BUCKHORN CLIFFSA preparedness field manual

Browse by need · 16 entries

Water

Store it, purify it, and prove it is safe

Water is the first thing you run short of and the fastest way to get sick. Cover all three jobs: hold a reserve, treat more when it runs out, and check what you drink.

Start with the full guide

Field guideStockpile Essentials Field GuideThe master checklist: 239 items across 16 categories, the shelf life class of each, and the 20 multi-use items that cover the most jobs. 39 pages.Open the field guide Master guideWater: Storage and PurificationHow much water to store, how to store it, and how to make more safe to drink when the stored supply runs low.Open the full page Master guideWater Purification MethodsMaking water safe: calcium hypochlorite treatment, well water risks, water testing tools, and what to do when city water is cut off.Open the full page

Keep a way to purify more water

Stored water runs out. A good filter plus pool shock turns questionable water into safe water for as long as you need. The starred items each do far more than water.

Type
Event
Shelf life
More

Formulas 8

Formula Ascorbic Acid to Dechlorinate Water and Supply Vitamin C Ascorbic acid powder gives you a shelf-stable vitamin C source and a simple way to neutralize chlorine in treated drinking water. Handle with care Formula Clearing and Clarifying Cloudy Water Cloudy water clears in stages: let the heavy grit settle, help the fine particles clump and drop, then filter and disinfect what is left. Bentonite has a part to play here, but a smaller one than its reputation suggests. Handle with care Formula Disinfect Water Barrels and Cisterns with Calcium Hypochlorite Strength: ~200 ppm; Solution: 2 gal per 10 gal; Contact: 6-24 hours Hazardous Formula DIY Soda Bottle Water Filter A layered bottle filter clears cloudy water and cuts odor and taste, but it does not make water safe to drink. Always disinfect what comes out. Handle with care Formula Improve the Taste of Treated or Stored Water (Baking Soda) Dose: pinch / quart; Per gallon: ¼-½ tsp; When: after full treatment Handle with care Formula Iron, Manganese, and Odor Removal from Water The rust stains, black grit, and rotten-egg smell in well or stored water come from dissolved iron, manganese, and sulfur, and potassium permanganate is the classic fix: it turns them into solid particles you then filter out. Hazardous Formula Purify Water with Calcium Hypochlorite (Pool Shock) Stock: ~1,000 ppm; Dose: 1 tbsp stock / gal; Wait: 30 minutes Hazardous Formula Purify Water with Lugol's Iodine (2%) Clear water: 5 drops / quart; Cloudy/cold: 10 drops / quart; Per gallon: 20-40 drops Handle with care

Skills 2

Skill How to Source, Carry, and Filter Local Fresh Water Two 3-gallon AquaBricks on a frame pack: six gallons, about fifty pounds Skill Winterize an RV Water System Bypass the hot water tank, then run every faucet until antifreeze is visible

Guides 4

Guide Clean Water: Which Method Makes Which Water Safe Filter for what you can see, disinfect for what you cannot, and boil when you are not sure; no single method handles everything Guide How to Filter Water at Home with a Gravity Filter (the Boroux Legacy) A primed pair of Foundation filters moves about a gallon an hour, serves four people on one fill a day, and lasts 12 months; disinfect surface water first, because the filter is not made to remove germs. Guide How Water Goes Bad: What Is Actually in It, Source by Source, and What Fixes Each One Boiling kills germs and removes nothing else; match the treatment to what the source puts in the water Guide Water: Storage and Purification Store one gallon per person per day, half for drinking and half for hygiene, and aim for at least a two-week supply at home. When stored water runs low, know how to make more safe to drink.

Spare parts lists 1

Parts list Spare Parts: Water Treatment & Storage When the tap or well is down, clean water is the first thing you run short of. Keep a way to store it and, more importantly, a way to purify more.

Reference charts 1

Reference Conversions and Dosing: Measure Anything, Even Without Tools 1 tsp = 5 mL. About 20 drops = 1 mL. A US nickel weighs 5 g. 1 ppm = 1 mg per liter.

The checklist

Tick what you already have. Checks are saved on this device.

Water and Purification Store it, purify it, and prove it is safe

Store it

Purify it

Prove it & move it

More on water, filed elsewhere 12

The compounds, supplies and parts lists that belong to this subject but live under their own headings.

Food · Supply Bottled Water Real shelf life: Indefinite if sealed. Label says 2 years INDEFINITE IF SEALEDMULTI-USE Compounds and Cleaning · Compound Calcium Hypochlorite Shelf life: Up to 10 years. Storage: Glass or HDPE, sealed. UP TO 10 YEARSMULTI-USEHazardous Compounds and Cleaning · Compound Lugol's Iodine Shelf life: 5 to 10 years. Storage: Amber glass, sealed. 5 TO 10 YEARS Medical · Supply Iodine Shelf life: 5-10 yrs. Airtight amber container, cool and dark. Light kills potency. 5-10 YRSMULTI-USE Compounds and Cleaning · Compound Activated Charcoal Shelf life: Indefinite if dry. Storage: Sealed glass jar. INDEFINITE IF DRYMULTI-USEHandle with care Compounds and Cleaning · Compound Potassium Permanganate Shelf life: Indefinite. Storage: Amber glass, sealed. INDEFINITEHazardous Tools and Repair · Parts list Spare Parts: Plumbing & Water Water damage is fast and expensive. Most plumbing failures are a few dollars of rubber and plastic. Keep the fixture parts and a way to isolate and patch a line. Tools and Repair · Parts list Spare Parts: Well, Pressure & Sump Pumps On a well, one small part can leave you with no water at all, and a sump keeps a basement dry. Know your pumps and stock the failure-prone parts before you need them. Hygiene and Sanitation · Guide Hygiene and Sanitation When the Water Is Off When the water stops, human waste and unwashed hands become the fastest health threats on the property, so a working toilet plan with soap beside it comes before anything else. Kits and Planning · Guide After a Flood: The Supplies That Matter, in the Order They Matter Water first, then dry and warm, then power and cleanup; floodwater is never a water source Medical · Formula Electrolyte Rehydration and Physical Labor Recovery Mix: 1 scoop / 16 oz; Rehydrate: sip ~1 tsp / min; Hard work: match to sweat Handle with care Compounds and Cleaning · Formula Surface Disinfectant from Calcium Hypochlorite (Pool Shock) Dose: 1½ tsp / gallon; Strength: ~1,000 ppm; Dwell time: 1-10 min wet Hazardous

Audit questions

From the walk-around audit. Tap a question for what a good answer looks like.

How much potable water is stored inside your home?

The floor is one gallon per person per day, half to drink and half for cooking and washing, and the target is two weeks: 14 gallons per person, 56 for a family of four (one 55 gallon drum). Count only what is sealed and inside the house. The water heater holds 40 to 80 gallons and the toilet tank a few more, both clean reserves most people forget they own. The whole plan is on Water: Storage and Purification.

Is it accessible without power?

Stored water in jugs and drums, yes. A well on a submersible pump, no, and a municipal supply can lose pressure within hours of a wide outage. Good means you can fill a bucket from your reserve with the power off: a food-grade hose and siphon for the drums, a hand pump or a generator plan for the well. The well and pump parts list covers the second half.

Is it protected from freezing?

Water stored in an unheated garage or shed splits its containers the first hard night. Good means the reserve sits inside the heated envelope, or in drums filled to 90 percent with room to expand, and the plan for winter includes a way to reach and thaw more. Winterizing an RV water system is the same problem on wheels.

Are you dependent on municipal water?

If the tap is the only source, the answer is yes, and a main break, a boil order or a long outage puts you at zero. Good is a stored reserve that covers two weeks plus two ways to make more: a gravity filter and calcium hypochlorite. Clean Water says which method makes which water safe.

If you have a well, does it require power?

Almost every modern well runs on a 240 volt submersible pump, so an outage is a dry tap. Good means a hand pump beside it, a generator or battery sized to the pump's startup surge, or a large stored reserve that buys the days. Solar Power Basics has the sizing math for a well pump, and the pump parts list the spares.

Is there surface water on or near your property?

A pond, creek, ditch or rain off the roof is your third source, and it is never safe as it comes. Good means you know where it is, how you would carry it (water weighs 8.3 pounds a gallon), and how you would treat it: settle and pre-filter, then filter, then disinfect. Source, carry and filter local water and How Water Goes Bad cover it.

Score this in the audit

Common mistake

Storing water but keeping no way to get more when it runs out.

Skills to learn

purify with chlorine or iodine · shock a well · keep a filter working

When it matters

BlackoutWinter StormFloodWater OutageRising Prices and Shortages