Long Term Water Storage and
How to Do It and Why It Is an Important Thing to Have!

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WATER BARRELS

For larger amounts of water, you can use new or used food grade plastic barrels which come in various sizes (most common are the 15, 55 & 60 gallon sizes). Used barrels are just as good as new ones (which cost 2 to 3 times as much as a used one) as long as you know what was in them and you clean them properly. If it was apple juice, soy sauce, or another food you’d eat this is fine. If it was lemon floor wax or degreaser or a chemical, this is not fine. If you found a great deal on some barrels at a garage sale but the person can’t really say what was in them, forget them. Don’t store water in new or used garbage cans because the plastic is not "food grade". You will definitely get nasty things in the water you do not want in your body. For cleaning out used barrels, see our Barrel Washing Instructions.

To get the water out of the barrels, there are several models of pumps that are designed to be screwed into the small opening (bung) in the top of the barrel, plus special (bung) wrenches for opening and closing these barrels. For the barrels where the top screws on or snaps off, the water can be dipped out or pumped out.

For really large amounts of water (it’s all relative), there are above ground and below ground water tanks which hold anywhere from 500 gallons to 1500 gallons. The larger the size the more economical it is per gallon -- it’s a way better deal to buy a 1350 gallon above ground tank than a 500 gallon above ground tank. Below ground (full and partial burial) tanks generally cost more than the above ground models as they need more structural strength, a little more plastic, etc. To get the water out of an above or below ground tank there are many methods you can use including gravity flow, a cistern hand pump, a 12 volt pump or small pump run by a generator. Which method you use would depend on your particular place.

WATER PRESERVER

You need to change the water every 6 months unless you put some sort of water preserver in it. Then it will stay "good" for up to 5 years. Aerobic 07, Aerobic Oxygen and Water Preserver are several brands available. If you use Aerobic 07, Aerobic Oxygen or Water Preserver you use 1 oz. per 55 gallon barrel and the product will keep the water "good"for 5 years, if you keep the water upright and leave the lid on the container so no new germs can get in.

If you don’t want to spend the money for the long term water preserver, you can just change the water every six months. You should also add Clorox to inhibit growth of algae and germs, but make sure you use the unscented Clorox or a generic brand of chlorine bleach from the grocery store, not the kind of chlorine you put in swimming pools – it usually has other stuff in it that you don’t want in water you’re going to drink. When using Clorox, you put 3 tablespoons of Clorox bleach to a 55 gallon barrel of water. If you have small containers, use 10 drops per gallon of water.

HOW TO STORE WATER

To store your water, first make sure the container or barrel is scrubbed clean of whatever used to be in it. Then rinse it with a mixture of water and bleach -- about a tablespoon (or a "quick glug") to 1/2 gallon of water for smaller containers or about 1/2 cup (or a "few glugs") to a couple of gallons of water for barrels -- this part doesn’t have to be exact. Make sure to get the bleach mixture on all the interior surfaces as well as the lids and threads. Rinse again with plain water to remove excess bleach, then fill with your "good" water. Add your water preserver or bleach while the container is filling so it mixes well, and close the lid. That’s all there is to it.

Just an idea: if you are storing water in 55 gallon barrels put them where you want them before you fill them because they will weigh about 450 lbs. when full. Also, make sure you don’t fill the water all the way to the top. Leave some headroom for expansion so if the water freezes your containers won’t split (about 4-5 inches in barrels and half that for smaller containers). For a large water tank it is not always practical to rinse with bleach and water before filling. Oh well, that’s life. Rinse it out as best you can, fill with water, add your preserver and be thankful you have so much water, the elixir of life.