Moving water, like a stream, is a better source; however, it must be purifi ed before drinking.


Boiling water for 1-3 minutes is one of the easiest ways to kill potentially harmful microorgan- isms and make water safe to drink. Remember, however, that boiling does not remove chemi- cals or heavy metals..


Michael Janich


W


without food; however, after only a few days without wa- ter, some very bad things start happening to your body due to dehydration. As such, water should be a top prior- ity in all your survival plans.


For planning purposes, survival


experts typically recommend you budget 1 gallon of water per person, per day. While that may seem easy, it’s important to understand the gallon we’re talking about is for per- sonal consumption to stay hydrated. It may be drunk plain, used to pre- pare coffee, tea, or other drinks, or even used in cooking, but the bot- tom line is it’s going into your body. No part of that gallon is intended for bathing, washing clothes or dishes, fl ushing a toilet, or any other use. If you’re concerned about those other uses — as you should be — you need to budget more. You should also think about the difference between


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true potable water and safe, but not drinkable, water and how to make the best of both.


The Issues In simple terms, your water needs


in a survival situation boil down (pun intended) to two basic issues: Having it and making it safe to drink. Let’s start with fi rst things fi rst. Regardless of the specifi c survival


situation you face, or the details of the event affecting you, you must be prepared in the event you turn on your tap and nothing comes out. When that happens, you must either have, or have access to, an alternate source of water. And, since survival


hen it comes to planning survival resources, wa- ter should be at the very top of your list. It’s a medical fact most people can survive for weeks


is all about planning ahead, “source” isn’t really good enough. “Sources” are a lot better. The fi rst and most obvious strat-


egy to ensure that you have water available is to actually store a sup- ply of it. While this may seem easy, this is where some simple math really comes in handy. Let’s assume with a hypothetical family of husband, wife and one child. Three people times 1 gallon per person per day equals 3 gallons of water per day. If we also assume our motivating event is a short-term scenario like a major storm or blackout that lasts 3-5 days, we’re talking about 9-15 gallons of water — at a minimum. Since bottled water is a popular


commodity these days, let’s consider it fi rst. A case of 24, 16-ounce bottles is the equivalent of 3 gallons of water. As such, you’d need to store three to fi ve cases of water at all times to be prepared for a survival event. If you have the room to do it, don’t mind the expense, and rotate your supplies on a fi rst-in, fi rst-out basis, you’ve


REALITY CHECK • 2011 SPECIAL EDITION


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