Water "per person", and purification

I've heard MANY different equations about the recommende amount of water per person in a "survival" situation, most being around 1 gal. per person per day...is this accurate?
It DOES seem like alot-worst case scenario-is this enough?


Although we have PLENTY of food cached, Water is something that humans simply cannot go without for more than 3 days...

What is the proper amount of chlorine bleach per gallon that can SAFELY be used to purify water for human consumption? I hear that 60 PPM is lethal, is this accurate? I also was told that for drinking water, you want to aim for about 3-10 PPm??? Comments??Measurements???

Does bleach go bad?

Iodine?

Depends on conditions. Search here, and on the web for Civil Defense water info and you'll get some numbers. "How much" is really "How much do you need". 1 gallon per person per day includes washing hands, etc. and that would be about right. Strictly water consumption is of course much less than that, but in a water conservation situation you will be rationing your activity depending on conditions. Usually associated with desert survival scenarios.

Again, search here and elsewhere for the purification amounts, I can't remember off the top of my head. It is something like 1/4 cup for my 55 gallon drum, if that helps. When you purify the tank, you normally should not have a bleach smell. If you do then you have likely put too much, akin to amounts found swimming pool water ;)

At one time Clorox had the number of "drops" to sanitize a gallon of water printed on their label. Dunno if they still do, don't have any handy to check. Bleach may go bad, but it will be many years down the road. Like everyhting else, rotate it out and use the oldest bottles for the laundry.

The only iodine water treatments I'm familiar with is the little bottle of crystals sold to campers. You add water to the bottle and the crystals dissolve into the water, the concentration remains the same as the saturation point is reached and the crystals quit dissolving. There is a chart on the bottle telling you how much of the saturated liquid to add to a quart of water, it is temperature based.

Water needs vary depending on the person, climate, and activity. Keep a log of what you drink for a few days under various conditions and that will give you some idea what YOUR needs are. We also get a lot of water from the foods we eat, if your storage foods are different from your normal diet factor that in as well. Also figure in the dehydrated storage food water needs.

Great place to store water- See example

275 Gallon Shipping Food Grade Tank Totes

275 Gallon Shipping Food Grade Tank Totes - $150

Clorox doesn't share the info any more, but here is a "reprint" of the Clorox instructions for water: Clorox Bleach for Emergency Water Purification

Quote:

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*Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification

2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water

8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water

1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water

If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox Bleach.

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10% bleach in water is also a great, cheap immediate disinfectant for hard surfaces.

Thanks, SJ and others!

Bleach tends to lose strength with age, and rather quickly. What's recommended in some circles is to store calcium hypochlorite (pool shock) which can be mixed up into a bleach solution when needed. Store it dry, and when needed, it only takes a very tiny bit of the stuff to make bleach-strength liquid, which can then sterilize water without having had to worry about it losing strength.

Better than Bleach: Use Calcium Hypochlorite to Disinfect Water

A solar still is also an option for long-term water purification. One crude set of plans is:

Solar Water Still Plans

Unlike bleach it will It will last for years. Very long shelf life. 1 lb. will treat 10,000 gallons of drinking water.
It is also known as "pool shock" available at any place that sells pool supplies. Including Wal Mart and Home Depot.

It's a two step process to use the chemical for drinking water purification.

78% calcium hypochlorite (granular)
1. Dissolve 1 heaping table spoon in 2 gallons of water. ( solution )
2. Add 1 part solution to 100 parts of water. Let sit for one hour before drinking.

Using calcium hypochlorite is a great way, or rotate liquid bleach.

If you buy calcium hypochlorite, keep it tightly sealed with some dessicant bags, or atmospheric moisture can reduce it's potency.

Boiling remains the best way to purify water of organisms.

I have used almost 2 gallons just drinking when it was 100+F and I was strenuously working. I have also drank a gallon sitting on my ass when I was eating a high protein low carb diet and it was warmish ~80F. I plan for 2 gallons per person per day if we will be performing manual labor, plus cooking dried foods and keeping clean. I have 2 fifty gallon water heater with ball valves for ease of draining and anti-backflow check valves installed to prevent water from being sucked back out of them. So I start with a little more than 2 weeks for my family of 3 right there. I would probably last 3 weeks if we are vigilant. Then it is time to tap the 110gallons in the garage. If I have warning, then I will have another 100ish gallons filled. I also know where all three springs are within walking distance and have two rigs for carrying 5 gallon jerry cans. Would also be collecting rain water.

If my math is correct then you could just add 1.1grains of sodium hypochlorite to 2 gallons of drinking water to disinfect. (Figure most of us have a reloading scale.)

1/4oz per 2 gal=1/8oz per gallon = 0.0078125lbs per gallon = 54.6875 grain per gallon. Used at 1 to 100. That would be 0.546875grains per gallon We round that to 0.55 grains which would be 1.1grains per 2 gallons, which is a real easy measurement.

-yarro