When All Hell Breaks Loose (35 page)
Read When All Hell Breaks Loose Online
Authors: Cody Lundin
Chlorine bleach bottles that housed regular sodium hypochlorite 5.25 or 6.0 percent without added phosphates or scents are durable and well suited for water storage jugs. They are opaque as well, unlike most juice bottles, and thus are more attractive for long-term water storage in which algae might be an issue.
Milk Jugs
Although superior to an animal stomach, milk jugs and gallon water containers from the grocery store both suck for storing and transporting water. Although I have used both for temporary purposes, both the container and the lid are too flimsy. Compared to the other types of containers available to you, milk gallons degrade quickly when exposed to the sun, especially here in the Southwest. Use these only when you have no other option.
Collapsible Containers, Both Large and Small
Plastic or rubber collapsible water containers provide water containment without the bulk of the container when empty. As mentioned, water is not compressible and requires a certain amount of volume when stored. This, of course, means that empty water containers will still be a space hog, using up room that might be at a premium for your family, especially in that efficiency apartment. The weak link of many collapsible containers is the thin, folded, or pleated plastic or rubber itself. The movement of the plastic/rubber creates weak areas within the plastic/rubber, which later leads to leaks. Many years ago there were quality containers being made, but from my modern experiments, most of the commercial options are crap. For this reason, don't have the bulk of your water storage containers be the collapsible variety.
"Camping Style," Five- to Seven-Gallon Jerry Cans
On my outdoor courses, I use plastic jerry cans a bunch. Most come with a cap and a funnel-like adapter that allow for easier pouring. Other caps convert into a spigot that allows you to open and close it as needed without formally capping the entire container. Some are cheaply made and others are not. Get the thickest plastic you can find and expect sooner or later for the caps and spouts to break. These are usually sold separately, like the caps to the Nalgenes, so pick up extras.
These containers are going to be heavy when full, from forty to fifty-six pounds, so limit their use to storing or transporting water for short distances. While all models have a built-in carrying handle, some designers had a clue and built in two handles, one at the top and the other toward the bottom. This allows for easier pouring and for two people to tackle the job of lugging the thing around. On some dry-camp field courses, I have my students carry full jerry cans to our base camp. The average carry distance for two healthy young males, depending on terrain and air temperature, is about a quarter to a half a mile before they want my head on a stick.
Fifty-five-Gallon Drums (Yes, This Is Considered a Small Container)
New or preowned fifty-five-gallon drums or barrels are extremely common on many survival supply Web sites. While all of them sold for storing water should be made from food-grade plastics, double check before ordering. Food wholesalers and restaurants might be another place to score some containers, although no doubt they will need cleaning and may reek of their former contents until the end of time. One of my fifty-five-gallon drums was a former home for olives. It has smelled of olives for more than seven years but I don't care as I don't use its water for human consumption. Even so, the smell is purely cosmetic.
Some have tried the following method to eliminate the infamous "pickle bucket stink" from their containers. First, wash the hell out of the inside of the container with dish soap. Next, use a paste solution of baking soda and hot water and scrub it some more and/or fill the container up with hot water and dissolve into the water a cup and a half of baking soda, stir it up good, and let the solution sit for a few days. Empty it out (hopefully on some thirsty plants) and fill it again with water and this time add a cup and a half of chlorine bleach and let it sit for a few days. Chlorine evaporates so seal the bucket as it sits. If your container doesn't have a cover, consider not wasting your time with it as it will be inferior for storing water anyway due to infiltrating debris and critters. Do this process during hot weather as it will slightly expand the plastic and allow greater access to more of the "pores" that hold onto the odor. Empty the container and let it dry with the top off. If this doesn't work, get used to the smell of pickles.
When filled with water, a fifty-five-gallon drum would herniate the Incredible Hulk if he tried to move it, so figure out where you want it before you fill it. Be careful about putting them in older homes with sketchy wooden floors or on second-story floors or higher as they will weigh more than 450 pounds when topped off. Some retailers sell cool little pumps that fit on top of the drums that allow your family to pump out the water. Other people cut into the bottom side of the drum and install a spigot. Others don't mind opening the top and using a pot to simply scoop out water, or they use a garden hose to siphon off the contents. Obviously, due to their great size, fifty-five-gallon drums are meant to store water in a static location. Even so, when mostly empty, they aren't that bad to move around and are relatively convenient and cheap for most homeowners to own a few.
Large Plastic Containers
In the Southwest, plastic water storage tanks of all shapes and sizes are a normal part of life. Many people, especially in rural areas, either haul their own or have water delivered to their homes via commercial water trucks. The most common tank size for home use is 3,000 gallons, due to its manageable size (approximately 95 inches by 105 inches), and the fact that water trucks usually hold 1,600 to 2,000 gallons. If you have the space, and choose to purchase a large-capacity plastic tank, choose one that is opaque (as most are) to inhibit algae growth and choose a low-key color such as black or dark green. Larger tanks come with an opening near the bottom, one near the top, and a manhole-type cover that allows for smaller folks to climb into the tank, if needed, for cleaning or repairs. Additional holes can easily be added wherever you like.
In the many years that I've had my tank, I've never had a problem with algae or anything else. Before I got around to capping off one of the top holes, a bird flew into the tank without my knowledge, became trapped, and died in the water. We drank the nondisinfected water anyway and watched the bird slowly dissolve until only the skull remained. Skittish guests refused to drink and brought their own water for months, thereby saving a great deal of water. I'm not recommending the dead bird trick as a way to be cheap with your water but it does demonstrate and affirm water being the ultimate natural dissolver when given sufficient time. My own mother still refuses to drink the water some seven years later.
Any clear container left filled with water and exposed to direct or indirect sunlight will in time grow algae. This bright green slime coats the inside of the container with surprising rapidity. While I'm no algaeologist, the varieties that I have dealt with over the years have given me zero problems. When a thin layer of it decides to separate itself from the side of my water jug, I simply consider the stuff free food and drink it down. Other people, perhaps not surprisingly, have been vocal with their objections to sharing my jug. Although it's typically the stuff you can't see floating around in water that causes the problems, I understand their protests. If your family freaks out about their greenish-looking bottles, help to prevent algae growth in the first place by making clear bottles opaque with covers or paint. Also, keep them out of direct or indirect sunlight and change the water inside often. If algae takes over your bottle, it will be nearly impossible to get out without mechanical scrubbing, which is difficult to accomplish in many containers with tiny openings. The easiest way to get rid of algae is to add a couple of tablespoons of bleach to the bottle along with a little water. Shake it up a bit, let it sit for a few minutes, then come back and shake it some more until the algae breaks off and/or dissolves in the chlorine solution. Rinse the bottle out and you're back in the good graces of your fussy family. Rotate your stored water supply every six months to a year whether it was used or not.
Some suggest that chlorine be added to large amounts of stored water that sit for a long period of time, but I have never found the need to do so. I'm drinking the same water now that I added to my tank fourteen months ago (without adding any fresh water) and it's fine, sans any means of disinfection. While I cover how to use chlorine to disinfect smaller quantities of water on Chapter 13, adding chlorine drop by drop to a 3,000 gallon water tank would have the same effect as being forced to listen to one Menudo song. For those who insist on adding chlorine bleach to large amounts of stored water, sans Menudo, the recipe is as follows.
HOW TO DISINFECT 1,000 GALLONS OF WATER WITH CHLORINE BLEACH
I went straight to the source of water disinfection information for this one and talked with Rick Pinney, water superintendent for the city of Prescott, Arizona. He kindly spent nearly an hour with me on the phone going through complex math formulas that had me close to cutting my wrists. In the end, he took pity on my anemic math skills and just gave me the answer. Thanks, Rick!
The following is used to treat 1,000 gallons of nonpotable water with sodium hypochlorite 5.25 or 6 percent to achieve a concentration of one parts per million. If you're wishing to disinfect more or less water, do the math.
The following dosage is given in three different measurements that all equate to the same amount. Choose whichever
one
works best for you.
Use 1/3 cup chlorine bleach per 1,000 gallons of water
Or
2 ½ ounces of chlorine bleach per 1,000 gallons of water
Or
14 ½ teaspoons of chlorine bleach per 1,000 gallons of water.
Although larger cylindrical plastic tanks are not meant to be buried, I have mine buried in sand a few feet so the pipes running to the house aren't susceptible to damage from freezing temperatures. For purely emergency use, a family can pick the proper tank location (the company who sells you the tank should be able to supply you with how to prepare the ground for the size you purchase), attach a valve to the bottom opening, fill the tank with water, and fill smaller containers as needed without the headache of freezing pipes.
While these tanks are fairly UV resistant, they will take a beating in direct sunlight over the years. That said, I've seen tanks that have baked in the Arizona sun for more than a decade and they look brand new. If an idiot shoots at your tank, or it is somehow damaged short of a gaping hole, plastic tanks can be repaired by the use of a plastic rod of material that is simply melted into or over the leak.
Glass Containers
There are some advantages to using glass containers. Potentially harmful chemicals cannot leach into the water from glass. Water doesn't pick up weird tastes from glass and glass does not absorb odors. Ultraviolet rays from the sun have no effect on glass and glass containers will last almost indefinitely if not damaged.
The disadvantages to glass containers are pretty obvious. They are breakable (and the resulting mess can cause serious injury) and nonrepairable. They are heavy compared to plastic. It is rare to find any glass containers over a one- or two-gallon capacity. Algae will grow in them unless they are painted or covered. They are noncombustible, but they may crack or shatter with enough heat. They may crack if exposed to freezing temperatures when filled with water.
Small Glass Containers
Small containers of a gallon or two are about all you'll find, the most common being those that held apple juice. Look over the advantages and disadvantages of the various containers explained and decide whether glass fits with your water storage plan.
Galvanized Metal
Galvanized metal containers have some advantages. They are durable, repairable, noncombustible, and are commonly available (especially in rural areas) in a wide variety of sizes.
The disadvantages are that they are expensive and heavy, even when empty. They will eventually corrode and the reflective metal is highly visible unless it's painted. The zinc coating may also present a health problem. Because of the zinc, aquaculture folks won't use galvanized containers to raise their fish; they use plastic.