Category: Water Storage & Filters

Surviving the Aftermath, Hurricane Katrina Style, by Frank G.

On the morning of August 29th, 2005 we came face to face with TEOTWAWKI in the form of Hurricane Katrina.  An estimated 92% of our community in Pascagoula, Mississippi was inundated with a storm surge of 20-30 feet and 30-55 feet sea waves.  The surge waters traveled well inland, between 6-12 miles and combined with freshwater flooding from our numerous creeks, rivers, and the runoff from the Mobile, Alabama reservoir that opened its flood gates to relieve stress on the dam.  This basically cut Jackson County in half.  Fortunately the worst of the storm hit in the morning just as …


TEOTWAWKI in a Two Bedroom Apartment at the Edge of Town, by Melanie C.

Making it through a worst case scenario in a two bedroom apartment is not my idea of a good chance of survival.  I read about others who are relocating to the American Redoubt or who have acquired sizeable land out away from town.  Those who have bunkers or cellars lined with shelves of log-term storage foods and an arsenal of weapons and ammo to protect it all; who have chickens and goats and a place to plant those seeds that come in the long-term storage can.  Then I look at myself and think, “Can’t do that, can’t afford that, maybe …


My Prepping Perspective, by Jenny O.

Waking up to the sudden realization that my safe, comfortable world as I have always known it to be was not the result of watching any “end of the world” movies or documentaries, or from reading something about it or from a friend convincing me.  I feel it was a gift, a freebie wake-up call from the heavenly powers that be.   I can’t help but think that I am supposed to be a survivor…..at least long enough to keep my children alive and healthy until they are grown and can then survive without my assistance.  My husband on the other …


Surviving TEOTWAWKI in Hawaii, by M. in Honolulu

Hawaii is in a special situation in a potential emergency.  The island chain has seven inhabited islands (of eight major islands) that support a total state population of 1,392,313, a land area of 6,422 square miles, with an overall average density of 217 persons per square mile (11th highest in the U.S., just above Virginia, Ohio and Indiana).  Most of the population (70% or 976,372) is concentrated on Oahu with an area of 597 square miles, an average density of 1,635 per square mile.  The urban core of Honolulu has an estimated population of 340,000 (ranked 55th by population, just …


Letter Re: Building Cabins on a Shoestring Budget

Dear CPT Rawles, Thank you for SurvivalBlog, and best wishes to all of you at the Rawles Ranch.   My wife and I have written to once before about retreat locale recommendations, and you were so very helpful.  We are, I guess what you could call “late preppers” because we’ve only been working on this for about the last year, & part of that with admittedly a certain skepticism. Time has proven you right however, & now we are doing all we can.  It’s tough to prioritize when you need so much, and everything is like an emergency right NOW …


Preparedness for Short Term Regional Disasters, by K.H.H.

I know this blog is primarily aimed at folks preparing for a long-term crisis, but I have a unique perspective on living without electricity after a regional disaster that I thought some might find informative. I live in the hills of northwestern New Jersey, and I have lived through three sustained (my definition: 4 or more days each) power outages caused by extreme weather events during the last two years. These power outages were caused, respectively, by Hurricane Irene, 19 inches of wet, heavy snow in October before the trees had lost their leaves, and Hurricane Sandy. I have learned …


Pat’s Product Review: Clearly Filtered – Additional Products

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A few months ago, I did a review on Clearly Filtered water purification products, and the response was overwhelming to say the least. You can’t survive for more than a few days without a source of clean, safe drinking water. We aren’t necessarily talking about surviving out in the boonies, with only mud puddles to drink from. There are many times, when your tap water isn’t safe to drink. Think about it, how many times have you heard on the television news about contaminated drinking water, from a big city water supply,and “boil water” warnings? This happens too often if …


Letter Re: Compact Water Filter Recommendation

Greetings JWR, I just returned from my local Wal-Mart where I purchased the Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System for less than $25.00. Removes 7 log (99.99999%) of all bacteria and 6 log (99.9999%) of all protozoa. Comes with a squeeze bag and attachment to fit on most common drinking water bottles. Great product. – Bill K. JWR Replies: I should mention that the Sawyer brand filters are also sold by several SurvivalBlog advertisers. Be sure to do some comparison shopping before you buy.


Letter Re: The Water Filter Quest

Dear Jim; I can contribute to the water filter research.  I have been a student of the subject for about 45 years depending on where I start counting.  I could tell a lot of great tales about things I have seen out in the world of water but most the people would question my truthfulness making these tales go better around the firepit.    Many people misunderstand Charcoal filters and their usefulness.  In practical terms, they are useful for water that is contaminated with pesticides, complex nasty chemicals, or maybe a tiny bit of Hydrocarbon (Oil, Gasoline) pollution.  If you can taste anything like that, start looking …


Letter Re: The Water Filter Quest

Jim: In the interest of accuracy, I would like to clarify a couple of  statements made by Kevin K. in his response to “The Water Filter Quest” submission. Kevin states: “Another problem with only using mechanical filtration is some viruses are physically impossible to filter out of water (i.e. rotavirus)” ….  ”   I know of at least one mechanical filter on the market that does in-fact filter out all known viruses and is used extensively in Third World missionary operations .  Here is an excerpt from the filter manufacturer’s web site:   “The Sawyer 4 Liter 0.02 Micron Complete Water Purification System is …


Letter Re: The Water Filter Quest

JWR, I found the recent water filter article interesting and appreciate all the time Scott spent researching water filters.  I set up filters for missionaries in Third World countries and have found that plastic water containers can promote bacteria growth.  I believe there are two causes: 1. The plastic scratches when cleaning and provides a place for the nasties to attach and hide on the sides of the container, and 2. The container allows sunlight to enter which also encourages some types of bacteria.   Another problem with only using mechanical filtration is some viruses are physically impossible to filter …


The Water Filter Quest, by Scott H.

Living in a rural southern area of the eastern United States I am keenly aware that we are usually the first to lose power and last to regain power in any natural calamity.  A few years ago, we lost power for over a week.  With recent environmental catastrophes like Sandy et al, I have been reminded of a significant deficiency in my family survival preparations, water filtration.  I am not getting into the nitty gritty of the micron levels of filtration (most units reviewed were .2 microns or better) or the science of the systems.  This is a layman’s attempt …


The Po’ Mans TEOTWAWKI Guide, by R.B.

Useful tips and advice for the rest of us. Don’t have lots of money? Just started prepping when it hits the fan? This guide is for you. Free of charge! Tip #1: Bug-in Chances are that you won’t be in such immediate danger (dirty bomb, lava about to engulf your house, spiders like in that Arachnaphobia movie) that you actually have to leave your home. Most likely the government will stop functioning or the power grid will be down for a long time. Of course, there is always risk of civil unrest, but that is not likely to effect your …


Four-Tier Survival for the Newbie, by C.H.

A little about me: I am 27 years old, I have been married to my wife for 7 years. We have two boys, ages six and 22 months. Both my wife and I are school teachers; I also coach football and power lifting. So, we are the epitome of the American middle class. I have always enjoyed hunting, camping and the outdoors. So I have developed some basic “outdoorsman” skills throughout my youth and early adult hood. As a young child and early teen, I was very interested in survival, homesteading, and living off the land. I remember reading Foxfire …


Water Cistern Facts, by Rex X.

Cisterns have been used for water storage for thousands of years and continue to be used today.  A cistern is a large water storage container that is often underground.  Many of you will remember Masada where the Roman Legion had the Jews besieged.  This mountain top fortress was able to hold out for as log as they did, in part, because of the large cisterns where they stored rain water.  In fact without cisterns this would have been nothing other than another uninhabited mountain. These water storage tanks can range up to thousands of gallons, or liters if you prefer.  …