc. If you don't have a good stopper on your tub, you can always line the tub with plastic or a tarp.