Water, an Essential Food Storage Item

You can live a lot longer without food than you can without water. So water is perhaps the most essential item in your food storage.

Store at Least 14 Gallons Per Person (a 2-Week Supply)

The recommended amount of water storage is a two- week supply, which is a minimum of 14 gallons per person. Seven gallons is for drinking (the average person needs at least 2 quarts of water per day), and seven gallons is for sanitary purposes. If you have dehydrated items in your food storage, you may wish to store additional water.

Water Containers

DO use

• Containers that are thoroughly cleaned and rinsed, non-toxic, non-corrodible, and tightly-sealed.
• Ideally, use a size container that you can carry when it's full of water.
• Good containers are 2-liter pop bottles, food-grade plastic buckets or drums (available at many emergency-supply stores).

DO NOT use

• Containers that are not intended for food -- they'll leach chemicals into your water.
• Plastic milk jugs (they will eventually leak).

LABEL containers clearly: WATER + the date

Sterilizing Water

You can store hard water straight from the tap (the Utah State Extension Service says Provo water contains adequate chlorine for storage and can be used as is without adding additional Chlorox or Purex). Water stored this way should be rotated every 6 months.

For long-term storage, you can sterilize water as follows.

• Use clean, well-rinsed canning jars.
• Fill jars with room-temperature hard water, leaving 1" headspace at the top of the jar.
• Place new, hot, clean sterilized lids on the jar and screw on tightly.
• Place jars into canner in hot water (do not place in boiling water or jars will break). Hot water should cover the jars an inch or two.
• Cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil.
• Allow water to boil gently but steadily for 20 minutes.

Where to Store Water

• Store water out of direct sunlight.
• Store in a cool, dark, dry area
• Do not store directly on concrete floors

• Do not store near gasoline, kerosene, pesticides, etc. These substances emit vapors that can permeate plastic and affect water.

Maintaining & Rotating Stored Water

• Check containers every few months for leakage or other problems.

• Rotate unsterilized water every 6 months.

Emergency Sources of Water

• Hot water tank, pipes, ice cubes, waterbeds
• Rainwater, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes
• Do not drink flood water or water that is dark or has an odor
• As a last resort, you can use water in the reservoir tank of the toilet (not the bowl)
• To minimize the amount of water your body needs, reduce activity and stay cool

Purifying Water

The safest way to purify water is to boil it for 3-5 minutes. You can also disinfect it with regular household bleach, but use only clear water. Use 16 drops of bleach (1/4 tsp) per gallon. Stir and let stand for 30 minutes. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. Because bleach does lose strength over time, bleach used to purify water should be less than two years old.

"The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden"

"We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. . . Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots or planters. Study the best methods of producing your own foods." - President Spencer W. Kimball

Springtime is time to think about gardening! Whether you love to garden, feel guilty about not gardening, or have just never thought about it, being able to grow some of your own food is an important part of emergency preparedness and provident living.
You don't have to have a large garden and spend your life canning to enjoy the benefits of growing some of your own food. Everyone has different needs and lifestyles, and gardening can fit them all.

Container Gardening

Perhaps your time is limited, your health is failing, or you plan to travel extensively over the summer. In this case, a container garden might be a good option. Why not plant your food in pots? For example, you could have one zucchini, one tomato, and one cucumber plant. Set up on a drip watering system with an automatic timer, this arrangement would require minimal care, but could still provide a lot of fresh food.

Small Gardens

Even a garden as small as 2' by 3' can provide a family with lots of fresh food. Sample plans for relatively small gardens are given on page 3 of the Essentials of Home Production and Storage booklet.

Sneaking Gardens In

If you don't want to have a garden per se, how about "sneaking" a couple of vegetable plants into the landscaping? There's always the zucchini, of course. And there are other bush-type plants that yield a lot of vegetables, like yellow squash, tomatoes and cucumbers in wire cages. A row of radishes or lettuce could be planted early on; they'll be gone by the time the regular plantings begin to bush out.

Free Resources

Many books on gardening are available at the library. They cover everything you could ever want to know, from container gardening to organic gardening to gardening for complete self-sufficiency. All sorts free of information is also available on the Internet. You might want to start with some of the major seed companies' sites, such as PARKSEED.COM or BURPEE.COM. Free information brochures are also available at many garden centers.