Disasters can happen at any time. The question begs to answer: Are you prepared enough? Without a 300 gallon water storage tank, it’s likely you’re not.
Consider the following scenario: a major storm and an earthquake strike your town. Your home is miraculously free of structural damage, but the electricity and water are out. Water service could get restored in at least a week, according to conservative forecasts.
Will you and your family have enough water in your home to last until the water gets restored?
How Much Water Do I Need?
As a general rule of thumb, a person needs one gallon of water per day. You should use the first half of a gallon for drinking and the second half for hygiene. That number will vary depending on several interplaying factors. For one, living in a hot climate or having pregnant or nursing women in a group warrants more water.
Assuming that one gallon is enough for one person to last a day, the question now shifts to how many waterless days one should prepare for?
This question’s answer now depends on how prepared one wants to be for varying degrees of disaster.
However, FEMA suggests that everyone should have enough water to last at least three days if daily water supplies are interrupted. Three days’ worth of water ought to get a person through any water outages or contamination that might occur due to extreme natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, or ice storms.
While three days is a decent baseline, water access can get disrupted for much longer, especially for those in disaster-prone regions. As a result, the consensus is that a person should have enough water to last at least two weeks; that is, 14 gallons of water for a single person and 56 gallons of water for a family of four.
It is up to the person if they want to go above and beyond the two-week minimum. For many people, finding space in one’s home or apartment to store enough water for two weeks already poses a considerable challenge, so attempting to find space for a month might be out of the question. Moreover, even if space is not a problem, long-term water storage can be prohibitively and exorbitantly costly.
How Much Water Should I Store?
If standard water supplies become inaccessible or if the safety of the water is questionable, you would need an alternate clean water supply for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene. As a result, enough clean water should get stored to enable each household member to use 1 to 1.5 gallons daily.
Moreover, if there are infants, sick people, or nursing mothers in the house, increase the amount of water stored. If you have pets, keep a quart to a gallon of water per pet per day, depending on their size.
As established, one should store a minimum 3-day supply of water. If one has the space for it, then consider keeping a two-week supply.
Do I Need to Disinfect the Water?
Generally, there is no need for a chemical disinfectant if one’s drinking water comes from a public source. The only exception is for an emergency “boil water” warning, in which case you must disinfect the water before storing it.
While properly stored in a 300 gallon water storage tank, water should have an unlimited storage life. For the best taste, replace it every 6 to 12 months, and if you are storing water from a private well, spring, or other unknown sources, best to purify it first to kill pathogens before storing it.
How is Water Kept Safe Once a Container gets Opened?
To reduce bacterial exposure, it is best to just open the 300 gallon water storage tank right before use and refrigerate it if possible. If you do not have access to refrigeration, hold the container up high and out of reach of children and pets. If at all necessary, use water from opened containers within 1 to 2 days.
When is Water Disinfection Necessary?
Generally, you should not need to disinfect water from a 300 gallon water storage tank. If the drinking water comes from a public source and there has not been a “boil water order” given, it is safe to say that the water is safe to drink. On the other hand, if there is any reason to believe that the water supply has gotten contaminated, it is best not to drink it, prepare food with it, brush your teeth with it, or do something else for this matter with it.
Furthermore, the water’s appearance in a 300 gallon water storage tank may give out a clue already and often cause concern. Most probably, water that appears muddy or has a foul taste or smell is already contaminated. By any means, do not drink this water; instead, seek out a safe substitute.
Conclusion
Storing potable water in a 300 gallon water storage tank can come in handy, especially for emergencies, such as destructive natural disasters. With the vast information mentioned above, one can store potable water that is clean and uncontaminated, available to use for several functions.
