Keep Your Family Safe: Build An Emergency Water Supply

Preparing for an emergency before it occurs is the best way to fend off disaster. Planning allows you to gather supplies and be mentally ready. Emotions can flare during emergencies and having premade arrangements helps the whole family stay calm. The most important aspect of any disaster preparedness plan is creating a water supply. Water is essential to human life, and storing an emergency water supply can help any family though difficult times.

 

The size of the family determines the amount of water that should be stored. A general rule is that each person should be allowed a gallon of water a day. This gives every individual enough to for drinking, washing and making food. Determine the amount of water that needs to be stored based on space and your comfort level. Some families keep enough for a few days while others have enough for a whole month. When storing water, do not forget about your four legged friends. Make sure there is enough water for the pets without having to sacrifice your own allotment.

 

Bottled water is a quick solution for forming an emergency water supply. Bottled water has a clearly posted expiration date, is purified and is easily accessible. It would be expensive to create an entire supply of water from this source, but it is effective for a few days worth of drinking water. Tap water has also already been deemed safe and can be stored in empty pop bottles, jars with caps or bottles bought from stores. Bricks or drums from Total Prepare can store the most water in an emergency. The bricks are convenient because they are portable, and the drums will ensure there is enough water to outlast any emergency. Water lasts longest when it is in clear containers and stored in cool, dark places. Keep water away from flammable or dangerous substances, label the water and replenish the water about every six months.

 

Water from taps that is self stored is generally safe for consumption, but purifying water is best way to ensure safety. This entails cleaning out the containers before use, and purifying the water can also help. Total Prepare offers Aquatabs that can be used for this and other purposes. If you need to drink water from an unverified source, then it is essential to purify water before use.

 

If you do one thing to protect your family, it should be to store an emergency water supply. No one can prevent disaster, but one can be prepared to face any challenge with the proper resources.

 

The Need For A Clean Water Supply

When a storm hits, you can never be too sure of whether you will have power. If you don’t have power, you will soon lose the ability to draw water from its source as well. This will pose a problem for drinking cooking and bathing. Having an emergency water supply is one of the most important things you need to think about.

You may have some emergency food, flashlights and candles stored up in your garage or pantry, but what’s your plan for water? If you just have a few gallons of water tucked aside, you need to reevaluate your plan. A few gallons of water may only last you half a day – and possibly less depending on how many people are in your family.

Some of the major storms that have hit Canada in the past few years have left people without power and a good water source for days – sometimes even a week or longer. If you don’t have a clean, filtered water source, you’re not going to be able to stay hydrated, let alone cook any food. Remember that you don’t want to use all of your gas and oil for boiling water because you don’t know how long all of that has to last you.

There are ways to have a clean water source despite not being able to get it from your own faucet. Instead of buying hundreds of gallons of water, you can buy a special AquaPail. This is a specially designed bucket that will allow you to treat dirty water to kill bacteria and other things. Once the water goes through the bucket, it will be safe enough to drink and cook with.

You have to be practical when it comes to emergency preparedness. Consider the fact that, depending on where you live in Canada, you could be affected by a storm or other disaster that could leave you and your family without power and water for multiple days. Since you only have a limited amount of storage, you need to think of the best ways to achieve each necessity.

A clean water supply is one of the first things that people need, yet the last thing that people think about. If you put it at the top of your list, you’ll be able to make sure that you and your family are taken care of when a tropical storm, hurricane, blizzard or anything else strikes, making it impossible for you to get clean water from your own home. Focus on the number of people in your family and planning for a worst case scenario.