I was told that water containers purchased in the grocery won't hold up for long. They're biodegradable. So how do you store water for a year or more? Buy those expensive containers? Can anyone help?

-- meeko (meeeko@hotmail.com), January 24, 1999

Answers

Cheap? Save decent plastic soda & juice containers (clear, not the translucent white stuff like milk containers).

Better? Food-grade 55-gallon drums.

Do a web-search...

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous.com), January 24, 1999.

We're sticking with 5 gal. containers. I can't remember the exact number, but 55 gal drums weigh more than 400 lbs filled. If you had to leave in a hurry, that drum might as well be glued to the floor.

-- d (d@dgi.com), January 24, 1999.

Meeeko, I purchased 5 gallon containers from "www.watertanks.com" called HedPaks. They are very hard(not bendable). THis was back around December 16, 1998. They cost $62.40 for 10 of them (50 gal total). Another place to consider is US Plastic at "www.usplastic.com". I bought a glosed head, 30 gallon Blue Drum for $34.00 (55 was just too big for my storage area; weight was another problem) back on Dec 29th. You can compare the watertanks and usplastic prices on the drums....watertanks may be cheaper..but the company is in Calif...CONSIDER SHIPPING COSTS! Also, REI "www.rei.com" under "camping" section, was the place I bought some collapsible water bottles. One 2.5 gallon was $3.50, a 5 gallon was $4.50, they are good if you want to send them to someone..they are shipped in collapsed form, so they don't weigh alot. Easy to transport before adding water to them. Good if you need to 'bug out' in a hurry and want something smaller than 5-30 gallons.

-- Nubian (tall_nubian@yahoo.com), January 24, 1999.

I buy 1gal.jugs that come in a cardboard case 6 per. at wally world and at the food mart @2.50 case. Two year date on the distilled water. Refilled with tap water the pastic jugs are find after 5 years. s.r.

-- s.r. (s.r.@wayout.com), January 24, 1999.

A question related to this - what kind of water use should a family plan for (per adult and per child) for food, drinking, and washing dishes, washing clothes per day? Assume typical mid-winter heavy labor involved, but not baths or watering rose bushes or flushing toilets.

Per pet too? If not neglible compared to above.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 24, 1999.

Robert:

The standard number breaks down to 2 gal per person per day. This covers consumption, cooking and MINIMAL hygeine. Realistically, consider 18-22 per person per week. Gives some slack on the consumption,and allows for more hygeine, and more water intensive cooking.

The "standard" comes from FEMA/ARC documentation. It is usually stated as 7 gal per person per week for consumption, and 7 per for hygeine.

Chuck

-- Chuck, night driver (rienzoo@en.com), January 24, 1999.

We're thinking of signing up for bottled water service and ordering one extra per week (I believe you get them on a monthly basis); that would give us about 300 gal. in easily handled containers. We're also considering cisterns for water from the roof for watering the garden, flushing (if that's possible), etc.

-- Karen Cook (browsercat@yerf.net), January 25, 1999.

Your local bottling plant should have available 5-gall and (less commonly available) 55-gall containers suitable for drinking water, usually free if you're willing to clean out the syrup residue. I understand food processors (jam-makers, e.g.) also have similar food-grade containers.

Gardener's Supply (gardenerssupply.com) has 75-gall rain barrels, which I think (hope) are food-grade plastic. These are specially constructed to catch rainwater and come with safety grids and screens, plus a thumb-control hose to water plants or fill containers. There's also a linking kit to link another barrel. When I got mine in the fall they were about $80/each. Now they're $100. Other rain barrels are available through other gardening and housewares catalogues.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), January 25, 1999.

Ref the above www.watertanks.com site:

If you incorrectly enter www.watertank.com you can get some REAL BIG water tanks. (However, most home users find that tanks larger than 1,00,000 gals are a bit large for casual use.) 8<)

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), January 26, 1999.