Come hurricanes, tornados or even Y2K, you can have your eight
glasses of water per day, say University of Georgia experts.
“Water supplies can be short during any kind of
emergency,”
said Judy Harrison, a UGA Extension Service food safety
specialist.
“So it’s smart to always have extra drinking water on
hand.”
Plan Ahead for Emergencies
If you’d rather be safe than sorry, you can store water for
those days.
“Store at least 1 gallon per person per day for at least
three days,” Harrison said. “That’s a good estimate.
But everyone’s needs will differ, depending on age, physical
condition,
activity, diet and climate.”
A normally active person needs to drink at least 2 quarts of
water each day. Hot environments can double that amount.
Children,
nursing mothers and ill people will need even more.
“You will need additional water for food preparation and
hygiene,” Harrison said.
Plastic is Best for Storing
Water
If you’re storing water for any emergency, plastic, glass,
fiberglass or enamel-lined metal containers are best. Intact,
durable plastic containers, such as soft drink bottles or those
you buy water in, are best. You can also buy food-grade plastic
buckets or larger containers.
“Never use a container that has held poisonous
substances,”
Harrison warned. “Tiny amounts may remain in the container’s
pores.”
Be sure, too, that lids don’t have paper components. If that’s
all you can get, add an insert or barrier of polyethylene or
polyester.
To make them easy to use, water containers for personal use
should be no larger than 1 or 2 gallons. Two-liter soft-drink
bottles also work well.
Most grocery stores sell a store brand of water packaged in
gallon plastic jugs just like milk cartons. “It’s not as
costly as the ‘gourmet’ bottled waters,” she said. Often
less than $1 per gallon, it likely comes from a municipal water
supply.
“If contamination or a leak occurs in a stored container,
you will also lose less of your supply by using smaller
containers,”
Harrison said.
Five- or 10-gallon storage drums (intended for water or food)
will work well for larger supplies.
Use Thoroughly Clean
Containers
Before you begin to store water, thoroughly wash the container
and lid immediately before filling it. Use clean, hot water and
detergent. Rinse well with hot water after washing.
“It’s also important to treat water before storing
it,”
Harrison said.
To treat water properly, use a preservative, such as chlorine
bleach, to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Use liquid
household
chlorine bleach that has 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite and
no soap. Don’t use scented or “color safe” bleaches
or bleaches with added cleaners.
Read Bleach Container Labels
“Some bleach containers warn, ‘Not For Personal
Use,’”
Harrison said. “You can disregard these warnings if the
label
states that sodium hypochlorite is the only active ingredient
and if you use only the small quantities in these
instructions.”
Add four drops of bleach per quart of water and stir. Seal
water containers tightly. Label them (“Purified Drinking
Water”), date them and store them in a cool, dark place.
For comprehensive information on safe water storage, visit
the UGA College of Family and Consumer Science web page at <
cs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FDNS-E-34-3.html>.
(Photos by Sharon Omahen, College of Agricultural and
Environmental
Sciences.)
