Water Supplies PlanWhen the BIG ONE shakes Oregon, or an ice storm freezes our pipes solid, it will damage our water and sanitation systems. What's your plan for staying hydrated and clean, if the water stops flowing for weeks? You can survive a couple of weeks without food but only three days without water. Access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene is crucial to human health and well-being. On this page, we include information, videos, and free resources to help you take steps now to ensure you and your family have enough clean water to survive.
How long Can you survive without water? 3 Days |
Click to open and download the worksheet
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Download our Emergency Planning Water Worksheet to help you create a water resiliency plan. This worksheet and the video walks you through a two-step process to achieve emergency water resiliency. For plan A, you start with calculating how much water your family needs to store for a 2-week emergency water supply. This is your highest priority, because you can only survive 3 days without clean water. Once you've have enough water stored for an emergency, you can develop a backup plan, Plan B, to acquire the tools and skills for purifying water from the environment, in case you run out of your emergency water supplies.
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Downloads: (1) Emergency Water Planning worksheet; (2) Presentation with speaker notes; (3) Additional resource links mentioned in the presentation.
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You can purchase emergency water, or store it in a variety of clean, food-grade containers. Some containers stack efficiently on top of each other, making it easy to store in a closet or other small spaces. Larger containers will need a permanent location because they can't be moved. For example, a 55-gallon barrel can store enough water to meet the emergency needs of a family of four, but will need a permanent location, such as in a garage or undercover outside. Be sure to store water at home, and also in your cars and go bags, so you'll never be caught without clean water.
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Another possible source of clean water after a disaster is the municipal water already in your pipes, bathtub, and hot water heater, once you have shut off the water main to protect the water in your house from cross contamination. These can be captured at the time of the disaster, if you get your main turned off and learn how to access the water. If you have a hot water tank, you can count this water as part of your emergency water supply, typically between 30 to 50 gallons of water. Make sure you have a food grade hose and bucket, and practice draining your water tank. You may want to filter this water to remove any sediments that may be in the water.
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Check out RegionalH2O's Water Preparedness site for steps on how to drain water from your hot water tank and other water preservation tips, or watch the video below.
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In an extended disaster, you may need to make potable water starting from a source in your environment. This takes some planning, special equipment, and know how. Making potable water starts from finding a suitable source of water.
Do not drink or use for sanitation any water that smells bad, looks discolored, or is contaminated with fuel or toxic chemicals. Don't use flood water, ever. |
Do NOT drink or use for sanitation any water that (1) smells bad, (2) looks discolored, or (3) is contaminated with fuel or toxic chemicals. |
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Use a combination of methods to make raw water safe to drink. Two steps are really important:
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In this video, you’ll learn how to build a two-bucket water filtration system, which is important in making sure you have plenty of clean water in the event of a disaster. Barbara Bracken from Tualatin Neighborhood Ready! is joined by Claudia Gray from Cedar Hills Ready! to show you how easy it is to put it all together by yourself. Special thanks to Doug Knight, a fellow Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member and amateur radio and resiliency volunteer.
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Click image above to download the instruction and maintenance instructions sheet. (Provided by Justwater.me.)_
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Cross section of the two bucket filtration system. (Original Artwork Source: Susan Ronning, Portland Prepares.)
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A fast and easy way to purify water is a product called, Purifier of Water (PUR). One tiny packet can purify up to 2.5 gallons of water in 30 minutes, without the need for a special filter. PUR was developed by Proctor & Gamble in collaboration with the CDC and the World Health Organization. It is used widely in developing countries as a way to produce clean water. The World Health Organization classifies P&G Purifier of Water as providing comprehensive protection in that it: reduces kills bacteria, viruses and protozoa and removes metals and chemicals. Check out the video and steps below to see how it works.
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Water Survival Basics
Download Oregon State Extension Service's Survival Basics: Water brochure. Or take their free online Water Survival Basics course. In this course, you'll explore a variety of methods for purifying and storing water for an extended emergency. You'll learn how to find or make safe water from additional sources. |
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Purifying Mucky Water
Our speaker, Stan Houseman, is the founder of QuakeUp! NW, and the master of disaster. In this video, he talks about how to make clean drinking water from mucky water. |
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Rainwater Harvesting
Find out how to harvest rainwater using a simple barrel system. Lincoln Thomas, our speaker, has a degree in Civil Engineering, and 5 rain barrels in his backyard. |
