Today is World Water Day. Each year World Water Day is used to highlight the plight of the billions of people in the world with poor access to water. It is also a good day to check up on your own water security. How secure is your water supply? Where would you get your water if your well or town water source were shut down for some reason? Would that water be clean? If your power shut off, would you be put in the same situation as the 2.3 billion people living without access to improved sanitation, or the 844 million who don't have access to safe water at all? Here are some facts … [Read more...]

The first thing you want to do when it comes down to your water supply is to figure out your water sources. For example, we have town water and we live near a fresh water reservoir, but it’s at the bottom of a steep hill. It will be extremely difficult to gather water and carry it up the hill. But it can be done in small batches. Next, you want to determine how much water you have on hand right now. The first place to look is your hot water heater capacity. Go online to see how to access water from your hot water heater in an emergency. Here’s a general sequence: turn off the … [Read more...]

I've discussed making use of your local water resources for survival before here on Richardcyoung.com, and there are a number of water focused pieces of gear in the Richardcyoung.com "Navy SEAL Survival Kit." Now take a look as Mike Jones, writing for LoadoutRoom.com, details methods for purifying water that he learned as a military survival instructor. Pre-filtering you water: This is important, if your water is full of particulate matter and other disgusting crap you might want to consider doing a pre filter. I typically do this by putting a shirt over the mouth of my canteen and pouring … [Read more...]

As I wrote to you in my five-part series on water storage here, here, here, here and here, there are plenty of ways for you to store potable water. But how can you turn stored water into great tasting water? I’ve learned that taste can be an issue if water has been sitting in a plastic container for perhaps five years. Who wants to drink water that tastes like plastic or Clorox? I don’t. The best solution I’ve come up with is to use a water purifier. But, as one survivalist points out, storing treated water and then purifying it with a filter is like wearing a belt and suspenders, it’s … [Read more...]

Your final goal in storing water is: To have water when you need it most. To do that, you need to determine what containers work best for your situation. Once you have your container(s), you want to make sure they are rinsed and disinfected before filling them up. Most come ready to go out of the box, but you want to make sure. You can watch how to disinfect containers on YouTube. I like rinsing with plain old Clorox and letting them sit for about a half hour. Then let them stand overnight before filling with water using an RV potable water hose. Next, you want to treat the water for … [Read more...]

Good Karma If you’ve been reading my series on water storage, here, here, and here, then you may be paying closer attention to your water usage. I know I have. I’ve caught myself letting the water run needlessly while shaving, brushing my teeth and doing the dishes. For some reason, in addition to not wasting water, I feel good just turning it off. In a way, I’m hoping it will be good karma for when I really need water. Believe me there’s something to this karma stuff. Feeling good about what you’re doing, like being careful with your water usage and water storage makes you feel like … [Read more...]

In thinking about water storage for you and your family, I’ve been fascinated by how Israel solved their water problem. In his book, Let There Be Water: Israel’s Solution for a Water-Starved World, Seth M. Siegel tells how Israel, which is 60% desert became a water superpower. One point that stood out to me was getting residents to “buy in” to the importance of cherishing a most valuable resource. Real market pricing took care of that in a way that subsidized water never could. If something like water was free or cheap, then why not use as much of it as you could? Whereas, when charged a … [Read more...]

You’re making progress. How to store water isn’t easy. It requires your attention. But you can do this, because without water you’re toast in three days. Don’t get overwhelmed. There’s an endless combination of ways to store water for short, intermediate, and long-term needs as I discuss here. Today I’m focused on providing you with a two-week supply or an intermediate-term storage solution. I’ve chosen four fifty-five-gallon barrels. These barrels aren’t small. Imagine those big-yellow barrels getting dragged off the Orca in the movie Jaws and you get the picture. They are about … [Read more...]

Congratulations! The simple fact that you’re reading about water storage puts you ahead of the pack. Believe me, it takes work to figure this stuff out for your family. My goal is to share with you what I’ve learned to help you create your own plan. I’ve broken my water plan into three phases: short, intermediate, and long-term storage. Your short-term needs may last from two hours up to three days and can be covered by heading to your grocery store today. I want you to be able to satisfy your short-term needs right away should you lose access to water by the time you’re done reading this … [Read more...]

Do you live in a bone-dry, hot, desert? Then your water storage strategy may differ from someone that lives near a well, lake, river or reservoir. The same is true if you live in a third-floor city condo, compared to a quarter-acre in the burbs or 25 acres in the boondocks. You want to build your water storage capacity around your situation. That’s it. Your situation is unique. There are already tons of barriers when it comes to water storage. Don’t beat yourself up about what Joe Shmoe in Alamo is doing. Focus on yourself. You have enough hurdles to get over. For example, I’ve … [Read more...]