Let’s assume that the worst possible scenario happened. All utilities are off, including your city water, which can no longer be trusted. A human can’t go more than three days without water, so what do you do?
Fill Your Bathtubs and Other Places ASAP
Hopefully, you received some warning that things were about to go down and had a chance to gather some basic supplies. While your city water is still flowing and drinkable, plug your bathtubs and fill them. Once they’re full, follow suit with any pitchers, cups, buckets, and anything else that you have on hand. This is a good starting point.
Stock Up on Bottled Water
The easiest solution involves getting as much bottled water as possible. The bottles will stay fresh for quite some time – after all, it’s just water – and they’ll be safe to drink. If you have enough time to get to the store and stock up, then do so. Keep in mind that once society begins to break down, this water is going to become a precious commodity, and it won’t last forever. You’ll have to be prepared for other means of drinking water.
Collect Rainwater and Snowmelt
Rainwater is a good source. You can collect it in barrels, tarps, and whatever else you have on hand. Filling these things full of snow and melting it over a fire will work as well. For the most part, as long as the natural environment remains somewhat intact, this will give a decent amount of drinking and bathing water. If you’re skeptical about the contents of the water, as far as microorganisms and things are concerned, go ahead and boil the water for about ten minutes, then let it fully cool before drinking it. That should kill anything lurking in the liquid.
Treating Sources of Flowing and Stagnant Water
You need to be very careful when drinking groundwater, whether it comes from a stagnant pond, a spring-fed lake, or a flowing river or stream. You never know what’s lurking in there. Some states, like Ohio, already have questionable fresh water sources, and things might even get worse in the case of a natural disaster. Thankfully, you have options. There’s the boiling method, which was described above, the iodine method, which involves dropping special iodine crystals into the water. While this won’t make the water taste any better, it will at least make it safe to drink.
Suggested Article: “How to Use Iodine For Survival”
Another option is a water filter. Most camping and outdoor supply stores sell small, portable pump water filters. Simply put one of the filters into the water and pump it through the device into a canteen or cup. You’ll need a supply of filters, as these do lose their potency after awhile, but they do provide an interesting option.
Use More Than One Method
When you really aren’t sure about the purity of your water source, you should be extra cautious and use more than one purifying method. It’s not unheard of the boiling water after running it through a filter or using both a filter and iodine tablets. Really, it’s always better to be safe, especially if the water could have harmful microorganisms in it. You don’t want to end up getting sick.
Water is one of the essentials. There’s no way around it. No matter what happens, you need to stay hydrated in order to survive. It’s best to be prepared with several different ways of purifying water so that you have something safe to drink.
