Category: Water Storage & Filters

Letter Re: Drinking Water Shortage in Gloucester, England

James: This is an excerpt from a report in The Drudge Report on 7/23/07: “Police at an emergency services briefing in Gloucester said the water treatment works could be out of action for at least a week – and possibly two before it would be fully operative again. This would have serious implications for water supply in the Gloucester, Didsbury and Cheltenham areas, they warned. In Gloucestershire, members of the armed forces have been taking 600 water tanks into the area while 22 miles of temporary mains are put in place to enable water to be pumped from outside the …


Product Review: SteriPEN UV Light Portable Water Sterilizer

The folks at Safecastle recently sent us a SteriPEN Adventurer, charging case, and pre-filter for evaluation. Our #1 Son tested them in the secret laboratory beneath the JASBORR. Here are his findings: Model Tested: SteriPEN Adventurer The SteriPEN uses an ultraviolet light to sterilize microbes in water. The pen can treat water in 1 liter batches, in only 90 seconds. It runs on standard CR123 batteries, which are becoming ubiquitous. (A plus for anyone that already stocks these batteries for their tactical lights and/or lasers.) USE: You just push the power button, put it into a bottle of clean water, …


Letter Re: On Spring and Well Water, and Some Water Treatment Basics

Mr Rawles: You are dead on with the advice on water on July 19th. Even a fairly small spring is a great resource. We have used ours for 25 years now, even though I had a well drilled last year as a backup. Sometimes in the fall, our spring gets down to less than a pencil sized stream of water output. Several other points to mention for springs. For gravity feed, figure about 1/2 pound of pressure on the output end for each foot of elevation between the spring and the output. Also, run at least a 1″ line if …


On Spring and Well Water, and Some Water Treatment Basics

Plentiful fresh drinking water for drinking, cooking, washing, and gardening is the most critical resource for all societies. The vast majority of the residents of First World countries are dependent on grid power to supply their water. When the grid goes down for more than a few days, water towers will soon be drained and huge numbers of people will be forced to draw water from open sources. Thankfully, there are streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds in walking distance of most homes. Rainwater from roof downspouts can also be used. But the logistics of hauling water will just by itself …


Water Considerations for WTSHTF, by Terry M.

When prepping for WTSHTF, many times we focus on how much dehydrated food we have stored. While dehydrated foods can have a very important part in our plans, we have to remember that almost all that food needs water. Water you may not have accounted for in your plans. The following quantity figures were taken straight from the Walton Feed web site, a very popular source of dehydrated foods. Feeding a family of four Breakfast: Pancakes = 2.5 cups water Milk = 1 quart water margarine = 4 Tbsp water egg mix = 3 Tbsp water per egg (4 times) …


Letter Re: Well “Torpedo” or “Bullet” Bucket Construction Plans

Jim – Do you have a diagram or plans for a well torpedo? In case I have the term wrong, a PVC tube with a flapper valve at the bottom that when sent down the well shaft hits the water, the tube fills/sinks, when you pull on the rope the flapper valve closes sealing in the water for you to pull up the well shaft. I have the well. What I need is the way to install the flapper valve. Thanks, – DAB JWR Replies: For any readers that aren’t familiar with them, narrow shaft well buckets–also sometimes called “bullet …


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Swimming Pool Chlorine for Treating Drining Water

James: I enjoyed reading through these pages describing how to build a biological sand filter for water: It appears to be a great, low tech solution for treating contaminated, diseased or otherwise unclean water for drinking. The “download” link gives very good construction directions, certainly within the abilities of most survival minded people.- jr


Two Letters Re: Seeking Advice on Swimming Pool Chlorine for Treating Drinking Water

James, Your advice is excellent; however, one of the best tools to have for checking [water] sanitation levels is a DPD [Diethyl-paraphenylene diamine reagent] test kit available from Taylor or Hach, to name a few. I do not recommend OTO [orthotolidine reagent] kits as they are not as accurate as DPD. A 5mg/L initial shock should take care of most contaminants. After you have treated any water with bleach, it should be tested for free chlorine residual after 30 minutes of contact time. Water with a free chlorine residual of 4 mg/L should not be ingested for long durations as …


Disaster Proof Your Home, by “Decay”

In today’s survival forums much emphasis is placed on issues such as Bug Out Bags (BOBs), Main Battle Rifles, or Bug Out Vehicles (BOVs) These are important but I feel that it is critical that we also remember to return to the basics in an emergency situation. It was through my neighborhood Emergency Training program that I was reminded how fragile our homes, apartments, and neighborhoods can be during and after a disaster. Before flooding, hurricanes, tornados, famine, pestilence, plague, war or martial law. You and your family should get prepared so that you will be ready for anything that …


Two Letters Re: Seeking Advice on Swimming Pool Chlorine for Treating Drinking Water

Jim: I had to write you and correct something that could lead to health damage or even death from the use of chlorine [for water treatment]. People have to know that this use [of chlorine] is for treating water [shortly before use], not long term storage. If you have a water supply that you intend to drink/use within a month, then chlorine (as long as it’s pure – as you so instructed) is fine. But it is not for long term storage! When water is treated with chlorine, and then sealed in a container, the chlorine degrades over a short …


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Swimming Pool Chlorine for Treating Drinking Water

Mr. Rawles, I want to buy some pool chlorine crystals for long term storage. Holly Deyo’s book had a formula for purifying large amounts of water with this product, but how would I make a chlorine bleach substitute that could be used to purify smaller quantities of water or as laundry bleach? Is there an amount in grains or grams that could be used to make up, say, five gallons at a time? I know store bought laundry bleach like Clorox has a limited shelf life, so I wanted to be able to make [my own hypochlorite solution.] Thank you …


Letter Re: 2nd Annual Bug-Out Drill at Tiger Valley in Texas

James, I started reading SurvivalBlog this year after a friend told me to check out the site and it has been a great resource. I had a couple of thing that might be of interest to everyone. First is the 2nd annual Bug-out drill at Tiger Valley in Texas. Tiger Valley will host its second annual Bug Out Drill, September 29, 2007. We will run the same distance as last year, 15 miles, but the physical challenges will be tougher. For those who didn’t attend the last event, the idea for this was spawned from reading the survival forum. I, …


Two Letters Re: Constructing a High Efficiency (Low Current Draw) Refrigerator

James: Greetings from the rural Northeast, destination of choice for fleeing urban hordes! I enjoyed the article from Australia a while back on converting a small chest freezer into a low-power refrigerator. I had planned to undertake a project like that this summer. I admired the elegance of the circuit design and the use of a latching relay to lower the power consumption as low as possible. When I read the letter about using a brewer’s thermostat instead, though, I had the same epiphany you did. Your BFO award is certainly appropriate, and I commend Kurt for bringing the idea …


Letter Re: Water is Crucial for Survival

Mr. Rawles, Just received the updated version of your novel/manual “Patriots”. I love it. Just a short note about water usage some folks might find useful: My wife and I are pre-positioning our “stuff” at our new retreat home. Finally clearing out the storage sheds and the house we currently live in. Anyway, the water situation at the retreat is this. We have a well but because of no electricity we have no water. Electricity is being fixed this week and the well /pump issue soon to follow. When we would go down to the retreat to work we had …


Hurricane Preparedness, by MFA

I’d like to share a couple of things I’ve learned through the recent hurricane seasons in Florida, being hit directly by one, indirectly by three or four more (I’ve lost count). The following assumes you’re staying put, not bugging out. Typically my wife will take the kids and bug out, while I stay home for security and damage control if needed. This can also apply to some of the severe storms that other parts of the country experience throughout the year. 1. Water – In Florida, I travel with a case of water in the back of my car. You …