# Storing water long term - Hot climate



## Maxwell999

Hi all,

I've seen many threads on storing water for 2-4 years, however they follow normal protocol of store in cool dry dark place, use bleach or Aerobic Oxygen or some type of water preserver.
This is all great information which I will use...however I have a little problem.

I want to store lots of water most likely in 5 gallon tanks for portability and 55 gallon water barrels if just buggin-in...however I don't have the space in my home to store it...unless i want big blue water barrels as my furniture. (Yes I thought about it...but didn't really fly with the other family members...)
In all seriousness, the only place I have room to store these massive water tanks is my garage. Unfortunately, I live in California where it gets pretty hot. My garage can get as hot as 90+ degrees 5-7 days out of the week...

So does water go bad if stored in hot climate? How would I go about keeping the water in drinkable conditions for long periods (talking over 1,2,3 or more years)

Any solution or advice would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks!


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## HuntingHawk

Not saying it will, but can. Hotter the water the better chance of micro organisms. Bleach is you best choice to keep it from developing.


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## Moonshinedave

Have you considered a underground water tank? You can buy them about as big as you want (or can afford). I have thought of getting one having it buried, of course, but instead of trying to store water have it inline with the public water coming into my home. That way, it will always stay fresh, as I use it normally, but if something should happen to the public water supply I could shut the incoming valve and have "X" amount of water (depending on how big of tank I bought) to use. Of course, after a time, with no fresh water coming in, then I would have to start adding bleach or something to keep from going bad.
Buying the tank, having it buried in your yard, having it hooked up to your water supply, buying a pump to get it out if public water is shut off, all cost money and will be a pain in the butt, but look what you'll have a large tank of clean fresh water to use when needed. I have not done this yet, but sounds like a plan to me.
*EDIT*
By the way: hello, and welcome to the site.


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## HuntingHawk

Moonshinedave, there is a flaw in your thinking. Water lines keep contaminates out by the pressure in the line. Loose pressure & contaminates can enter the water line. If the problem is repaired & water pressure restored in the time you are gone from home you wouldn't know it happened. And seems city water works don't notify people water is bad till the day after it happens.


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## Moonshinedave

HuntingHawk said:


> Moonshinedave, there is a flaw in your thinking. Water lines keep contaminates out by the pressure in the line. Loose pressure & contaminates can enter the water line. If the problem is repaired & water pressure restored in the time you are gone from home you wouldn't know it happened. And seems city water works don't notify people water is bad till the day after it happens.


Valid point, and one I had not considered. The solution I guess would be have a bypass valve around the tank, and close the inlet and outlet to the tank when you are away, and only open it when you are sure the water is good? All in all, I still maintain having a tank of always fresh water, is better compared to trying to store it.


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## HuntingHawk

My next question would be with city water turned off to the tank how are you going to get water out of it. Next question is what happens if you tank developes a leak? Ofcourse, if you lived in northern Ohio it might be obvious there was a problem when green algae came out the tap.


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## Moonshinedave

HuntingHawk said:


> My next question would be with city water turned off to the tank how are you going to get water out of it. Next question is what happens if you tank developes a leak? Ofcourse, if you lived in northern Ohio it might be obvious there was a problem when green algae came out the tap.


A shallow well pump @ about $100 to the get water out (I did mention the pump in my first post) the pump would only be needed when the public water is turn off. If it gets leak, then I will have to fix it, things happen in life, no reason to believe it should get a leak though.\
I look at it like this: it's not 100% fool proof, nothing is, but seems better to me than trying to keep hundreds of gallons of water stored and fresh, with whatever chemicals needed in it.


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## HuntingHawk

City water lines & sewer lines crisscross each other underground & that is the main problem. I would be more inclined to do a rain catch system.

Easy water pump system would be one solar panel (80watt+), small controller, one deep cycle battery, & a 3gpm Shurflo 12VDC pump. 3gpm is plenty enough to take a shower BTW.


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## hardcore

I have quite a few 55 gal plastic drums, 2- 250 gal totes and a 400 gal water trailer(water buffalo)and countless water jugs filled. I also have a hand pump to install on my well when ever the electric goes away. I shouldn't die thristy


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## JOESARMYNAVY

I am not sure if this was already said, I apologize if it was. I was thinking if you have a yard, dig a 5 to 6 foot hole. I believe the blue barrels are about 2 1/2 to 3 feet high, but if you have a decent seal on the barrel and use a 5 year water preserver drops and it should be fine. Keeping it underground and covered will keep it cool, maybe do a test run by digging a hole and putting a thermometer down there for the day and check it during the hottest part of the day to see where you are at. You may also want to think about putting a liner in the blue barrel and add foam insulation around the sides of it inside with the liner over it so it will keep the water cooler as well. Just a thought.


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## Kauboy

First, let's clear something up...

Water. H2O. Dihydrogen Monoxide.
This is a chemical compound in its liquid state of matter.
By itself, it never changes. It will be water until the end of time.
Applications of external forces can alter it, but by itself it does not "go bad".

Now that this is cleared up, let's discuss what can make water unsafe for consumption.

The first thing we all think of, living organisms. Plant matter, bacteria, virii, ect...
All of the above can make the water varying stages of unsafe for humans.
Luckily, most of them can be managed with different methods of sterilization.
As stated, bleach is a very effective method of killing off many living organisms. Most things that could make you sick can't stand even the smallest amount of hypochlorite bleach.
For whatever reason, we as humans are largely unaffected by these small amounts. With the low percentages found in standard household bleach, it could actually be consumed straight and not kill you.
I strongly discourage this, as you will still become quite ill from the experience. But you'll live.
So, we can use this boring evolutionary trait to our advantage against those pesky lower lifeforms.
1/8th of a tablespoon (or 8 drops) of 5-8% hypochlorite bleach per gallon of clear water is sufficient to kill off most things within 30 minutes of stirring it in.
Plant growth can't take the chlorine either, which is why we use it in swimming pools.
So, once your water has become a graveyard of dead particles, you've created an environment where it will be difficult for future infection to return.
You will need to ensure that the containers remain perfectly sealed, and that they were thoroughly cleaned before storage with a strong cleaner, like bleach, to avoid regrowth.

The second concern, often overlooked, is the possibility of chemical contamination.
If your water was stored from a clean source, such as your city water supply, then you can be fairly sure that this problem was taken care of long before you received the water.
However, if your source is from a natural underground well (or stream/river/lake/etc...), you will want to have your water tested, and keep the necessary testing equipment on hand, to ensure any chemicals in the water are within tolerable limits.
Another thing to keep in mind about storing water, leaching.
Water is susceptible to accepting chemicals through leaching from the surrounding environment. Anyone who stores plastic containers of water should know the risk involved with keeping them on concrete.
Concrete can leach chemicals into your water, and make it unsafe for drinking. It is recommended that water tanks be stored on wood, if possible, to avoid leaching concerns.
Wooden pallets are great for this.
One reasonably cheap solution to chemical contamination issues is the introduction of activated carbon in a filtering system.
Activated carbon is carbon charcoal that has been bathed in an acidic solution to add a positive charge to the carbon ions. The surface of normal carbon is a wasteland of microscopic pockets that can trap trace chemicals that pass over them, removing them from the water being poured through. One pound of carbon contains a surface area of roughly 125 acres. And with the positive charge from "activating" it, it becomes even more effective, as the negatively charged chemical particles become attracted to the positively charged carbon ions, and trap them to the carbon, thereby removing them from the flowing water.
This can help with most, but not 100% of, chemicals in water.
Iron will still be left behind, as will arsenic, fluoride, and any nitrates.
These would require the application of a reverse osmosis and/or distillation system to remove them.
Even then, iron will likely remain, but isn't all that bad for you in low amounts.

If you can account for all of the above, both during storage and then during usage, you should be covered no matter how long you store it in between.


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## hardcore

I figured water didn't go bad. some of my water been stored since y2k. I will boil it if I can or at least treat and strain, before use. thanks


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## Maxwell999

Hey all thanks for the responses.

The underground water will not work unfortunately - my front and back yard is basically all cement. Also I am part of a neighborhood association. Not sure what their rules would be on digging up holes.
Also, not about to go at it with a jack hammer and P off my neighbors and draw attention letting everyone know that I got water stashed in my back yard.

My water source would come from city municipal which is treated like any big city water department. No well water...

So I guess since no one has mentioned if HOT CLIMATE will effect my water longevity, can I assume HOT or COOL water will be good either way as long as I treat it with some bleach?

I can put black trash bags over the blue barrels to keep it in the dark...but cannot help the 90+ degree heat that will keep the water very very warm in my garage.

Thx


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## HuntingHawk

Heat accelerates bacteria growth so yes the heat is an issue. Best choice I believe is using bleach such as pool shoc to prevent the bacteria from developing.


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## Kauboy

As I said, bleach contains hypochlorite, a stable form of chlorine. With the right amount, plant growth and bacteria will be killed, and if the containers are sealed properly, no spores should be able to get in to start growing again. Like any other living thing, mold/moss/algea/bacteria doesn't spontaneously generate, regardless of conditions. If the containers are sanitized and sealed, and the water is treated, you shouldn't get any growth, irrespective of climate conditions.

Something I forgot to mention earlier, the water will be quite flat after a long period of storage. You will want to agitate and aerate it before drinking to make it more palatable.


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## Jeep

I have a concern about water amounts for Animals, if anyone has livestock but no ironclad way to replenish it other than weather, how much should I plan for , I have sheep goats chickens and ducks, thanks


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## HuntingHawk

I think your big concern is the long winter. And because of that I think an underground cistern will be your best bet & use water pumps to get it out of the cistern. I don't know what your summer rainfall is but you need to collect any & all of it from roofs: house, barn, & anyother buildings on the property.

I think its .624 gallons of water from an inch of rain for every square foot of roof. A sheet of roofing tin is 4X8 so 32sqft so would give you 20 gallons of water from an inch of rain.


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## Jeep

Yes winter is a concern, I can effectively store a lot but not keep it from freezing. Thanks for the reply


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## HuntingHawk

What about tank inside the barn or basement of house?


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## Jeep

Yeah was thinking of building a compost pile next to barn separated by metal and storing the water inside directly next to the wall where the compost would be, at least some of it


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## HuntingHawk

I doubt the floor inside the barn freezes so might dig up a section & put a cistern inside the barn.


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## tribby01

whats the best chemical to use to keep water good. and if it goes bad can you use a chemical to make it good again?


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## Kauboy

tribby01 said:


> whats the best chemical to use to keep water good. and if it goes bad can you use a chemical to make it good again?


Refer to my post at the top of page 2.


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