Believe it or not, you can survive weeks without food, but only a few days without water. Water is one of the most important survival assets you’ll need. In fact, in a crisis if you’re out of water experts recommend eating only minimal amounts of food as your body requires water to process food and eating will only dehydrate you further.

As a reference, here's how much water it takes to do some common everyday activities:

• Flushing the toilet = 5 gallons per flush
  
• Brushing your teeth = 4 gallons each time
  
• Taking a bath = 36 gallons each time
  
• Running the dishwasher = 15 gallons each time
  
• Washing your hands & face = 4 gallons each time
  
• Taking a shower = 25 gallons each time
  
• Washing a load of laundry = 45 gallons each time
  
• Watering your lawn = 300 gallons each time
  
  

Why do you need to stockpile water
in preparation for the bird flu?

As Oprah noted on her Bird Flu show, most municipalities - like most companies these days - use just-in-time deliveries for their needs. In Chicago’s case, they typically have a five to seven day supply of chlorine available for purifying the water. If distribution channels break down because people are sick or staying home to avoid contracting the bird flu, then truck drivers won’t be able to deliver the supplies the water department needs. Additionally, workforce illness could cause the electrical companies to become inoperable. Without electricity, the pumps won’t be able to run at the water department to purify the water.

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

There are many ways to treat water. None is perfect. Often the best solution is a combination of methods. In the Bird Flu Family Survival Guide, I detail four ways you can treat water.

One of the most important items you ought to get today to treat water is a water filter. A water filter will be critical when you don't have electricity to boil water. And unlike boiling water, a water filter that will also remove chemical contaminations.

There are so many different water filters on the market it is a little overwhelming to try and decipher which one to go with. I selected the MiniWorks because it really does seem to be the best-selling filter on the market (please excuse the herd mentality) and because the U.S. Marines use it for its Amphibious Raids and Reconnaissance Division. I decided if the water it produced was good enough for the Marines, then that water ought to do just fine for my kids.

Here are the selling points of the MiniWorks EX: Long-lasting: Durable ceramic element ensures protection and will pump water for years. Field-maintainable: Can be cleaned repeatedly for full filter recovery; no tools required for complete disassembly. Fast Flow: AirSpring Accumulator increases filtration speed; up to 1 liter/minute. Effective Protection: Removes bacteria, protozoa (including crypto and giardia), and particulate. Better-tasting Water: Carbon core removes unpleasant tastes and odors caused by chemicals, such as iodine, chlorine, and pesticides.

Average price for a MiniWorks EX is about $75. To purchase, click here

How much water
do you need to survive?

The rule of thumb is that the average person needs at least 1/2 gallon (or 64 ounces) of water a day for drinking, cooking and hygiene. That means a family of four will need roughly 180 gallons to cover a three month period. As a comparison, 180 gallons of water is the equivalent of five bathtubs.

Now, chances are you don’t have space for storing an additional five bathtubs of water in your house... so now what?

1. Stop by the wholesale club and stock-up on individual bottles of water as well as the five gallon water cooler bottles. Stock as much as you have room for. Commercially packaged water generally has a shelf life of two years from the time it is bottled. I’d try and purchase about a month’s supply of water. Again, for a family of four that is 60 gallons of water which is the equivalent of:

• Eight (5) gallon water cooler bottles = 40 gallons
  
• Eight cases of 12 ounce bottles (figuring 24 to a case) = 20 gallons
  
  

2. Fill you own home-storage containers of water. This disaster plan is different than many others in that if you keep the spread of bird flu on your radar, you’ll have some opportunities for last minute stockpiling. Earthquakes don’t give warnings. Terrorist attacks don’t. But bird flu does.

Realistically, once the first case of bird flu arrives in your city, there will still be some time before the water department and/or the electrical company shuts down. If you obtain the right home storage resources now, you can safely begin stockpiling once the bird flu begins. That saves you the hassle of having to have large drums of water sitting around the house that you can’t move.

Buy a water barrel

You can purchase a 55 gallon emergency water storage barrel that will allow you to easily store water for 5 years (when used with water preserver concentrate). It is made from FDA approved resin, weighs 22 lbs. and is 34 3/4" high.

Here’s the link to the best price I’ve found on water barrels: click here

I’d get two of them, and when the flu hits, fill them both up with tap water and treat with the water preserver. Once you use up the first barrel of water, put it outside to collect rain water while you use the second barrel. (Rainwater will need to be purified before using.)

For more water storage tips such as: