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Emergency Water For Preppers: Resources You Need to Know About

Avatar for Gaye Levy Gaye Levy  |  Updated: November 24, 2020
Emergency Water For Preppers: Resources You Need to Know About

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For the past month or so, the focus has been emergency water, that most vital but often under-appreciated prep.

During this time, I have highlighted various aspects of water preparedness, including storage, acquisition, and purification.  These recent articles, coupled with those that have been posted in the past, bring to you a wealth of knowledge that will enable you to be water-prepped, regardless of where you live and the size of your budget.

Emergency Water Resources | Backdoor Survival

And that, in a nutshell, is the point.  The internet is a wonderful place and there is a wealth of knowledge available free for the taking.  Sure, there are some questionable websites posting bad information but overall, you will find a treasure trove of free, credible resources that will help ensure that the water you drink following a disaster or disruptive event is safe.

Today I want to help jump start your quest for free information about emergency water.  These are articles from websites I trust.  These are resources you need to know about in your quest for emergency water.

Emergency Water Articles From Some of the Best Preparedness Blogs

Below you will find a variety of articles covering many aspects of water preparedness.  I know there is a lot to read and a lot to digest.  That said, these are articles you can come back to over and over again as you build your supplies and acquire water-smart skills.

Smart Survival: This is How You Find Water When There Is None To Be Found: In this article by Tess Pennington, you will learn about finding water in the wilderness. This could save your life if you are out hiking or stranded in your car and  and cannot get home for some reason.

Unconventional Water Sources to Consider in an Emergency: Of course, being stranded without water isn’t isolated to being lost in the woods. Bernie Carr has some suggestions about finding water if you’re in the city when disaster strikes.

Collecting Water with Rain Barrels and A Scrubber: This article by Todd Sepulveda teaches you how to make an inexpensive collection system for rainwater.

Emergency Water Filtration Solutions: LeAnn Edmondson gives the rundown on a wide variety of water filtration systems to help you make the best decision on what type you should have.

Best Practices for Your Third Most Critical Survival Priority: In this article, Todd Walker outlines the best ways to acquire and purify water in the great outdoors.

Surviving the Drought: 25 Easy Ways to Conserve Water: From the heart of the California drought, Daisy Luther shares the surprising amount of water used in an average day, and offers simple suggestions to help you conserve.

Your Guide To Safe Drinking Water Post Disaster: In the aftermath of a disaster, one of the biggest risks is illness from contaminated water. Cat Ellis offers information on prevention and treatment of waterborne illnesses.

100-Year-Old Way to Filter Rainwater in a Barrel: Linda Holliday wrote about an extremely low-tech way to filter water collected in a rain barrel, based on an old method found in a tattered book.

Emergency Water Articles on Backdoor Survival

In addition to the articles above, I  also made a call-out for your questions to ensure that there was no stone left unturned. In case you missed them, here are the articles that answered your questions, arranged by topic.

Emergency Water for Preppers Part 1: Acquisition
Emergency Water for Preppers Part 2: Purification
Emergency Water for Preppers Part 3: Storage

For even more information about water, check out this collection of other articles I have written on the subject of emergency water.

Survival Basics: 16 Ways to Conserve Water in Your Home
Survival Basics: Hand & Surface Hygiene When There’s No Water to Spare
Survival Basics: Water and Water Storage
16 Tips for Coping Without Running Water
A Glimpse at Everyday Life Without Running Water
How to Use Pool Shock to Purify Water
The Five Myths of Water Storage

Other Free Sources of Information

Many public entities publish up-do-date information on emergency water.  Here are a few resources you can count on for good information.

In addition, also check your local city, county, or state websites.  They usually have a wealth of emergency preparedness information specific to your geographical area.  For example, the advice if you live in the deserts of the Southwest will be very different from the advice if you live someplace lush and green.

FEMA and Red Cross: Food and Water in An Emergency (downloadable PDF)

Ready.Gov:  Managing Water

EPA:  Emergency Disinfections of Drinking Water (downloadable PDF)

CDC: Personal Preparation and Storage of Safe Water

WHO: Emergency Treatment of Drinking Water at Point-of-use

North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service:  Emergency Drinking Water Supplies (downloadable PDF)

The Final Word

Having clean, safe drinking water following a disaster or other emergency should be a priority for all families, whether they label themselves preppers or not.  This is important stuff and although I try not to ask too much of my readers, today I am going to make an exception.

Please, do your friends and family a favor by sharing this information with them.  Send them an email, post a message on Facebook, or send them a tweet.  This information is 100% free and not a bit controversial.

You can survive only three days without water.  Survival is a good thing; together let us make that happen.

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye

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These items are not free but they will help you become water-prepared.  If you have a water-prep that I have missed, please do leave a comment and let me know.

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter:  The LifeStraw is considered the most advanced, compact, ultra light personal water filter available. It contains no chemicals or iodinated resin, no batteries and no moving parts to break or wear out. It weighs only 2 oz.  making it perfect for the prepper. For more information, see my LifeStraw review.  There is also the LifeStraw Family that can be used to filter 9 to 12 liters per hour.

Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets: Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets make questionable water bacteriologically suitable to drink. Easy to use and the water is ready to drink in 30 minutes. One 50 tablet bottle treats 25 quarts of water.

AquaPod:  Have you considered storing water in your bathtub?  The AquaPod is a bladder that you can use in your bathtub to store water if you know that a storm, flood, or hurricane is brewing. (I call these “disruptive events”.)

DryTec Calcium Hypochlorite, 1-Pound:  This is 68% Calcium Hypochlorite.  As of this writing, the price is with free shipping.  I purchased Ultima Pool Shock which is 73% Calcium Hypochlorite.  For more information, read How to Use Pool Shock to Purify Water.

Berkey Water Filter System:  I personally own a Royal Berkey and it represents a key component of my water preps.   This is definitely something you want to save up for.

The Prepper’s Water Survival Guide:  You can survive up to three weeks without food, but only three days without water. When catastrophe strikes, having enough water can spell the difference between life and death. This book offers a step-by-step plan with straightforward information you can easily follow.  Written by my friend Daisy Luther, I recommended the book for everyone’s survival library!

WaterBrick Water Storage Containers:  Each stackable WaterBrick holds 3.5 gallons of water, making for easy storage.  I know from your emails that they are popular with apartment and mobile home dwellers.  Plus, you can purchase them in sets or individually so that you can customize according to your needs.

Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System: Fans of the Sawyer water filtration systems are evangelistic in their praise.  Did you know they only weight 2 ounces and fit in the palm of your hand?  The price is right.  Be sure to also check out the Family Color Coded Gift Pack which looks nice.

Puralytics SolarBag Water Purifier: I reviewed the Solar Bag last year and cannot say enough good things about it.  This is by far the easiest way to purify water using the sun.  It even works on a cloudy day; it just takes longer.  Here is my review: The SolarBag Water Purifier.

Ultimate 55 Gallon Water Barrel Combo:  If you have the space, consider getting a 55 gallon water barrel.  Everyone should have at least one and I own two.  Remember, if storing in your garage or on pavers, place the filled barrel on a wooden platform and not directly on the concrete.

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4 Responses to “Emergency Water For Preppers: Resources You Need to Know About”

  1. Great information Gaye but it leaves me with a question. In the “Ultimate 55 Gallon Water Barrel Combo: If you have the space, consider getting a 55 gallon water barrel. Everyone should have at least one and I own two. Remember, if storing in your garage or on pavers, place the filled barrel on a wooden platform and not directly on the concrete.” I am using a 275 gal IBC container with its own metal tubing cage that includes the metal pallet. No wood is being used. Will the aluminum between the container and the concrete have any undesirable transferable affects?

    • You water container sounds awesome. My guess is that due to it’s construction as well as the metal pallet, you are good to go.

    • If the tubing holding the container is aluminum, and in contact with concrete, I seriously suspect there will be corrosive action between the two. Wooden blocks or a pallet between would suffice. Treated would be best if not salt treated. If out of weather, any wood would do.

  2. excellent article, gaye–thank you! there are also zillions of youtube videos, especially on wilderness survival, that deal with finding and cleaning water. not all of them are reliable, of course, but one video blogger that i’ve found to be very responsible and easy to understand is craig caudill. i don’t think he does urban survival, but he has some really good wilderness survival videos on youtube and on dan’s survival depot.

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