Project Prepper: My Water Supply, Part 1

In my last “Project Prepper” post, I wrote:

That list of 6 “innate survival needs” that my preparedness efforts will focus on has now been reordered to look like this:

• Security
• Water
• Food
• Shelter
• Sanitation and Health
• Energy

With the reordering done to reflect the current priority I’ve assigned to each “need.”

Regarding security, I’m fortunate to have at my disposal several books and a lot of other material on this matter. While I’ll be pouring through all this in the coming days with an eye towards implementing measures at my next pad in the Chicago suburbs, I’ve also just purchased another book last night that could be a big help here. It’s entitled Prepper’s Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary, by Jim Cobb of SurvivalWeekly.com and Survival-Gear.com-fame. I’ll share my thoughts about the book once it arrives and I get the chance to read it.

But this morning I want to focus on my water supply. According to Ready.gov:

You should store at least one gallon of water per person per day. A normally active person needs at least one gallon of water daily just for drinking however individual needs vary, depending on age, physical condition, activity, diet and climate.

To determine your water needs, take the following into account:

• One gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation.
• Children, nursing mothers and sick people may need more water.
• A medical emergency might require additional water.
• If you live in a warm weather climate more water may be necessary. In very hot temperatures, water needs can double.
• Keep at least a three-day supply of water per person.

Ten years ago, I purchased two Desert Patrol 6 gallon rigid water containers from Reliance Products. Along with a case of “el cheapo” bottled water from the local big-box hardware store that I would store in the trunk of my car and rotate out every once in a while, these served as my emergency water supply through the years.

Now, I kid you not when I say I live in the “concrete jungle.” Even before I moved into my current residence I figured out that if the water went out for an extended period of time I’d be screwed, as I rely on water being piped in from Lake Michigan and there are no other bodies of water reasonably close by to acquire and filter water from.

What’s nice about those Desert Patrol water containers is that they are constructed like a “jerry can”- tall and slim- which allowed me to tuck them away in a small space in my pad’s laundry/utility room. Plus, each stores a relatively large amount of water. However, the fact that they do store 6 gallons of water each (weighing just over 50 pounds each when full) made the semi-annual water changes somewhat cumbersome. And just last week, I was able to confirm one of the containers had sprung a leak.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to save that particular Desert Patrol container (10 years of dutiful service- I got my money’s worth), but I went ahead and purchased something similar last night- the Scepter 5 Gallon Manual Venting Water Jerry Can with CRC (Light Blue/Military Style) from Moeller Marine Products (Product# 004933). The Sparta, Tennessee-based company bills them as:

Virtually indestructible, manufactured from high-density, unbreakable polyethylene that is rustproof, crush-resistant and non-corroding.

A number of reviews I’ve read about the product pretty much attest to them being heavy-duty, which is what I want Plus, I purposely chose a 5 gallon capacity container because I think it will make water changes somewhat easier on my back, which I managed to throw-out last week handling the Desert Patrol jerry cans.

Anyway, I hope to receive the new jerry can in a couple of days and plan on putting it to work right away. Total cost was $20.90 which includes shipping from Amazon.com.

If I can save that leaking Desert Patrol container, I’ll have 17 gallons of water stored and readily-available for use in an emergency. Which gives me and my girlfriend an 8.5 day supply of water each for drinking and sanitation if one were to go by Ready.gov’s calculations. Not much of an emergency water supply, but it’s a start and definitely better than nothing.

By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)