I have a bunch of stored water that I'm interested in testing for bacteria and stuff. Any idea how to do that? Of course I should replace it, but before doing that I'd like to find out how bad it's gotten, just in case I get in a situation where I have to actually use water that old (about 5 years in 1 gallon plastic bottles). I actually tasted some that was about 2 years old and it tasted fine, but I wasn't willing to try drinking any quantity of it. I think I posted something about this last year or so too.

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.

Yeah, it's just tap water from my kitchen sink. It's in 1 gallon clear bottled-water bottles (Crystal Geyser). The bottled water tastes a bit better than my city tap water so I used to buy the bottles for drinking and rather than throw out the empties, I'd refill them from the tap and store them just in case. I do have some bleach and purification pills around and I supposed I'd use them if I were to need to drink this old saved water (maybe 8 gallons or so under the sink). I'm in a small apartment in an urban area, no space for a 55 gallon drum and I figure I'd go without creature comforts like showers for a few days if something bad happened here. I sometimes think of getting an Aquaflex flexible tank (60 or 110 gallon) and putting it under my bed. It's sort of like an inflatable air mattress (3x6 feet by 5 inches or so for the 110 gallon model) with garden hose fittings to fill it with water. See http://www.aquaflex.net for info. The 60 gallon one could possibly be transported full in my small hatchback car if the need arose.

Note that the cost of most water containers is ridiculous; it's cheaper to just buy actual bottled water (those 1 gallon bottles are 1.29 each at the corner grocery and they have sturdy screw caps, not the pop-off type). I found an online source of food grade polyethylene garbage bags so if I wanted to store water in large volume and didn't use Aquaflex, I'd possibly use normal 20 or 33 gallon PVC garbage cans lined with those food grade PE liners.

Finally, I live near the ocean so there's infinite salt water available. I sometimes kick around the idea of getting an RO desalinator on ebay, but they're on the expensive side.

I'll second that. Helps protect from sunlight (bacteria growth) also versus the normal containers water is usually sold in.

Most of the tests designed for water quality are on the expensive side (equipment and reagents).

If it's tap water and you keep it chlorinated to around 2 parts per million, it's fine--may taste flat until you reoxygenate it by pouring it from container to container.

Test strips and chlorine may be purchased from pool supply houses (and I have found them in larger grocery stores). Make sure the test strips will test at least down to 1 part per million.

Make sure the calcium hypochlorite content is at least 65%.

You may chlorinate up to 10 parts per million but don't drink it <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Chlorine will evaporate over time, and 2 parts per million is drinkable.

No chlorine in the water--don't drink it. I can't imagine that two year old tap water would be remotely safe to consume; most cities only purify the water and add about 1 part per million chlorine.

It's much easier to treat and store water in the largest containers available. In the military we commonly use 400 gallon water trailers and check the chlorine level two or three times a day....

So, how much bleach would that be?

First wash container with soap and hot water. Rinse. Sanitize container using 1 tablespoon of chorine bleach per gallon of water. Shake and let soak for at least 2 mintues. Empty bleach. Rinse with clean water or better yet, let air dry completely (chlorine will escape as a gas).

Before closing home-filled water bottle, add 5-7 drops of chlorine bleach per gallon of water.

The Boy Scouts of America method for sanitation of drinking water is as follows:

1. Filter the water to remove as many solids as possible.

2. Bring it to a rolling boil and boil it for a full minute.

3. Let it cool at least 30 minutes.

4. Add eight drops of liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of cool water . (14PPM - Use common household bleach; 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite should be the only active ingredient; there should not be any added soap or fragrances Water must be cool or chlorine will dissipate and be rendered useless.

5. Let the water stand 30 minutes.

6. If it smells of chlorine, you can use it. If it does not smell of chlorine, add eight more drops of bleach and let it stand another 30 minutes. Smell it again. You can use it if it smells of chlorine. If it doesn’t, discard it an find another water source.

7. The only accepted measurement of chlorine (or water treatment agents) is the drop. A drop is specifically measurable (1/20 mL; 0.002192982 fluid oz). Other measures such as "capful" or "scant teaspoon" are not uniformly measurable and should not be used.

anywhere from 3 to 6 MRE spoonfulls

>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.

This is great advice. I made this costly mistake. I thought I was smart not using old milk jugs. I purchased pre-packaged water in the same type of plastic jug used for milk. I put a bottle of this water in each vehicle. Only 6 months later I did a check of the supplies in my vehicle kits. Imagine my horror as I opened the lid of my RubberMaid rough-tote. All the water had leaked out of a small hole in the bottle and had soaked, rusted, and mildewed my entire kit. Not only would I be without water in an emergency, but I had over $200 worth of damaged preparedness supplies that needed to be replaced.

I checked my wife's car. Her bottle had also failed and leaked. Fortunately all the water found its way down the side of the fender well and out a drain hole. No damage to the rest of the kit, but still no water in an emergency.

Word to the wise. Do not skimp on water storage containers, especially for water stored in a vehicle kit. Any container that you select for storage should be filled, then tipped on it's side to see if the lids/valves leak. In another thread I discussed how I purchased 5-6 water storage bottles as a test. They were filled, lids/valves secured, then tipped on their side. All leaked but the "Aqua-tainer".

Just a word to the wise. TR

This works for me very well. To make sure I have good water in my car I buy the 500ml bottles and rotate them out of the car as I finish the water in the house. Thats my 2 cents <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />