> PaulR is correct: "25 or .5 gal/day is bare survival, i.e. avoid death by dehydration. If preparing, go for
> 1 gal/day or more."
>
> And that is in a temperate climate with very LIMITED activity.

My usual consumption is about 1l per day. I have a glass of juice in the morning, some milk on cereal for breakfast, 3 cups of coffee through the day, and that's about it - 200ml each adds up to 1l, which I think is just over 2 US pints.Some days I might have an extra glass, or use some more water for cooking, but 4 pints a day would be ample. This is in the UK climate doing my usual desk job. I appreciate much of the US is sunnier, and if you are wielding a chainsaw after a hurricane you will be exerting more, so your milage can vary.


> Dehydration is also underrated in the winter, since people seem to feel less need to drink.

Agreed. As I understand it, when it's cold, you need to generate more heat internally to keep warm, and that metabolism uses water (and food).


> Anythine with caffene is a NEGATIVE not a positive. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Does the smiley mean you know that isn't true? People who drink a lot of coffee get very good at extracting water from it. Some people have tea or coffee as the only fluids they drink. We get a lot of our water from food, too. (So if you store dried food, rice etc, you need to increase your water budget accordingly.)

There are a lot of myths about water. Some health fanatics drink far more than they need, and the body passes it harmlessly, so they can keep doing it.

has anyone mentioned UV/heat purification with 1or 2 liter plastic soda bottles? i suppose this would work only in sunny areas. apparently you fill the bottles with pond water (or some other relatvely clear but unpure water) and leave them on the roof of your house in direct sunlight for at least 6 hours to kill all the pathogens. i haven't tried this yet but apparently its a simple technique used quite often in many african regions.

you mean this:
http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/600/610/614/solar-water/unesco/35-46.html

exactly. thanks for the website, very detailed. here's another one i found.
http://www.sodis.ch/Text2002/T-Howdoesitwork.htm

...Feels kindsa iffy -- use cheap bleach instead.

Here is some first hand experience with using a secondary source of water to flush the toilet. Our toilet water tank cracked and we could not get to Home Depot until the weekend. We were stuck flushing the toilet by pouring water in the bowl.

The two insights I came away with are: you need a big container to pour water so it will flush and a tub full of water is only going to be good for about 20 flushes.

I think if we are in a shelter-in-place situation we will use a bucket toilet with a plastic bag liner and kitty liter. The water would be wasted for flushing the toilet. If you plan to use tub water make sure you have a container that is big enough to cause a flush.

Craig,
I wouldn't waste fuel on water purification. A wood fire and a decent sized pot, can give you bacteria free water. 20 minutes of a rolling boil will bring to murkiest water to safe dinking status. let it set and the sediment (most of it ) will settle after boiling.

even if you're staying home there should be enough fuel around to boil water for several days.

Here is an interesting article that could prove useful to someone... if you need extra water in times of emergencies... however, be advised that this is something you would have to consider carefully if you live in town..... and research your water tables carefully <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

your own water source