Paul, what is the source of your water? Did it all come from the same tap? I have water stashed everywhere to the point that my family questions my sanity but I am sitting atop the New Madrid fault along the Mississippi River and this justifies the stash. Mine is all chlorinated tap water from the city well. I too have tasted old water and it tastes fine. Actually, good water has NO taste. Seems to me that a mass testing would be mind boggling. One bottle of two year old water might test differently than another three year old. Most state agencies will test your water if you just want to take a few samples at random. I try to rotate mine and fill with fresh water every two years or so. Survivalists have discouraged storing water in washed milk containers. They say that you never get rid of ALL of the milk and, that the containers are biodegradeable and will disintegrate in time. I have found that large bleach bottles rinsed out make great water containers. They are sturdy and after all, bleach is used to treat drinking water. Also bear in mind that any water you have that is questionable for drinking still has many other uses such as dish washing, flushing toilets and a long list of other uses. A shower comes to mind right off. One positive thing about having so much water is that in case of fire, my house would probably self extinguish itself. If you plan to sit out a major catastrophe at home, NOTHING is more important amongst your survival goodies than water! There are 55 gallon food grade barrels on the market made just for water storage.