Water, Food & Shelter are needed to sustain life(and air of course) so let's start with water.
First we need to obtain water. Where I live, I can walk to a spring that puts out many thousands of gallons of potable water a day but most people don't have that. You may have a river, creek or lake nearby but that will probably need to be treated.
Here's a link to a zip file with many pdf and other files all about water collection; https://permasteader.com/Water_Collection.zip. Included are two Rainwater Harvesting Manuals, one put out by Texas and one by Hawaii. They know a thing or two about rainwater harvesting in Hawaii as one cannot drill a water well on an island.
By Countryside Staff
Water is the most crucial element for staying alive. It's more important than food.
Everyone must have enough safe drinking water, which generally means one gallon per person per day. Needs will differ according to age, physical condition, lifestyle and climate.
This doesn't include water for cooking, bathing, washing dishes and clothes, and pets or other animals. Large dogs may need as much as a gallon a day, while cats can do well with just a pint a day. If you have other livestock your water needs obviously soar. But in that case, water taken directly from a river or stream, without purification, will probably be okay.
Untreated water straight from the tap should keep for six months when stored in clean, durable containers. However, it must be changed periodically. Bacteria-free water, which means treatment with bleach or other compounds, will keep up to several years. Heat, light, deterioration of the container and other factors can cut this figure substantially.
Water should be stored as far as possible from paint and petroleum-based products, acids or anything with strong odors such as fertilizer or common household cleaning solutions. Lower-grade containers are permeable to certain gases and should be avoided whenever possible.
You'll need to locate at least one other water source, since even several hundred gallons of stored water won't last long. Assume any water not stored or purchased is contaminated, especially in perilous or unstable times. A mountain stream could look pristine, but still be polluted.
If you can find only marginal water, first strain the debris through a paper towel, clean cloth or coffee filter, then use one of the following methods.
Short of using a very high-quality water filter, this is the most reliable method for killing microbes and parasites. Bring water to a rolling boil and keep it simmering for at least several minutes. Add one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes for every 1,000 feet above sea level. Cover the pot to shorten boiling time and conserve fuel.
Use 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite that is free of soap or phosphates. To treat one gallon of water, add eight drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach to clear water and 16 drops (1/4 teaspoon) to cloudy water. When purifying five gallons, add 32 drops (1/2 teaspoon) to clear water or 64 drops (one teaspoon) to cloudy water. By purifying a larger quantity of water, you will cut bleach usage 20 percent over the one gallon at a time method. After treating with chlorine, mix well and allow the water to stand for 30 minutes before using. An eye dropper can be used to measure the dosage.
Bleach that is more than a year old loses approximately half its potency. Adjust the dosage accordingly.
Also known as calcium hypochlorite, it is used primarily in swimming pools. Since it is a powder, it has the significant benefit of extended shelf life. Dry chlorine may be stored for up to 10 years with minimal degradation if it is kept dry, cool and in an airtight container.
This is a far better choice for quantity storage than liquid bleach. Dry chlorine is commonly available at swimming pool supply stores as well as many hardware and grocery stores.
For chlorinating water in rain tanks, the recommended dosage is seven grams dry (1/4 ounce by weight) r 40 milliliters (1.35 ounce) per 1000 liters (264 gallons). Let the water stand for 24 hours before drinking. To maintain chlorination, add one gram (.035 ounce) of dry chlorine or 4 ml (.135 ounce) weekly per 1,000 liters.
If no instructions are provided on the bottle, use 12 drops per gallon of water. Increase the dosage if the water is of dubious quality. Mix well and allow the water to stand for 30 minutes before using. Iodine does have an unpleasant aftertaste.
See stor03.html for AZ Granny's water page. https://permasteader.com/AZ_Granny/stor03.html
Thank you so much, Pollard. This information is so valuable.
Update on my test of long-keeping squash varieties:
“Bigger Better Butternut”, “Great Lakes Shark Fin”, and “Calabasas de las Aguas” continue to show no signs of softening.
These were picked in October, and stored in open wooden bins in the basement. There were several that softened during the first few months, and those were cooked and eaten before they could spoil. The last one to soften was in late March/early April (I really should have written that down), but more than half of them are still intact and show no signs of spoilage.
(I’m actually going to propose to the seed companies I grow for that we treat these as biennials, so I can select against a short shelf-life.)
Bkmk/prepping
“I went through dozens and dozens of pages and extracted only her info. I then organized it by subject a little better and created 75 html files with the first one being an index and the other 74 having a link back to the index at the top of each.”
Wow, you have been BUSY!
Thank you so much. I’ve always wanted to print out her postings but I was overwhelmed but the enormity of it. Plus, the problem of trying to put things into categories to find later.
And here you have done it all for us. That’s quite a gift, thank you for doing that and for the thread.
Please add me to your ping list if I'm not already on it. Thanks!