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How to store an emergency water supply

Bottled water purchased at grocery stores can be stored for several years. The bottles should be stored in a cool dark place and should not be exposed to sunlight or fumes of petroleum products and pesticides/herbicides. They should be checked periodically to insure that the plastic has not cracked or developed leaks. If the containers have cracked or leak, replace them.
  
Storing tap water for emergency use is more complicated. The storage containers must be sterilized and the water must be treated before it is stored. Also the water should be changed every six months.

Sterilizing the containers:

Containers made of heavy opaque plastic with screw-on caps are the best to use. Plastic milk and orange juice containers are very thin and tend to crack and leak as they get old. Also these containers often have snap-on lids that do not seal as well as screw-on caps.
  1. Wash the containers with soapy water.
  2. Rinse thoroughly.
  3. Fill the container half full with water and add 1 cup of chlorine bleach for each gallon the container holds. 
    NOTE: do not use scented laundry bleach, powdered bleach, or swimming pool chlorine - these contain additional chemicals that are poisonous. Finish filling the container with water (all the way to the top). Put the cap on and lay the bottle on its side for about 3 minutes. This allows you to check if the container leaks while the bleach-water disinfects the cap. If the container leaks, do not use it.
  4. Pour the bleach-water into the next container to be sterilized. The same disinfecting bleach-water can be used for several containers " simply "top off" the new container with water as needed
*** REMEMBER this is not drinking water - pour down drain when finished ***

Treating the water to be stored:

  1. Fill the sterilized bottle half full with tap water.
  2. Add 8 drops of chlorine bleach for each gallon the container holds. NOTE: do not use scented laundry bleach, powdered bleach, or swimming pool chlorine - these contain additional chemicals that are poisonous.
  3. Finish filling the bottle with tap water. Leave a small air space at the top of the container to allow for expansion if the water heats up slightly where you store it.
  4. Put the cap on tightly.

Storing the water:

The water containers should be stored in a cool dark place and should not be exposed to sunlight or fumes of petroleum products and pesticides/herbicides. They should be checked periodically to insure that the plastic has not cracked or developed leaks. If the containers have cracked or leak, replace them.
 
Change the water in the containers every six months.