Bulk water storage

[dprimm]

So I don’t have a lot of room for bulk water storage. We are on city water, so if something happens, we should have water for a short time (until the towers get dry). That would be long enough to fill some bulk containers to get us over the hump of things.

What have you seen to facilitate bulk water storage?

Aquatank2 is one I have seen. Different sizes (15, 30, 60, 150 and 300 gallon). NOT cheap. But collapses small and is lightweight. If we had to bug out, there is water at the destinations. Reminds me of the military blivits.

Waterbob is one time use (supposedly) that goes in the bathtub. Comes with a hand pump to get water out of the big bag.

Do you prefer the 5 gallon containers that collapse? The advantage of these is they are portable even filled. Suggestions for which you prefer?
Space is getting to be a premium, so things must be small and take up minimal room until needed. Reusable would be great – I don’t expect the durability of a military grade 5 gallon jug. The idea of buying a bunch of bottled water does not sit well with us – we drink from the tap. Hate the waste and cost.

 

[spencer rifle]

I prefer the nearby river, pond and rain barrels. And the well casing with a PVC lift bucket.
Include large-capacity filters and pool shock, just in case.

 

[kaveman]

Waterbob sounds like a winner. 100gal of clean water for $35, when you need it and not taking up space until then sounds good to me. Not portable,......start saving your milk jugs and 2 liter bottles now. And the bathtub should be stressed to hold the weight. You can't put 800# of dead weight just anywhere.

55gl drums in the garage,.....if you have a garage.

 

[indyjohn]

We have room to store water but only 48 gallons suitable for drinking. That is enough to get us to the bug out.

The Ice Mountain 6 gallon case is a pretty small footprint and stacks well. It's cheap and good for making coffee every morning. You can get it at Sam's for under $7.00.

 

[snorko]

Of interest, I had a couple cases of 16 oz bottles and a cardboard boxed case of 1 liter bottles sitting in a closet. They have been there for 7-8 years. I recently disposed of them as it appeared roughly 15%-20% of the water had evaporated. I did not know this could happen with sealed plastic bottles.

I have many 2 liter juice bottles repurposed for short term water storage in the fridge and under the sink. Probably about ten or so. Also 10-5 gallon jugs in the basement which I consider medium term storage. Both water heaters are strapped to the wall and would add another 100 gallons.

 

[spencer rifle]

If you use milk jugs you might want to check them frequently and periodically replace containers. They are made to be biodegradable over time and we have had several spring leaks after a few years. Something sturdier like a gallon Gatorade bottle would last longer.

 

[snorko]

Something sturdier like a gallon Gatorade bottle would last longer.

I posted above about loss of volume in factory 500 ml and 1 liter bottles. I have some repurposed heavier 2 L juice bottles that showed no loss over the same period.

 

[Magyars]

Waterbob is a great idea...IF you can predict in advance when to fill it
And IF your home to do so

 

[cosermann]

OP, for how many people and for how long are you wanting to store water? That will dictate the amount of water you need to store, and since water is non-compressible, your space requirements. There's no getting around that. You can break the water into smaller containers to use available space here and there, but there's no way to change the total volume/space needed.

On re-purposed containers: Milk jugs will fail and are difficult to get clean enough for long term water storage. Some say that empty soda bottles and juice containers can't be cleaned well enough either (that sugars and other things will bind to the plastic), but I haven't observed any negative effects first hand - yet. However, if used, these have to be stored away from light. As they're not opaque, light will encourage the growth of things you don't want in there. So, non-opaque containers need to be in a dark place, or in an opaque box, bag, etc.

Most of my storage is in purpose made containers; everything from 55 gal drum down to 5 gal containers.

Do it right, and water can be stored for 25 years without rotation. Do it wrong, and stuff will grow in your stored water in a matter of months.

Sometimes we have to make compromises due to our situations. Just realize that compromises usually have consequences. Most things in life are about tradeoffs and optimization for particular needs.

 

[76Too]

I just dove into this realm recently myself. Bought (6) of the 5gal water containers they sell at Northern Tool (they are made in Canada) for $19.99. These are made by the same company that makes them for the US Marine Corp (and probably the Army and other services) but with a slightly different mold (spigot included w/civilian model and 'Donkey Dick' required with military model). I had a coupon that came in the mail for $20 off a $100 purchase, so I got one of them for free! I filled with water machine at the Kroger for $.39/gal and topped off with 2/3rd tsp sanitizing bleach. I'll rotate out in a year or so with fresh.

This will be our emergency DRINKING water and is enough for the two of us and our animals for just over 2 weeks if rationed at 1gal/day/person + for the dog/cats. Cats will be Chinese food soon after the apocalypse, so can maybe factor them out of the equation.