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Water Storage For Newcomers.

The only reason for me to use stored water is an NBC situation which would mean that rainwater would be contaminated....otherwise water isn't a problem for me. My hills are the source of drinking water for almost a third of the population of the U.K.
 
The only reason for me to use stored water is an NBC situation which would mean that rainwater would be contaminated....otherwise water isn't a problem for me. My hills are the source of drinking water for almost a third of the population of the U.K.
We have enough water here for the world....well maybe not but more than enough for us, but, are water purification tablets ok? We have water butts and a nearby stream so should be ok?
 
If it's coming from a stream I would attempt to find the source, easy enough if you consult an OS map. There are springs dotted all over if you only search them out. I would always boil water from a stream, chlorine takes a while to work and you'll need to let the container of water stand until it no longer smells, if the smell doesn't go off it may mean that you need to re-treat the water and wait for it to stop smelling before you can use it
 
We have enough water here for the world....well maybe not but more than enough for us, but, are water purification tablets ok? We have water butts and a nearby stream so should be ok?

Same here, plenty of water stored, but filtering is the thing. There is a method of filtering using a rain barrel with water going through pebbles, grit, sand and activated carbon. Thinking of building one. Failing that, I think boiling and the household bleach method would be good. Just need to make sure nothing nasty can drop in my rainwater storage.
 
Same here, plenty of water stored, but filtering is the thing. There is a method of filtering using a rain barrel with water going through pebbles, grit, sand and activated carbon. Thinking of building one. Failing that, I think boiling and the household bleach method would be good. Just need to make sure nothing nasty can drop in my rainwater storage.
Look on you tube for ' bio water filter' or' bio filter',and you can find some ideas.

I have some stored jerry cans for immediate use,and then water butts( covered),and a millbank bag for filtering gunk.Boil it and bingo! I have been known to have a drink on a hot day straight from the tap on the water butt though!
 
I only learned the bleach trick very recently it's a good tip ,unsented bleach of course

The snag is in my experience bleach doesn't seem to last more than a few months in the white plastic containers one typically buys it in a supermarket.

I've tried using unopened bleach a year after I've bought it, and found it was little more than water. Presumably the chlorine escapes as gas over time.

So for medium to long term storage one would need to cycle it, as with any perishable goods, or decant it to better air-tight containers, or have some precursor that could be used to make bleach as needed, and God knows what that would be (I imagine it would be pretty noxious.)
 
I've got 5 of those 5 Litre water bottles stored, don't really have room for much else. It would do the 2 of us for drinking purposes only for a few days. Any other water we needed, if it were just short term we would boil water for all other needs.
I've been in a situation where tap water was contaminated. It was while the water system in the village was being upgraded. Water was still flowing, but the safety could not be guaranteed so we were advised to boil all water and they handed out drinking water. This worked well for the week we needed to treat the water ourselves and I would do this for a short term thing again.
 
l'm a filter and boil sort of person. Our water is filtered and UV treated but we'd not have the electricity for the UV light post SHTF but we have a supply of filters on hand.
Some years ago when l lived in a big town there were problems with the water supply (cryptosporidium) and we were all advised to boil water for 2 minutes before drinking it.
 
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