As Manitoba prepares itself for yet another Spring Flood, it is crucial that we are fully prepared incase of an emergency. Having an ample supply of clean water is a top priority in an emergency. A normally active person needs to drink at least ½ a gallon of water each day. People in hot environments, children, nursing mothers and ill people will require even more.

You will also need water for food preparation and hygiene. Store at least one gallon per person, per day. Consider storing at least a two-week supply of water for each member of your family. If you are unable to store this quantity, store as much as you can.

If supplies run low, never ration water. Drink the amount you need today, and try to find more for tomorrow. You can minimize the amount of water your body needs by reducing activity and staying cool.

Prepare and Store an Emergency Supply of Water

To prepare the safest and most reliable emergency supply of water, it is recommended that you purchase commercially bottled water. Keep bottled water in its original container, and do not open it until you need to use it.

Ways to Treat Water

The instructions below are for treating water of uncertain quality in rare emergency situations in the absence of instructions from local authorities when no other reliable clean water source is available and you have used all of your stored water. If you store enough water in advance, you will not need to treat water using these or other methods.

In addition to having a bad odor and taste, contaminated water can contain microorganisms (germs, bacteria, and viruses) that cause diseases such as dysentery, typhoid, and hepatitis. You should treat all water of uncertain quality before using it for drinking, food preparation, or hygiene.

Boiling or chlorination will kill most microorganisms but will not remove other contaminates such as heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals. Before treating, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom, or strain them through layers of paper towel, clean cloth, or coffee filter.

Distillation

While Boiling and/or Chlorination will kill most microorganisms in water, distillation will remove microorganisms that resist these methods, as well as heavy metals, salts and most other chemicals.

Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses back to water. The condensed vapor will not include salt or most other impurities. To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle of the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right side-up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water), and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled.