Water Storage

After doing some research online, I have found out the following about storing water:

1) Water should be stored in a food grade container. This includes 55 gallon PE drums, 13 gallon PE drums (both of which, by the way, are available from the Pepsi plant in Columbus, Mike has the contact information.), empty 2 liter bottles, juice bottles, etc. Opaque containers are best. Milk jugs are made out of a material the degrades over time if exposed to light, and aren't ideal.

2) Remember that water weighs 8 pounds per gallon. A full 55 gallon drum weighs about 450 pounds. That's fine if you don't want to move them once they're full, but a 30 gallon drum or smaller should be manageable.

3) The Red Cross recommends that you store a gallon per person per day for drinking and food preparation. Other sources say that 1.5 to 2 gallons is more realistic. During a conflict during which Jerusalem was effectively under seige, the Israelis found out that the minimum amount of water need per person to drink, cook, and keep bodies and dishes clean was 2.5 gallons per day. So start with a gallon per person per day for a month, then work up to 2.5 if you think that's necessary. It's cheap to store so if you have the room more is better.

4) Before filling your containers, it's a good idea to wash them inside and out with hot soapy water, then sterilize them with a solution of 1 table spoon of bleach (without scents, of course) per gallon of water. Rinse the containers then fill them from the tap. Sources suggested adding 1/8 tsp to 1/4 tsp (or about 1 tsp per 5 gallons) of bleach per gallon of water as a disinfectant.

5) Correctly stored and treated water should last indefinately, but it's a good idea to rotate it every 6 months or so anyway. After time the water goes flat (you've probably tasted flat water), but this can be overcome by pouring the water back and forth between two containers prior to use.