When society collapses, one of the most important survival items you will need to have is a reserve of water. Of course, you should take an opportunity while things are stable to stock up on as much water as you can store. However, it’s likely, at some point, if things aren’t repaired in a timely manner, to go through your supply. Or, maybe you’ve wandered off the path during a hike and end up lost and need water. It pays to know how to find safe sources of this substance necessary for life.
After all, it’s not just about staying hydrated. You need to have H20 for personal hygiene, care for wounds, cooking, and for cleaning your gear.
So how do you identify potential sources of water in your area?
Let’s start with things you might already have in your home.
Of course there’s bottled water, which, as we noted above, you should have stashed away in your pantry for emergencies. You want to put it somewhere out of direct sunlight and from heat. Water can be stored safely for up to 2 years. You should also keep a stash of sports drinks like Gatorade, which contains electrolytes essential to staying hydrated.
Keep some milk on hand as well. You might not have known this, but milk can also help keep you hydrated. Plus it contains calcium, protein, and vitamin D. Make sure the milk you ingest is not spoiled or you might end up sick and suffer from severe dehydration.
Avoid beverages that are carbonated, contain alcohol, sugar, or caffeine. Sure, they might taste good, but they aren’t good for hydrating you and replenishing your electrolytes. In fact, they do the opposite, leaving you depleted of the minerals you need to function.
Here’s more from Tactical:
Swimming Pool
Even a small swimming pool can hold 15,000 gallons of water. In times of scarcity, this could be your golden ticket to survival. Now, we’re not asking you to drink pool water. However, it can be a valuable resource for washing the dishes, showering, and even doing laundry. Most times, chores become an afterthought in tough situations, but you’ll have to do them at one point or another to maintain some sense of normalcy. We suggest keeping a separate water supply for these less exciting tasks.
Melted Ice
When your power goes out, we recommend putting ice cubes inside your fridge in a clean container to melt. If you have enough of it, it might also help to scrape off some of the frost that’s collected in your freezer to melt in a separate container. It won’t be much, but anything counts when S hits the fan. As long as it isn’t contaminated, water from the ice cubes should be safe for drinking. Meanwhile, you can boil the melted ice scrapings over a fire and use the water for cooking.
Water Heater Tank
A standard home water heater tank can easily hold 40-60 gallons. Since it already provides water for your tap and hot showers, draining your tank should provide a relatively clean water source for emergencies, regardless of whether your heater runs on gas or electricity. Just don’t be surprised if you get funky, discolored water if you haven’t flushed out your water heater tank in years. Sediment collects at the bottom of the tank over time, so you’re supposed to drain your heater on a regular basis to maintain water quality.
As long as you’ve kept up with maintenance the water should be good for cleaning and hygiene purposes. Lots of professionals go back-and-forth over whether or not this kind of water is safe to drink. There could be mineral deposits that make the water unsafe to ingest due to heat eroding the metal inside the tank. Some of the pipes in older homes contain lead, which is unsafe, particularly for kids.
Let’s not forget the most obvious source: rain water.
“Whether you’re living off-grid or in an urban area, rainwater provides a renewable water supply that’s free and readily available. Plus, rainwater collection is inexpensive, easy to maintain, and once you get the hang of it, it partly cuts down your water bills. You can use rain barrels to capture rainwater that flows through the downspouts of your gutter system. Rain barrels for residential use typically hold 50-90 gallons of rainwater. Invest in filters for your rain barrel and keep them covered when not in use to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Rainwater is typically clean, but it can still carry some of the dirt and bird droppings on your roof and gutter system, so we don’t recommend it for drinking,” the article went on to say.
Be sure to boil any water prior to drinking it in order to kill off potentially harmful bacteria.
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