Northmountain
02-21-2010, 12:40 AM
The author of this article is unknown. The original digital file date was 1998, although the document may have been written prior to that date. The information appears to be correct, but should be vetted by someone with the appropriate credentials. Therefore, the information is intended for informational reading only. It is not intended for action insertion in water storage preparedness or usage.
Water Storage Considerations
It is essential that every person have enough drinking water and that it be safe to drink. Calculate 1-gallon of drinking water per person per day as a rule of thumb. Obviously, needs differ according to age, physical condition, activity and environment. The gallon does not include water for cooking, bathing or pet allowances. If you have a medium-size dog, for example, plan at least another 1-gallon of water for each dog per day and 1-pint per day for each cat.
If you run out of stored water, you will need to locate an alternate source. In times of disaster, assume any water not stored or purchased is contaminated. It can come from a crystal clear stream and still be polluted. In fact, almost all stream water is polluted with microorganisms today. If the water you locate is brackish, first strain the debris through a paper towel, clean cloth or coffee filter. Then treat the strained water with one of the following methods:
Boiling - Bring water to a rolling boil and maintain for a minimum of 10 minutes. For every 1000 feet above sea level, add one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes. If the water pot is covered, it will shorten the time to reach a boil. Boiling is the safest water treatment against bacteria and viruses. It does not remove pesticides or other harmful chemicals. Boiling does use fuel that could otherwise be used for cooking, heating or lighting, so try to store as much water as you’ll probably need in an emergency.
Chemical Treatments
Chemicals used for water treatment kill most bacteria and viruses. However, since it's not possible (outside of a laboratory) to determine the level of bacteria and viruses present in the water, adding enough chemicals to assure the killing all of the "bugs" while still keeping the water safe for human consumption can be a real problem.
Most commercially purchased water treatments base their dosage on water conditions determined by the physical senses, (i.e. is the water visually cloudy or brackish). A test may be how smells after 30 minutes of treatment. While these treatments usually work when we find water that we are willing to drink, like running streams and lakes, we will be less choosy in difficult times. The level of contamination may be higher than the recommended dosage can handle in these sources.
There are many chemicals that can be used to treat water. They come in liquid and pill form and are usually either iodine or chlorine based.
Iodine is effective and many people use it. One drawback though is that pregnant or nursing women or people with thyroid problems should not drink water treated with iodine. A major drawback is that there is no easy way to check if a larger dose is needed on a given water sample.
Chlorine works well on most bacteria and viruses and is used by the U.S. military and many municipal water districts for water treatment. While Chlorine is not perfect (many people don't like its taste in treated water), its major advantage over other chemical treatments is that after an initial dose, it can be easily tested to determine if more is needed. Chlorine generally comes in two forms.
Types of chlorine
Liquid chlorine bleach - The product must contain 5.25% sodium hypochlorite without soap or phosphates (Plain bleach with no additives). If the bleach is not dated, the time of purchase, write the date on the bottle with a permanent marker.
Dry chlorine - Also called calcium hypochlorite it has the added benefit of extended shelf life. Providing it is kept dry, cool and in an airtight container, it may be stored up to 10 years with minimal degradation. If one is wanting to keep chlorine in larger quantities, this is the item to store as it is readily available at swimming pool supply stores and many hardware and grocery stores carrying pool items and requires less actual storing space than its liquid counterpart.
NOTE: Calcium hypochlorite is the solid form with 65% strength and sodium hypochlorite is the liquid form with strengths about 12.5%. Household bleach is sodium hypochlorite (NaHOCl) of about 5% strength. Most household bleach labels will read 5.25%.
How chlorine levels are measured:
Humans can tolerate a certain amount of chlorine in water without any ill health effects. The amount is measured in what is called Parts Per Million or PPM. Three to five PPM is the recommended safe level for chlorine in drinking water. When chlorine is used for disinfecting water, enough chlorine is added initially to raise the PPM to approximately 5 PPM. After 30 minutes of contact time if no "bugs" are in the water the PPM level will still be at the same 5 PPM level. This level is call the residual or "free" chlorine level. If however, the water is contaminated the level will drop, depending on the amount of "bugs" that are in the water. In basic terms, when bacteria and viruses come in contact with chlorine, they are killed. But they also "use up" the chlorine they come in contact with. The "free" chlorine level will drop as the
Chlorine is used up.
This "free" chlorine level can be measured by easy to use pool chlorine testers. These chlorine testers are available at most pool supply and hardware stores. There are two basic kinds of testers. One type uses a liquid that when dropped into a sample of the water will change the color of the sample. A chart on the tester will indicate the PPM level based on the depth of the color change. The other type uses test strips that are dipped in the water sample and change color. A chart on the bottle will indicate the PPM level based on the depth of the color change on the strip. The test strips are a little more expensive (about $8.00 for 50 strips) but are easier to use and read.
Treating water with chlorine
Collect the water in a suitable 1-gallon container. If the size of the container is larger than a gallon, increase the doses below accordingly.
Liquid chlorine bleach: If the liquid bleach is more than one year old, it loses approximately 50% of its strength. In this case, the amount of bleach should be doubled. For 1-gallon of water add 12 drops chlorine using a common eyedropper. Mix well and allow water to stand for 30 minutes. Use this eyedropper for no other purpose. After 30 minutes, test the amount of free chlorine using a swimming pool chlorine tester. If the chlorine PPM is 0, add 12 more drops and allow water to stand for 30 minutes. Continue this process until the chlorine PPM is above 0 but not more than 5 PPM.
Dry chlorine
The dry chlorine first needs to be converted to a liquid solution before being added to the collected water. To make the solution, place 2 1/2 teaspoons of dry chlorine into a 1-pint bottle with a tight lid. Shake well. (Note: be careful with this solution. Don't get any on your skin or in your eyes.) The chlorine solution will turn a yellow color that is similar to liquid bleach only more cloudy. After a while, a white "mass" will settle on the bottom of the chlorine solution.
The inert ingredients that come with dry chlorine have no effect on the chlorine strength. Label this container noting that it should not be drunk. For 1-gallon of water add 20 drops from the chlorine solution using a common eyedropper. Mix well and allow water to stand 30 minutes. Use this eyedropper for no other purpose.
After 30 minutes, test the amount of free chlorine using a pool chlorine tester. If the chlorine PPM is 0, add 20 more drops and allow water to stand 30 minutes. Continue this process until the chlorine PPM is above 0 but not more than 5 PPM.
Additional Treatment
While treating water with chemicals alone is usually effective, there still could be organisms that may be resistant to the treatment. Also, chemical treatments do not remove pesticides or other chemical contamination. Therefore, it is recommended that after chemical treatment, and just prior to drinking, a portable water filter be used to further clean the water. The portable water filter will also remove the "free" chlorine and improve the taste of the treated water. (If the treated water is to be stored don't filter it yet as the "free" chlorine will keep the water from being re-infected while in storage)
Most water filters will filter out bacteria and other chemical impurities and are used successfully by many people in places all over the world. They are generally designed so that pre-treatment of the water by chemicals is not necessary. But not all filters are the same and some may not work well on very small viruses. This is the reason for chemically treating the water before filtering. It adds an extra measure if safety. Portable water filters are available at most sporting goods stores. They are manufactured by PUR, MSR, Katadyn and General Ecology (First Need) and SweetWater.
Essentials of a water treatment kit
2 Bottles of dry pool chlorine
3+ Bottles of chlorine test strips (0-5 PPM)
2+ Medicine droppers
1 Pint container (For chlorine solution, marked with a fill line and warning label)
1 1 Teaspoon measure
1 1/2 Teaspoon measure
2 Funnels
3+ Packages of coffee filters (For pre-filtering)
1 Empty 1-gallon bottle
1 Water purifier
2 Water filters for the above purifier
1 Water proofed instructions sheet
Water Storage Considerations
It is essential that every person have enough drinking water and that it be safe to drink. Calculate 1-gallon of drinking water per person per day as a rule of thumb. Obviously, needs differ according to age, physical condition, activity and environment. The gallon does not include water for cooking, bathing or pet allowances. If you have a medium-size dog, for example, plan at least another 1-gallon of water for each dog per day and 1-pint per day for each cat.
If you run out of stored water, you will need to locate an alternate source. In times of disaster, assume any water not stored or purchased is contaminated. It can come from a crystal clear stream and still be polluted. In fact, almost all stream water is polluted with microorganisms today. If the water you locate is brackish, first strain the debris through a paper towel, clean cloth or coffee filter. Then treat the strained water with one of the following methods:
Boiling - Bring water to a rolling boil and maintain for a minimum of 10 minutes. For every 1000 feet above sea level, add one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes. If the water pot is covered, it will shorten the time to reach a boil. Boiling is the safest water treatment against bacteria and viruses. It does not remove pesticides or other harmful chemicals. Boiling does use fuel that could otherwise be used for cooking, heating or lighting, so try to store as much water as you’ll probably need in an emergency.
Chemical Treatments
Chemicals used for water treatment kill most bacteria and viruses. However, since it's not possible (outside of a laboratory) to determine the level of bacteria and viruses present in the water, adding enough chemicals to assure the killing all of the "bugs" while still keeping the water safe for human consumption can be a real problem.
Most commercially purchased water treatments base their dosage on water conditions determined by the physical senses, (i.e. is the water visually cloudy or brackish). A test may be how smells after 30 minutes of treatment. While these treatments usually work when we find water that we are willing to drink, like running streams and lakes, we will be less choosy in difficult times. The level of contamination may be higher than the recommended dosage can handle in these sources.
There are many chemicals that can be used to treat water. They come in liquid and pill form and are usually either iodine or chlorine based.
Iodine is effective and many people use it. One drawback though is that pregnant or nursing women or people with thyroid problems should not drink water treated with iodine. A major drawback is that there is no easy way to check if a larger dose is needed on a given water sample.
Chlorine works well on most bacteria and viruses and is used by the U.S. military and many municipal water districts for water treatment. While Chlorine is not perfect (many people don't like its taste in treated water), its major advantage over other chemical treatments is that after an initial dose, it can be easily tested to determine if more is needed. Chlorine generally comes in two forms.
Types of chlorine
Liquid chlorine bleach - The product must contain 5.25% sodium hypochlorite without soap or phosphates (Plain bleach with no additives). If the bleach is not dated, the time of purchase, write the date on the bottle with a permanent marker.
Dry chlorine - Also called calcium hypochlorite it has the added benefit of extended shelf life. Providing it is kept dry, cool and in an airtight container, it may be stored up to 10 years with minimal degradation. If one is wanting to keep chlorine in larger quantities, this is the item to store as it is readily available at swimming pool supply stores and many hardware and grocery stores carrying pool items and requires less actual storing space than its liquid counterpart.
NOTE: Calcium hypochlorite is the solid form with 65% strength and sodium hypochlorite is the liquid form with strengths about 12.5%. Household bleach is sodium hypochlorite (NaHOCl) of about 5% strength. Most household bleach labels will read 5.25%.
How chlorine levels are measured:
Humans can tolerate a certain amount of chlorine in water without any ill health effects. The amount is measured in what is called Parts Per Million or PPM. Three to five PPM is the recommended safe level for chlorine in drinking water. When chlorine is used for disinfecting water, enough chlorine is added initially to raise the PPM to approximately 5 PPM. After 30 minutes of contact time if no "bugs" are in the water the PPM level will still be at the same 5 PPM level. This level is call the residual or "free" chlorine level. If however, the water is contaminated the level will drop, depending on the amount of "bugs" that are in the water. In basic terms, when bacteria and viruses come in contact with chlorine, they are killed. But they also "use up" the chlorine they come in contact with. The "free" chlorine level will drop as the
Chlorine is used up.
This "free" chlorine level can be measured by easy to use pool chlorine testers. These chlorine testers are available at most pool supply and hardware stores. There are two basic kinds of testers. One type uses a liquid that when dropped into a sample of the water will change the color of the sample. A chart on the tester will indicate the PPM level based on the depth of the color change. The other type uses test strips that are dipped in the water sample and change color. A chart on the bottle will indicate the PPM level based on the depth of the color change on the strip. The test strips are a little more expensive (about $8.00 for 50 strips) but are easier to use and read.
Treating water with chlorine
Collect the water in a suitable 1-gallon container. If the size of the container is larger than a gallon, increase the doses below accordingly.
Liquid chlorine bleach: If the liquid bleach is more than one year old, it loses approximately 50% of its strength. In this case, the amount of bleach should be doubled. For 1-gallon of water add 12 drops chlorine using a common eyedropper. Mix well and allow water to stand for 30 minutes. Use this eyedropper for no other purpose. After 30 minutes, test the amount of free chlorine using a swimming pool chlorine tester. If the chlorine PPM is 0, add 12 more drops and allow water to stand for 30 minutes. Continue this process until the chlorine PPM is above 0 but not more than 5 PPM.
Dry chlorine
The dry chlorine first needs to be converted to a liquid solution before being added to the collected water. To make the solution, place 2 1/2 teaspoons of dry chlorine into a 1-pint bottle with a tight lid. Shake well. (Note: be careful with this solution. Don't get any on your skin or in your eyes.) The chlorine solution will turn a yellow color that is similar to liquid bleach only more cloudy. After a while, a white "mass" will settle on the bottom of the chlorine solution.
The inert ingredients that come with dry chlorine have no effect on the chlorine strength. Label this container noting that it should not be drunk. For 1-gallon of water add 20 drops from the chlorine solution using a common eyedropper. Mix well and allow water to stand 30 minutes. Use this eyedropper for no other purpose.
After 30 minutes, test the amount of free chlorine using a pool chlorine tester. If the chlorine PPM is 0, add 20 more drops and allow water to stand 30 minutes. Continue this process until the chlorine PPM is above 0 but not more than 5 PPM.
Additional Treatment
While treating water with chemicals alone is usually effective, there still could be organisms that may be resistant to the treatment. Also, chemical treatments do not remove pesticides or other chemical contamination. Therefore, it is recommended that after chemical treatment, and just prior to drinking, a portable water filter be used to further clean the water. The portable water filter will also remove the "free" chlorine and improve the taste of the treated water. (If the treated water is to be stored don't filter it yet as the "free" chlorine will keep the water from being re-infected while in storage)
Most water filters will filter out bacteria and other chemical impurities and are used successfully by many people in places all over the world. They are generally designed so that pre-treatment of the water by chemicals is not necessary. But not all filters are the same and some may not work well on very small viruses. This is the reason for chemically treating the water before filtering. It adds an extra measure if safety. Portable water filters are available at most sporting goods stores. They are manufactured by PUR, MSR, Katadyn and General Ecology (First Need) and SweetWater.
Essentials of a water treatment kit
2 Bottles of dry pool chlorine
3+ Bottles of chlorine test strips (0-5 PPM)
2+ Medicine droppers
1 Pint container (For chlorine solution, marked with a fill line and warning label)
1 1 Teaspoon measure
1 1/2 Teaspoon measure
2 Funnels
3+ Packages of coffee filters (For pre-filtering)
1 Empty 1-gallon bottle
1 Water purifier
2 Water filters for the above purifier
1 Water proofed instructions sheet