YNAB You Need A Budget

[jesse]

Hey all, #1 on your list of things to store in case of an emergency is water. How long would your stored water last in the event of an emergency where you didn't have access to the normal water supply?

[WairereRose]

I distill my water and try to keep approx 12-15 litres on hand at any given time. It doesn't always work like that, but I could get by for about 2-3 days on that (with my son).

[chrish]

With family and animals it should last about a week, but I would have a very hard time turning away neighbors and friends so quite possibly less.

[zebov]

If push comes to shove, I've got 50 gallons in my hot-water heater (unless I just took a shower). At 2 quarts a day, that's 100 man-days. I figure that should last my family ~1 month.

I do have additional water stored for if the water supply is immediately contaminated, but not nearly as much.

[Malisa]

If push comes to shove, I've got 50 gallons in my hot-water heater (unless I just took a shower). At 2 quarts a day, that's 100 man-days. I figure that should last my family ~1 month.

I do have additional water stored for if the water supply is immediately contaminated, but not nearly as much.

I never thought of that being a benefit of having two hot water heaters (I think the second was added to my house when laundry was added).

[YYC27]

I live in an apartment, so there isn't a lot of room for storing water. On the other hand, I live in a densely populated urban centre, which would likely be one of the first areas to be provided with an emergency back-up supply.

If worse came to worse, I usually have around 5L of filtered water on hand, another 3L of unfiltered, if I fill up the reservoir to capacity. Plus whatever's sitting in the toilet tank if it really came down to that.

[jesse]

Hey zebov, I think 2 quarts/person per day is pretty low...subsistence only? What about water use for cleaning/washing/cooking, not just drinking?

YYC27, some people get pretty creative about where to store some 5-gallon containers...closets, under beds... I wouldn't necessarily want to rely on the fact that you're in a densely populated area so water would come quicker. Toilet tank is good You have a spot to store maybe 15 gallons (a good week's worth)?

[Luna]

Well...my hot water heater holds 50 gallons. I don't have any other stored, but I do live less than a mile from a river. Does that count?

[Turf_Hacker]

It counts if you're willing to drink the water from the river...

And as a clarification, under normal circumstances a 50 gallon water heater always has 50 gallons of water in it. As the hot water leaves the water heater, cold water immediately flows in behind it keeping the water heater full. If you use up all the hot water in the tank, it basically cycles cold water from the water heater inlet straight to the outlet and to the shower. Brrrrr!

[Luna]

Well, if there's such an emergency that everyone will be looking for water, the river will do just fine if you boil it. Seems like there will be alot of bigger issues aside from river water if that turns out to be the case.

[jesse]

Yeah, one issue with boiling it is that you'd need to fuel to get it boiling...and fuel would maybe be tough to come by. I like filters/chlorine.

[Luna]

I have lots of firewood and a woodstove that boils water quickly. Filters and chlorine are good to have, too.

[kaycan71]

Rain barrels are inexpensive (if you buy them from a food distributor) and easy to install. I would definitely treat any water before drinking it from our rain barrels, and that would definitely be a last resort, but it's good to know that we have plenty of water readily available in an extended emergency. Assuming, of course, that a Category 5 storm doesn't blow the barrels right down the street!

[Luna]

I have three rainbarrels that I use to water my garden. I wouldn't drink that water, but I'd use it for other stuff like flushing abd washing. Great suggestion!

[Angelo]

I live in an apartment, so there isn't a lot of room for storing water. On the other hand, I live in a densely populated urban centre, which would likely be one of the first areas to be provided with an emergency back-up supply.

In a pinch, assuming you know there's something bad coming your way and have some time to prepare, fill your bathtub with water. It's potable, and the average tub will happily hold about 200 litres (50 gal) indefinitely. At 1 gallon per person per day (recommended minimum), that's a pretty good start.

PS: Hi forum!