Surviving Kidney Dialysis in a Down-Grid Scenario, by G.C.

The power-grid goes down two hours before you are scheduled to begin your next round of hemodialysis at a clinic thirty-five miles away. Using the Ham radio, you discover through your III Percent communications network that all power is down across the southern sector. There is little hope of it being restored in the foreseeable future. The clinic should have a back-up generator in place, so (other than an inconvenience) your treatment should go ahead as planned. You lock the place down, turn on the alarms, and then you and the wife head for the clinic. As usual, when you leave you can’t shake the feeling of vulnerability, knowing that the security of the homestead rests with Macs– an eleven year-old Labrador that is racked with arthritis so bad that he seldom moves from his favorite spot under the corner of the porch.

As you maneuver your way down the hill, straddling the gullies caused by a recent downpour, you began to question the rationality of your situation. Can you really survive a down-grid scenario with renal failure? What happens if you arrive at the clinic to find they have no back-up power? What happens if the roads are blocked or the clinic is under attack by roving thugs looking to cash in on prescription drugs? Questions, one after another, began to tumble through your mind; answers, however, prove more elusive than the dust before yesterday’s rain. By the time you make it to the blacktop, you realize that what you don’t know could be just enough to kill you.

Those who suffer from kidney failure must deal with these questions every day, praying for no interruptions in their circumstances, and hoping to survive until a donor is located and a transplant successfully performed; at least that is the case for those whom transplant is even an option. According to the National Kidney Foundation, of the 99,000 Americans on the kidney transplant list, fewer than 17,000 people receive one each year. Every day, 14 people die while waiting for a kidney. Of course, there are no guarantees, especially when considering the many obstacles encountered during this trying time (and the risks inherent with dialysis). Fortunately, there are answers to many of these questions through an alternative dialysis treatment– peritoneal dialysis (PD). PD provides patients an opportunity (and the flexibility) to perform dialysis, regardless of location or the need of electricity. This can mean the difference between life and death in a down-grid scenario.

My knowledge of this treatment came about through the personal experience of a dear friend that I will refer to as Sniper1. Like me, he is retired, middle-aged, and doing everything he can to prepare his family for the eventual collapse of society. Regrettably, he was diagnosed in January 2013 with chronic renal failure. His kidneys had shut down and toxins were building up in his bloodstream. After numerous tests (which almost cost his life) Sniper1 was placed on a hemodialysis regimen three times weekly (lasting four hours, each). He would usually leave the house before sunrise to make the thirty-five mile trip to the clinic. There, he would use his walker to slowly move to the check-in desk, answer a litany of questions, fill out forms, and then spend about an hour in the waiting room before being called back for treatment. He would then be weighed and his ports connected to the hemodialysis machine. Approximately three hours later at the end of his treatment, he was usually so tired and weak that he required assistance back to the car for his return trip home. Due to the side effects of hemodialysis, such as: cramps, nausea, vomiting, and weakness, he was not able to drive himself back from treatment. This required either his wife, daughters, or close friends to chauffer him the seventy miles round trip, three times a week. He would spend roughly thirty-six hours with these painful side-effects, slowly and painfully regaining some strength, and then repeat the cycle again.

I watched as my friend’s condition deteriorated, becoming progressively worse with each passing day, but there was always hope in Sniper1’s eyes. He would force a feeble smile and say, “Red Flint, we’re gonna buy us a mountaintop in West Virginia some day when we win the lottery and I get to feeling better.” I would wholeheartedly agree, anything to keep him in good spirits. We would discuss plans for our bunker and spend hours exchanging ideas on scriptural issues and doctrines. As far as he was concerned, this kidney failure was just another bump in the road, like the rest of his life had been; he would get through it just like he had Vietnam and everything else since then. He was determined to leave this world at the last possible second, as Sniper1 is a true survivalist.

Not only is he a survivalist, he is a realist and fully understands the urgency of his situation. The side effects of the hemodialysis treatment were taking a physical toll on his body and the long drives were putting a strain on his finances in addition to causing an excessive burden on his family. Even in his frail condition, he began to research alternative methods of kidney dialysis. The last thing he wanted was to be dependent on the electrical grid. One alternative method–peritoneal dialysis– sounded promising. He spent many hours researching the pros and cons of this procedure.

Sniper1 believed he could reduce many of these additional health problems by changing from hemodialysis to peritoneal dialysis and improve his quality of life in the process. More importantly, he wanted to be able to survive without the use of electricity. His doctor agreed that he was a good candidate for peritoneal dialysis and suggested he start the new treatment. The port in his chest was removed, and a small catheter was inserted into the peritoneal cavity in his abdomen. He was required to attend classes on how to perform the procedure safely. Once he was cleared and certified as proficient, items required for the treatment and the dialysate were shipped to his residence.

Unlike hemodialysis, which requires the patient’s blood be cleansed through a machine, peritoneal dialysis involves a change of fluids by force of gravity.

www.rch.org.au- A single-dose flexible bag, containing dextrose solution, is hung on an IV pole, and a small tube from the solution is connected to the catheter on the patient’s abdomen. The peritoneal dialysis solution is instilled into the peritoneal cavity. Through the process of osmosis, excess water and toxins in the bloodstream are pulled into the solution through the semi-permeable membrane of the peritoneum. The length of “dwell time” of the solution in the peritoneal cavity is determined by the doctor. Afterwards, the solution is drained from the patient. Normally, the fluid is drained and solution is instilled at the same setting; this takes approximately thirty minutes for both procedures and is usually performed four times each twenty-four hour period.

Patients are encouraged to stockpile three months’ supply of dialysate. This is shipped to the patient’s home via UPS or FedEx. Some facilities will allow a far longer supply, if requested. The main concern is not to exceed shelf life. Storage is the primary problem to overcome when requesting a large order.

Though there are numerous advantages of peritoneal dialysis, there are precautions and warnings associated with this procedure. Like all medical procedures there are risks involved that could prove fatal, if proper procedures are not followed. The greatest risk with peritoneal dialysis is infection. Every facet of this procedure must be performed in an extremely sanitary environment, and all tubes, catheter, and connections must be sterilized. Even something as small as a dust mite can result in peritonitis; infection, if not treated properly, can be fatal. Infection of the peritoneum has been described as a pain worse than death. Sanitation cannot be overstated while performing this procedure.

Patients who are using peritoneal dialysis should have routine evaluations to determine if accurate hematologic factors and electrolyte blood levels are being maintained. This osmosis process can cause a significant loss of water-soluble vitamins, protein, and amino acids; replacement therapy may be required if levels are determined to be too low. It is also extremely important to maintain a proper fluid balance between treatments to prevent over- or under-hydration. Failure to maintain a proper balance can result in shock and/or heart failure.

Sniper1 has been on peritoneal dialysis now approximately a year and is enjoying a far better quality of life than he did while on hemodialysis. He still suffers from neuropathy in both feet and requires the use of a four-pronged cane sometimes to keep from losing his balance. He can perform many tasks now that were impossible while on hemodialysis, such as mowing the yard or working in his garden. He is certainly not up to pre-renal failure abilities, but he can perform roughly 70% of his normal daily routine.

It is still unclear as to why his anti-immune system failed, leading to this life-threatening condition. Sniper1 is presently on the waiting list for transplant and is being tested continually to monitor whether he is a viable candidate. He may or may not receive this operation; his white blood cell count is still too high, indicating an anti-immune deficiency reaction. If fate dictates no improvement, he will be required to continue peritoneal dialysis indefinitely.

Can Sniper1 or a reader of Survival Blog really survive a down-grid scenario with renal failure? The answer to this question is a resounding YES! There’s no need to worry about a blackout, whether the clinic has a backup power source, if the roads are blocked, or if thugs are on the prowl. This life-saving procedure can be performed in the comfort of one’s home, while reading the latest edition of Field & Stream, or The Patriot.

I write this so that other readers of SurvivalBlog know that there are alternate solutions to their health issues in a worse-case scenario. I, like everyone else in Sniper1’s family and my own, was completely unaware that peritoneal dialysis even existed. I have now seen its capabilities first hand and am duly impressed.

JWR Adds: Peritoneal dialysis at home should only be considered a “last resort” measure, when there is no other care available. In my estimation, the safest course for anyone who is on a kidney dialysis regimen is to strategically relocate to a region that already has a capable, well-established dialysis center with at least thee seats and that is in an electrical power exporting region where the local power utility already has plans in place for “islanding” their power, in the event of a grid collapse. I described one such area (Farmington, New Mexico), in my novel Survivors. There are several other such regions, mainly in the Pacific Northwest and in the Inland Northwest. For further details, see my article: Islands in the Darkness: Some Local Power Utilities Have Prepared to Go It Alone. – JWR

Letter Re: A Few Thoughts on Water Storage

Hugh,

I reuse polyethelene 2.5-gallon theatrical fog fluid tanks for water storage. The fog fluid is a glycol, and the tank will smell for a while. I first rinse the tanks to get all the gross product residues out. I then begin a leaching process by filling the tank with very hot water and let it sit until cool. I then repeat the process multiple times until there is no smell. I do two more leachings after that.

Another point that I thought was missed is biofilms. These, like slimes, adhear to the walls and are almost impossible to get rid of. E. coli is one of these film producers. This is why I hate trying to reuse milk jugs. You can never get these biofilms out of them completely. I like peach tea, and within a couple of days, you will notice stains on the walls of the reused milk jug from incomplete removal of the biofilm. Only use jugs that came from the factory with water in them. I can use a water jug for months before any films begin to form. – Capt Nemo

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John 20:30&31 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – October 11, 2014

Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hardcase to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then 1 minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouseis providing 30 DMPS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.
  12. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gearis donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 55 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Bugging Out With Children, by T.L.

The day that we found out I was pregnant was a happy and joy-filled day. Never once did it cross our minds that a few years down the road, we would fear for the lives of our children and their futures. The world in which we live in is a scary place. The economy is always in peril, the government continues to become more unstable, and it seems we are always one step away from some catastrophic worldly event or the threat of scientific experiments gone wrong, causing a man-made apocalypse. Whatever the case may be, we live in constant fear of the “what if” circumstances. Anything seems possible in this day and age, and all you can do is try to be as prepared as you think you can be for the worst. Being prepared, however, does not ensure survival, but it sure does give you peace of mind over those that choose to ignore the signs around them. We have a saying in our house: “We would rather be prepared for nothing, then unprepared for everything.” We have used the little knowledge we have to try to raise our kids to think the same way! While each person thinks differently about how to be prepared, we have written what we think may help some people out who have smaller children. We are in no way, shape, or form experts; we just use our common sense. We practice basic principles, while having a minimal impact on our daily lives.

Having children adds a different element to our thought process of being prepared. Kids are ever-changing and growing; you never quite know what you can expect from them. How can you truly have a preparation kit for a child that doesn’t stop growing until they reach a certain age? How can you teach them to be cautious and pay attention to details, when they can only stay focused for minutes at a time? How can you teach them not to let fear dictate actions following a crisis, when they have no idea what the crisis may be? Running for your life and trying to survive is a lot more different then running out of Gold Fish, which is the closest to crisis most kids know about or understand!

As parents, we fear for the lives of our children everyday but now more then ever. However, we have learned to turn that fear into a useful tool! Visual aids and hands-on learning are a great way to keep our kids interested in what my husband and I are trying to explain to them. Since they are only four and seven years old, we already have our hands full. Our oldest son was diagnosed with combined type ADHD and a sensory processing disorder. This is where the visual aids and the hands-on learning come into play. The more we let them do makes the presentation feel more real and the better they pay attention. Always remember the first step in preparing your children is getting them to shut off the electronics! Not relying on electricity and technology is the way to go– no phones, Ipods, television, game systems, or what not. One night a week we practice electric-free night. We turn off “the electric” and live off the grid, so to speak. Granted, we live in an apartment complex, so we aren’t technically living off the grid. However, the kids get a sense of what it is like to not have the things they are used to and rely on!

There has to be something said about preparing for the unexpected while living with the unexpected. While shutting off the electric one night a week is a good start, it is just that– a start. While this teaches them not to be dependent on the electricity and electronic devices, it does not do anything for an outdoor living scenario. What if they had to be woken up in the middle of the night to bug out? While we have never actually woken our kids up at two in the morning for a bug out situation, we have started working with them on their endurance as well as our own. They may be little, but they have endless energy for short periods of time, and we have used that to our advantage. A 20-minute workout with a punching bag followed by a nice long walk on the trails close to home have done wonders. They also carry their own bug out bags. To some people, this may seem extreme. People will always criticize and have their opinions. As parents, only you can really know how much your child can take! We never push our children to accommodate what we expect of them! We are never pushing them to their breaking point, where the fun is lost. Teaching our children how to be prepared for their own sake is the best thing we can do for them. It has become such a normal part of our lives that the kids do not even question what we are doing anymore. It is second nature for them, and knowing this helps us sleep better at night. Though, knowing how much they depend on us still adds stress that you really cannot get rid of. As a parent you will always worry for your children and their well being.

As I mentioned before, our children do have their own bug out bags. While we like to think we will always be there for our children, we must also prepare them for what happens if we should become separated or worse. Their bags are light weight but pack all the essentials to get them through for a couple of days. You can’t really prepare them for being alone and separated from you, but teaching them how to stay calm and think logically will play an important role in their survival. In each child’s bag, they have:

The duck call was very important to us. We did not want the standard call of a whistle for fear that, if separated, it would draw additional attention from anyone else around. They are easy to use, and the kids love hearing the sounds they make. Every night before bed we all grab our bug out bags and make sure they are ready for the next day. The water gets swapped out every week to ensure they always have fresh bottles of water. We have also purchased a set of thermal-insulated coveralls and hiking boots for them as well. Since they always seem to grow, though, we purchase one size up from where they are now. While this gets pricey every six months, it ensures they will always have warm clothes and shoes to wear for at least six months.

Showing our children how to be still and alert is an entirely different struggle. They are, after all, children. Children want to run, play, and be loud. This has not been easy, and we are still working on it, though we always try to practice letting our kids be kids while they still can. We are teaching our oldest how to be patient, but at the same time we are teaching him how to use his ADHD to his advantage. While he does require medicine to pay attention at school, in the wilderness he can be himself. He is learning how to start fires with flint and fish with just a stick, string, and hooks. While we feel that our youngest is just too little yet to learn these things, there are a few things we have started working with him on. He enjoys collecting firewood, gathering edible plants with us, and using branches with leaves and tree limbs to build shelter. These are all very useful things, when living off the land. Teaching our kids how to live off the land was and is so important to us right now. They are accustom to prepared meals and not worrying where their next meal will come from. We have gathered many published works on edible and medicinal plants, bugs, and wildlife for our region as we could find. We read and research how to forage daily and learn new things as a family.

There are no struggles in life that are easy, and certainly none that are easy to go through with children. Patience is the foundation we have built on, as well as good old fashioned common sense. If people were more interested in helping each other rather then themselves, I doubt we would have a need for articles like this. If you read this and have small children, we encourage feedback and would love to hear how you are making preparations! We love hearing ideas, because we alone have not thought of everything and will never be able to think of everything. We would love to hear from parents with children who have ADHD/SPD or any other medical conditions. Again, we are not experts nor claim to be. We are concerned parents who have decided that it was time to get our kids to take a look at the things around them instead of the things in front of them. They are bombarded daily with distractions and are often not reminded of the beauty of nature and the benefits it can have on them. Hopefully no one reads this and thinks we are bad parents who are trying to push our views on our children. We just want what is best for them and feel having knowledge of certain things can only help them survive, should the situation ever become necessary. Knowing how excited they get for our “no electricity day”, we know they are at least retaining some of what we are trying to teach them. We are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.

Letter Re: Backup Electrical Power

Hugh,

In Great article by Duliskov on backup electrical power, he suggests a propane tank heater/cover to counter low temps that reduce available propane. I noticed it’s a spendy item. Depending on your conditions, you might get by with one of these and a blanket. Speaking of low temps, just a reminder of how handy thermostatic switches are as part of a freeze-protection system. My pump house is very well insulated, but I have a 100W bulb on a thermo switch which comes on if needed. Best regards, – D.O.

Notes for Friday – October 10, 2014

Today was a reminder of the importance of being prepared. While traveling down the highway with my family, the oil filter blew up, causing the loss of oil pressure in the engine and literally spraying oil all over the vehicle. How many of us take spare oil filters and oil with us on long journeys? It worked out okay, because we were in cell phone range and the auto parts store delivered parts to me on the side of the highway where I was able to repair the vehicle. Make sure you at least have the tools to perform basic repairs in your vehicle. – H.J.L.

o o o

Today, we present another entry for Round 55 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hardcase to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel which can be assembled in less then 1 minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouseis providing 30 DMPS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448.95) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.
  12. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gearis donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 55 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

A Few Thoughts on Water Storage, by N.P.

1

I’d like to discuss a few ideas about water storage and describe what I’ve decided to do in our situation.

My background, since most of this is my opinion, is that I work as the chemist (meaning I manage the water treatment systems) in a large power plant, hold the highest drinking water license possible in the state where I live, and am a degreed microbiologist. I’ve dealt with various water treatment systems for awhile. I don’t claim to know everything, but I do think that I’ve learned some things, and I hope to pass along a few ideas and opinions that hopefully will be of some value.

The Need for Water

Most of us aren’t fortunate to live on isolated farms/mountain retreats where we have our own supply of clean water. As you are well aware we are very dependent on utilities and workers in those utilities to supply us with our drinking water. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, I guarantee those workers won’t leave their families at home while marauding gangs are wandering the streets just so they can try and treat water for you to drink. Besides, those treatment plants, tanks, booster stations, and pumps all need electrical power, which I don’t expect to be around either. I’d argue that before anything else, a prepper should have a good water storage system in place. It is highly likely that you will need clean water before almost anything else, including food, weapons (most likely), fuel, emergency medical response, and so forth.

Need for Water Storage

While things may settle down after a while, my expectation is that the first few weeks when calamity strikes will be the most critical/volatile period. There’ll likely be a short period of relative calm, followed by chaos, fueled in part by desperation. Eventually, I expect that will be followed by groups of survivors banding together. I think it is vital to have water that will last until you make it through the first and most extremely violent/volatile periods of time. The safest way would be to have a sufficient volume of water stored where you will be (for many of us, likely) barricaded in our homes. Further, in prepping for other situations, such as localized problems that might include a terrorist attack, storm, power outage, or blizzard, a water supply is a good thing to have.

Different Water Storage Containers Used for Water Storage

I’ll just cut to the chase and say I think you need to get a large tank to store water in. I’ve seen a large variety of water storage solutions, and honestly I just don’t like most of them. A lot of the reasons I don’t like them are because of cost and inconvenience, frankly. I’ve detailed various storage methods I have seen below.

As a side note, I’d like to put a plug in for bathtub water storage solutions, like the “waterBob”, the “reservoir”, AquaPodKit, and others that allow you to use a bathtub to cleanly store and use water. The trick with these though is filling them while the water supply is still around and good to use. If you can fill these in time, I think they are a great idea, but I don’t think they are a substitute for a good tank.

Boxed Bags of Water

I recently helped someone move who had a few boxes of “emergency water” in boxed mylar bags. Quite a few of these boxes had leaked or were broken while moving, despite being treated carefully. They are an expensive way to store water. They frankly just didn’t seem very robust. I can’t vouch for the water quality, but I question how the water was sterilized without damaging the bag when they were filled.

Canned Water

This is not a bad idea, but I wonder just how much metal would eventually be dissolved in the water after years of storage. There would be some. They are also a very expensive method to store water, and they use up quite a bit of space.

Two-liter Soda Bottles and Other Bottles

How on earth do you actually store a large quantity of these? They don’t stack well, and they use an inordinate amount of space. (I certainly don’t have unlimited storage space.) They have another problem– keeping the water sanitary. I think that any water stored in a container that it is not sterilized (irradiated or canned) needs to be periodically dumped and refilled. I’ll discuss that more below, as well as a few opinions about the difficulty of really rinsing out a plastic container.

Stackable Three or Five Gallon Blocks

I think these are much better than the used 2-liter bottles. They at least solve some of the storage space difficulties of small bottles. However, draining and refilling a huge number of containers takes time we don’t have, especially when the same can be easily done in a few minutes with a single tank. Further, the more complicated the internal structure of a vessel, the more difficult it is to clean. They are also a relatively expensive way to store water.

Fifty-five Gallon Drums

These are better than some of the other smaller options listed, and they are more cost effective. However, they still take up a large amount of floor space, and I think that a 55-gallon drum is difficult to use. Draining the last bit out of a drum is never easy. You are also dependent on a pump to pull the water out, unless you have them stored horizontally, which makes me rather nervous. Personally, I haven’t found many drum pumps that were dependable for long-term use; it seems like I’m always ordering a new one every couple of years at the plant for only occasional use. There is also a tendency to buy used drums for water storage. I’ll discuss why I don’t suggest that either.

Totes or IBC Tote (275 gallon, metal-caged, plastic tanks)

A tote really isn’t a bad method for storing water, if your space allows; they are essentially a decent-sized water tank. You can fill them pretty easily; they have caps and drain valves. However, the valves on the drain are designed to be open/close valves, and although you can try to throttle them, actually getting a small amount of flow can be very difficult. These valves work great when you are wanting to dump the contents of the tote into a larger bulk tank, but they would not work well when you need only a few cups of water. You could probably rig up a bit of plumbing to help slow the flow of water, but every drain I’ve seen on these uses camlock fittings, which you probably aren’t going to find at your local hardware store. Further, most of these totes are sold used, which is my real problem with them.

Water Storage Tanks

I’d argue that this is the best way to store water. You can get a tank in nearly any size that you want, which allows you to get one that will fit your storage area very well. A tank doesn’t have the empty space around it that a bunch of bottles or cans do. You can also get a relatively tall tank, which will allow you to store much more water in the same floor space than other solutions. By buying a new tank, there are no questions about the history of the tank or what was really stored inside it. You don’t have to wonder if the guy selling them even really knew what they contained before. Another reason I like them is that you can set them up where they can be filled and drained conveniently. This allows you to refresh the water inside easily and frequently.

However, every water tank I’ve seen sold by prepping companies are extremely over-priced and can be oddly shaped. Oddly shaped interiors are hard, if not impossible, to clean well. I’d suggest that you buy the largest tank that you can fit in the space you have from a tank supply company. They aren’t going to mark them up, because they are selling them as emergency supplies. I’ll describe my setup below (after discussing a couple of other items).

Tank color:

There are a few options when it comes to tank colors. One of the more popular prepping supply companies sells blue tanks. I’ve also seen quite a few tank supply companies selling black tanks as ideal for water storage because of less light transmission. I’m personally a fan of white/opaque tanks for the simple reason that it allows you to easily see how much water you actually have, as well as to see if you have significant slime growth. While the absence of light will slow microbio growth in your tank, it will not stop it. I’ve seen a black poly tank that was kept in a dark shed and that hadn’t been flushed often enough; the interior of the tank was coated in a nasty slime that was very difficult to remove. Some slime is harmless, but other slime isn’t. A blue tank is also not some magic color that will stop microbio growth because the sky is blue. I’d rather be able to see how much water I have left easily (and if the tank is sliming up) rather than not. That said, the less light and heat your tank experiences the better.

Chemical Disinfectants vs Flushing

Most people think that the water that they get out of their faucet is bacteria free. It isn’t. It is treated to be pathogen free, but it is not sterile. Most bacteria in the environment aren’t disease causing, and honestly your body is designed to handle ingestion of quite a bit of bacteria. (Stomach acid/digestive juices really do kill most of them.) Whatever your “clean” water source is, it has bacteria, as well as dead bacteria and other microorganisms in it. As you fill your container(s), you’ll also add more bacteria from the air, your skin, et cetera no matter how careful or clean you are (unless you have some very specialized equipment). Even if you were to boil all the water you store (which would be VERY difficult), boiling alone doesn’t kill bacteria spores.

However, you can just kill the bacterial/fungi/algae with bleach/chemicals, right? There seems to be a general thought that you can just put some bleach in your water and then you’ll never see bacteria/algal growth in it, despite storing it for very long periods of time. There are also various articles that will give you specific amounts of bleach to add, such as “2 drops per gallon” and so forth. While perhaps, as a general guideline, these amounts have some value, they ignore the fact that the amount of bleach needed will vary from water source to water source. There is no set amount of chlorine (or whatever oxidizer you use) that will work best for every water system out there. The ideal chlorine dose is dependent on chlorine demand. Chlorine demand is the measure of the amount of chlorine that will react with stuff in your water before you can detect any unreacted chlorine; this differs in every situation; it depends on your container and how much organic material is dissolved in your water. This could be material from plants (say leaves floating on a stream), bacteria, dead bacteria, et cetera. Once your chlorine has reacted will all that stuff in the water the “chlorine demand” is met, and then any unreacted chlorine that remains in the water is “free chlorine”. The only way to know that you’ve added enough chlorine/bleach to the water to make it safe to drink is to check that you have detectable free chlorine. This means you’d need to test YOUR water. Another common misconception is that once you’ve met the water’s chlorine demand and have free chlorine present that you’ve killed everything in the water. While you may have killed most or all of the pathogens, there will still be some microorganisms that survive. Often these are inside small clumps of bacteria, or are bacteria in spore form. Eventually the free chlorine will dissipate, eventually leaving you with no unreacted chlorine. These microbes will then be free to grow. Although they may not be a health hazard, they could make your water smell and taste unpleasant.

So, why not just add a ton of bleach/chlorine and sterilize the water? That much chlorine would not only taste horrible, but it would also be toxic to you. Since we don’t really know when we’ll need our water supply I wouldn’t put in more than the maximum allowed by law in drinking water (4ppm free chlorine), which is an amount that tastes and smells horrible, but it would not sterilize the water. If you just dump in a ton, you may end up with a bunch of undrinkable, extremely-chlorinated water because you timed your treatment scheme right before you ended up needing the water.

Okay, so why not just open the bottles occasionally and give them a little spike of bleach/chlorine? Well, you could keep them from growing bacterial colonies by doing this, but every time you add some more bleach, you are adding more than pure chlorine. Eventually you could probably build sodium or calcium to rather high levels. Both sodium and calcium hypochlorite also tend to have a fair amount of hydroxide in them as well. You’ll also eventually raise the pH of the water a fair amount. This will probably taste nasty before you reach concentrations that are hazardous, although that is entirely dependent on the amount you add.

The other major reason why I really don’t like this idea is because of disinfection by-products. While chlorination of water has saved countless lives and is the primary reason why we don’t worry about diseases like cholera here, in the U.S., as I noted chlorine does react with organic material in water, which is present in all surface water and to some degree most groundwater systems. When it reacts with this stuff, it produces cancer-causing compounds– trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. This isn’t some pseudo-science (like hating fluoride or vaccinations); this is a known fact, which is why the concentrations of these compounds are measured and regulated. By over-chlorinating your stored water, you will form more of these compounds. Letting the container sit open to the air will remove some of them, but personally I’d rather not form a bunch of carcinogens in my drinking water.

That all said, if you have your storage tank set up for easy filling/draining, you can just drain it and refill it periodically and avoid all of the additional home chemical treatment of that water. The treatment and disinfectant added by your municipal water system will keep the water clean for a while. The frequency that you need to drain and refill it depends on the storage conditions and source water quality; generally the warmer and brighter the storage area, the more frequently you will need to flush it. My tank is in a corner of my basement. I refill it every six weeks or so, which may be more often than needed, but I’d rather flush it more than needed rather than less.

NSF-certified Tank?

So there is an international organization– the NSF– that tests products and certifies that they don’t adversely affect the quality of drinking water. Generally, all public water systems are required by regulatory agencies to ensure that anything that touches or enters the drinking water is NSF certified. When something is NSF certified, it means that the manufacturer of that item paid a fair amount of money to have the item tested to prove it doesn’t put anything harmful into water. Even if you reasonably know that there wouldn’t be anything harmful, if it doesn’t have the stamp of approval a public water system can’t use it. Living in a (mostly) free market means that if you buy anything NSF-approved, you also ultimately pay for that testing.

The water tank I bought for our family’s water storage isn’t NSF-certified. That meant it was quite a bit less expensive (a whole lot) than one that was. It is a new poly tank. There is no reason to think that it couldn’t be “NSF” certified, if they paid the cash to get it that way. I just didn’t see a reason to pay the extra money for that. I don’t care to follow those regulatory requirements in my own home when I frankly think there is not any risk.

Why I Would Not Store Water in a Used Container

There are two reasons why I wouldn’t buy a used container for water storage. The first is possible chemical contamination of the water, and the second is bacterial growth. Many 55-gallon drums and many, if not most, totes are used in industrial settings. I order large quantities of various chemicals in both types of containers for work. Some of the chemicals are relatively benign, but others are absolutely, positively, extremely nasty. I’d drink water out of a filthy ditch (and I am a microbiologist) before I would drink water out of some of these containers, even if they had been rinsed multiple times. A few minutes of spraying (or even hours of soaking) isn’t necessarily going to remove all of the residue. Even if only trace amounts of toxins remain, I personally just hate the idea of possibly ingesting water with them in it,-and I especially hate the idea of giving that to my family.

The container you are going to buy is sold as only having held “food grade” whatever before. Do you really know that? All the totes I get I send to a tote recycler. I doubt they separate every tote by every product it has held, although they may put them in two piles (food grade and not). How well are they actually cleaned? Does that employee with the pressure washer really follow their procedures to a “T” every time?

So perhaps you actually do KNOW that the drum/tote wasn’t used for some industrial chemical; it only held food safe products (or even food itself). Be aware that there a some products designated food safe that are thought of as “safe” in minute quantities, but could be somewhat harmful when concentrated. Remember those employees at the microwave popcorn factories with “popcorn lung” from diacetyl fumes? I expect that chemical was a “food safe” item stored in food grade containers, as it was added to the popcorn as flavoring.

Are you sure you actually rinsed all of it out? The interior of a drum and tote can actually be really difficult to get to if you are trying to spray them down to get something sticky off. Some products or chemicals don’t readily dissolve in water, even if they are supposedly water soluble; so even if you fill the container, you may not have gotten all of it off. If you can’t see, feel, or smell anything, there could still be small amounts of product left, which is why industrial grade totes shouldn’t or ”can’t” be resold as food grade. That small amount of leftover residual food product could easily become food for microbial growth. The same argument goes for two-liter bottles. Even if you rinsed them well, there is still probably some residual soda in them. How would it have a smell if there wasn’t still some of the item that gave it that smell still present? That flavor/smell of cola (or whatever) that goes into the water after rinsing it multiple times means you didn’t get all of it out.

“You shouldn’t store water on concrete floors.”

Honestly I’ve been a bit baffled by this idea. What are these “chemicals” that are supposed to leach through the concrete and the plastic tank walls into your water? There is nothing in cement or concrete that I know of that would pass through the wall of a tank. I have my water tank at home sitting on a concrete floor, and I have many large bulk chemical tanks at work that are resting on concrete. To be frank, I think if you are building supports to keep water tanks off concrete, you are wasting your time and money. There is also some risk that the support may not be adequate/will weaken/give way under the weight of a tank, which is very significant. Do put your tank on a concrete floor. Keep in mind that a full tank of water can be extremely heavy. My home water storage tank (250 gallons) weighs over 2000 pounds, when full.

My Experience Buying/setting Up a Tank:

I bought a tank from this site http://www.boydsequipment.com/products/399-250-gallon-vertical-storage-tank.aspx. I only give the link to demonstrate exactly what I got– a 250-gallon tank, with a lid that allows air to enter as it drains, with a bulkhead fitting on the bottom so it can be drained easily (and completely). It has markings on the side that show volumes and allow you to easily measure the rate of usage or just know how much you have left. The bulkhead fittings are threaded, which made connecting a hose bib (a small enough valve to slow flow to a small stream/trickle) and associated fittings easy to find and install. I just bought them at my local Home Depot. The major reason why I chose this tank is that the size is the largest I could fit through my doors to get down into the space I have for it in my basement. As finances allow I’d like to add a second, although at a gallon a day usage, we’ve have a while before needing another water source.

It is tall and skinny, so I did put some banding up around it just to make sure it isn’t going to fall over.

I simply tapped into the water lines in my house and ran a line above the tank (to fill it easily). Also, I have a small hose connected to the valve on the bottom that runs to the sump in the corner of the basement. To drain it, I just open the valve and let it flow into the sump where it is pumped onto my lawn. The base of the tank probably doesn’t take up much more room than a 55-gallon drum. Well, okay, it is a bit wider, but it holds 250 gallons with only a 30’’ diameter. It was easy to buy, easy to get, easy to move around through my house (empty), easy to plumb in, and even with all the fittings my final cost was no more than $1/gallon. If your space allows for a larger tank, it could cost you much less than that. Quite importantly, it is also very easy to drain and refill.

Letter Re: Backup Electric Power Design Considerations

Hugh,

Great article.

  1. On the connection from the box where you consolidate the power coming off the panels to the charge controller, it has been suggested to me that I use wire made for welding applications. I am told it has finer, more numerous strands of wire and therefore transfers more power, minimizing amperage loss. My source is a guy that builds high performance golf carts.. (Everything is relative.) Something called DelCity.net is where he goes.
  2. The author is right about storing gasoline produced in autumn. They put more butane in the gas for winter to help with cold weather ignition. Butane is the first element to go in the process that makes gas stale.
  3. From my environmental biology days, you can divert 10% of the flow of a stream and not upset the ecology. Of course this practical information has nothing to do with what the regulators would impose. You have to measure the stream and figure out the volume of water in a 10 foot representative stretch and the time the flow of water. Search “microhydro” for more information. – RV

Economics and Investing:

The Oil Weapon: A New Way To Wage War

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Print Iceland Isn’t Greece… It’s Worse

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JWR has been hammering this point for nearly a month now – Buy Low Sell High: The Price of Gold And Silver Has Finally Hit Bedrock – J.W.

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Items from Mr. Econocobas:

Confidence In Obama On Economy Sinks to New Low – While the author doesn’t see this, it highlights how phony the “recovery” is for main street.

Auto Debt Nearing $1 Trillion—-But No Bubble Here!