Mark - Can 55 gallon drums hold up under your water supply pressure? They are kinda thin and I'd be worried about them eventually splitting at a seam. Non-functional 50 gal water heaters might be a more reliable option plus they already have the right fittings. Just a thought.

I keep 8 cases of bottled water just for ease of use, I have a well and generator so water storage has never been a major concern, although I am looking for those blue 55 gal drums to store water in for the dogs,cleaning,clothes etc. to save on using the generator and wasting gas.

Sounds like a goos solution, but what if the water supply is poisoned or is questionable?

Dave

That's a good question, Dave - it got me thinking.

I guess you could plumb two tanks so that one was isolated and the other was in-line with the water supply and the rest of the house. Then remember to switch the one that was "live" every so often to keep the "stored" one fresh.

Beats wrestling 55 gaL drums...

Ya I know what you mean. I am thinking about get a couple of 55 gallon drums to help beef up my current supply of 4.5 gallon containers. You never know, the government thinks that our water supply is very vulnerable.

Dave

Then you lose. I'm being very serious when I say that.

Although, you can find inline water tanks that will probably run you less than extra water heaters.

What you use for storage, and how much water you store should be as factors of how much you think you might need, how much room you have to store water and other things, as well as other available sources. The idea of adding plumbing so that you continually refresh barrells or tanks of water is great, if you can do that. With my NYC apartment, that is imply not an option. Storing enough to get a couple of us through a week take up enough room. Storing enough to get a family of four through a few weeks is simply not an option. If we are going to need to haev water for more people for a longer period, we have to either find more sources than storage or hopefully will have bugged out.

As with any need, do not count on only one source. So, you should not count only on stored water. One source of water can and should be the stored water, and another source can and should be something you have stored. Look for more sources.
Perhaps you can collect rainwater, which over the long term should be of some benefit in Minnesota. Obtain some methods of purifying water. You could buy some chemcial purifying tablets, but a small bag of pool chlorine might go a long way. I've got instructions on how to do this at home. You can find other instructions on using bleach, such as chlorox.

As some of the other posters have mentioned, it may also be possible to have storage you normally keep empty. Our BOBs, by the front door, have water storage bags inside them, as well as some water. If there is some event going to hit that will have us buggin in or buggin out with a car, then one option is to fill those as soon as possible.

One comment, think about sources for water that provide for other needs besides drinking. I live not far from one of NYC's rivers, but the water is more salt than fresh, and there is a sewage treatment plants that dump into it. Drinking it would would probably require distilling it, and then one might be drinking something you did not want to drink. However, being able to bring buckets of it inside might give me use of a toilet. Same thought with filling bathtub, it might not be worth drinking, by the time you are thinking about drinking it. Water stored like that, uncovered, static, etc, in a city, is liked to have a layer of dust of unknown origin settle over it in hours. Still, I might be able use it to flush.

Great Scott! Doug Ritter recommends a planned minimum of 3 gallons/person/day and in a family of 4 (without pets) that is 12 gallons/day * 30 days/month * 20 months = 7200 gallons!!! Or put another way...131 of those 55 gallon barrels!

Where do you put that much water Dave?

~Nemo

Personally...my wife and I have about 2 weeks of water stored (we live in an apartment) with filtration and purification tools to incorporate nearby water sources. We also have a bug out plan and packs prepared if staying put becomes impossible.

We have arrived at this solution after reading posts on this forum and Cody Lundin's new book "when all hell breaks loose (the art of keeping your ass alive when disaster strikes)". We have found both sources very useful when considering long-term emergency priorities and situations. Our next strategy is training...taking first aid courses and survival courses to educate ourselves on self-reliance and community contribution.

Thanks to you all for sharing your advice and personal solutions! I'm convinced that community is how to survive the long term.

Cheers,
Nemo

Wow did I type that? I must have been on the bottle while typing.... I will be looking at maybe 2 months or so, maybe 3.

Dave