How do you cook a meal if your gas stove has an electric ignition? How do your children find their way to the bathroom at night if the light switches don’t work? How do you keep warm if your wood heat is moved through ducts by an electric fan? What do you do with a freezer full of expensive meat? How do you find out what is happening in your area with the TV and radio silent? What will you drink if your water comes from a system dependent on electrical pumps?

There are five primary areas that are easily disrupted if the power goes off. Each of these is critical to daily survival, as well, so when making preparations for emergencies keep these in mind. In order of importance, they are: water, heating/cooling, light, cooking and communication.

Water

If you live in a town or city, the loss of power to homes and businesses probably will not immediately affect your water pressure, but it could affect the purification process or allow reverse seepage of contaminants into the lines.

If, instead, your water comes from an electrically-powered home water pump, your water stops flowing the moment the power does. Either way, with the loss of power often comes the loss of water (or, at least, cleans water). Water that is free of bacteria and contaminants is so crucial to our survival that it should be a special concern in your preparations.

The easiest way to guarantee quality water is to store it right now. The important question is: how much? Both Red Cross and FEMA suggest a minimum of one gallon per day per person. This is an absolute minimum, and covers only your real drinking and cooking needs; bathing, laundry is out of the question. Personally, I don’t take to heart much of what FEMA says, remember, these are the folks who want to destroy us, so why would the offer any true helpful survival information? You often don’t realize just how much water you use in one day, until you don’t have it readily available. I recommend that people do a test run of how much water they use in a normal day. Fill up one gallon of water for each person in your ‘test group’ and then make sure that you only use the one gallon.

Things to consider: flushing the toilet for proper sanitation, pets’ water needs, cooking, have seedlings/plants growing that will need your care because it is too cold for them to be outside right now? Well, they’re going to need water too. Now, after your day of one gallon of water is over, fill up 10 gallons of water and start a new test. On day 2…go about your normal daily activities and see how much of the 10 gallons of water you use and how much is left over, if any. This should give you a pretty good idea of how much water you should store for your household. I’m sure you’ll come to appreciate water and the key role it plays in our lives. You’ll better understand why water is termed the Survivalist’s Gold.

The typical American currently uses around 70 gallons a day, taking a nice long hot shower, flushing the toilet several times, washing a load of laundry, letting the water run while brushing teeth, and for cooking and drinking. In a short-term emergency situation, only drinking and cooking water is crucial, but if that short-term incident drags out to weeks or months, daily consumption would rise to include bathing and clothes washing. In that case, 5-10 gallons per day per person would be a more reasonable amount, with a weekly communal bath becoming the routine.

This presumes that the family has prepared a sanitary “outhouse,” so flushing isn’t needed. One has to take into consideration proper disposal of human waste. If no outhouse or other sort of set up is available, take all of the water out of the toilet and the tank and use it for other purposes. This is clean water (tank). Place a heavy duty trash bag into the toilet bowl and anchor it with duct tape and then putting the seat down on top of it. Fill the trash bag with shredded newspapers or straw and use this as an emergency toilet. The bag can be removed and sealed shut and then placed outside until proper disposal can be used.

One to three-gallon jugs, direct from the supermarket, run about 60 cents to $2; these store easily under cabinets and counters. A few tucked into the freezer will help keep things cold if the power goes off. You can also store water inexpensively in large, covered plastic trash cans; they hold 36 to 55 gallons each. Refresh the water every two weeks, so it will be ready in case the power goes off. You can make your water stay fresh longer by placing a few mint leaves in each storage container. You can also re-freshen and re-oxidate water by just giving it a good shake.

Farm supply stores often sell “water tanks” made of heavy grade plastic. These can be partially buried underground to keep water cooler and less susceptible to mold and bacteria. These run about $1 per gallon of holding capacity, so a 350-gallon tank new will cost $350. Plan to filter and purify the water before use. I also recommend investing in the collapsible water containers. You can often find them reasonably priced at military surplus stores. Fill Ziploc bags with water and lay them flat until they are frozen. After they are completely solid, use them to layer your freezer. In the event of the power going out, these water bags will help to keep your frozen food cold and as they begin to melt, will also provide you with drinking water. You can also store water in Ziploc bags and layer them in boxes, which you can store under beds, in closets, etc.

Collecting water can be done by hand with 5-gallon plastic buckets if you live near a river or stream, if it isn’t frozen too thick (it must be filtered and purified before use). You can also divert rainwater off your roof, through the rain gutters and downspouts into plastic trashcans. If you live in the Midwest, Northwest, or East Coast, rainfall is adequate to make this your primary backup water source. West Coast, high desert, and mountain areas, though, won’t have sufficient rainfall to make this a reliable source. In snow areas, snow can be used as your water supply. Melting the snow is preferred for intake. But remember that it takes a lot of snow to make one gallon of water. If the snow is eaten, treat it like ice cream and eat it slowly. If eaten too quickly it will give you the nasty Ice headache and it can also contribute to lowering the core temp of your body, which could invite hypothermia.

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