July/August 1995 Backwoods Home Magazine SELF SUFFICIENCY

Create your own emergency water supply

By Charles A. Sanders One method which I have come up gas required to heat your normal
with is quite simple, inexpensive, and household water supply.
any of us who are otherwise

M well prepared for weather

related emergencies, power
outages, or other disasters are put to
effective. It is made up of materials
which are obtainable at no cost or at
low cost. It can add an additional 125
to 150 gallons of water to your storage
To obtain the parts and materials
necessary for your water storage bat-
tery, you’ll need to hit up a local
plumber or appliance dealer. They
scratching our heads when we try to supplies. usually have old water heating units
figure out a good method of storing The system consists of connecting waiting to be hauled off and can be
water for emergency use. It’s easy to three used water heater tanks in series easily persuaded to let you have a cou-
have a couple of five-gallon jugs of to your existing water supply to pro- ple of old water heaters just for haul-
water stored away, but the storage of a ing them off.
larger quantity of It may require a
clean, usable bit of diligence in
water is a more searching for the
difficult task. Not tanks to use in
all of us have your system. Most
bubbling springs water heaters are
or deep, clear not discarded
wells on our unless the tank
property. In some has developed a
instances, without leak somewhere.
electricity, even Stay with it, and
those water you should be
sources can be able to locate the
inaccessible. needed tanks.
It is commonly For purposes of
known that under setting up the
extreme emer- water storage bat-
gency circum- tery, you’ll first
stances, a person need to remove
can get by for the outer jacket
quite a while and insulation
without food, but from each unit. To
only for a short do this, start by
time without removing any
water. Under normal conditions in vide a battery of water storage tanks. panels or covers attached with screws.
moderate weather, an adult needs The number of tanks is arbitrary. With a hacksaw-type blade in your
about two to three quarts of water Theoretically, you can plumb in a tank sabre saw, cut down the length of the
each day. That amount would natural- for each member of your household. metal cabinet near the seam. By care-
ly be increased if the person is This method will maintain up to 150 fully removing this metal cabinet, you
engaged in heavy physical labor or gallons of consistently fresh water as a can end up with some good heavy-
any hard physical activity. Therefore, backup to the quantity already con- gauge sheet metal to be used for a
a minimum of about four to five gal- tained in the existing water heater. An variety of projects around the home-
lons would need to be stored for each added benefit of this method is that, stead.
person for one week’s needs. The until it is needed in an emergency, it Once the tank has been removed
problem then is to come up with a allows incoming water to warm to from the water heater jacket, it would
plan to supply the needed water for room temperature before entering the be a good idea to clean it out a bit. To
your family for an extended period of household water heater, thereby do this, you can remove the heater ele-
time. reducing the amount of electricity or ments and flush out the inside. This

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should remove most of any buildup of If or when the emergency supply is
limestone or other deposits which may needed, you must first immediately
be inside the tank. If you live in an shut off the main water supply valve
area of heavy mineral deposits, such to your water line. This would be
as limestone, this may take a bit of especially critical in the event that you
effort. Once the tank is flushed out, suspect your main water supply has
you may wish to go a step further and been contaminated.
wash out the inside with a bleach solu- Once the water main has been shut
tion. Rinse well and reinstall the ele- off, you can easily draw off needed
ments, tightening them well to make a water from the tank drain valves locat-
tight, leakproof seal. Instead of replac- ed near the bottom of each tank. For a
ing the elements, you may install good water flow, you may have to
threaded plugs in their place. open a faucet or two in your house-
Placement of the tanks will have to hold system to allow air to flow into
be customized to your particular loca- the pipe system.
tion. Remember that each of the tanks The beauty of this system is that it is
weighs in the neighborhood of 50 adaptable to nearly any water system
pounds and 50 gallons of water and can be sized from a single tank to
weighs an additional 417 pounds or as many as you need and have room
so. This will make the weight of a for. It can help you to be better pre-
three-tank battery about 1400 pounds. pared for an unexpected “long dry
A good solid floor will be required to spell.” ∆
support a load of this size. As a base
for the units, you can easily place con-
crete blocks atop each other or on end
and place over them a couple of 2x8s.
While the raised tanks are not
absolutely necessary, they are helpful,
if for no other reason than to make
withdrawing water from the tanks eas-
ier through the drain valves located
near the bottom of the tanks. And con-
sider using a metal strap to secure the
units to the wall for protection against
upsets during an earthquake or other
disaster.
Plumbing in the tanks is an easy
enough matter. Simply connect the
tanks so that the incoming household
water supply enters the first tank,
leaves it and enters the second tank,
exits it and enters the third tank, then
reconnects to the existing household
supply line. The fittings needed for the
required connections are easily obtain-
able at the local hardware store.

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