Question:
WATER--An Essential You can't live for more than a few days without water. And drinking contaminated water can make you very sick--and perhaps even kill you. Water is essential if you're to survive any type of emergency. Unfortunately, water is also one of the first things to go in a disaster. Floods, earthquakes, wars, or other catastrophes usually knock out utilities--and the water supply. How much water?

Answer: When working with any container that's this larger than 2 gallons, first place it where you want it and then fill it with water; the containers get VERY heavy when full of water. Don't stack large containers if you can avoid it. If they come loose, they can severely injure or even kill a child or anyone else unfortunate enough to wind up under the container. Glass containers keep water well in long-term storage but can be quite dangerous because they break easily. This means they're more apt to break if the water freezes and would be quite dangerous. Metal containers should be approached cautiously since many will rust out; water can also take on some odd tastes in metal containers. Care must be taken with any water container to be sure it isn't allowed to freeze. Ice can rupture many of these potential water containers. Flexible plastic tubing is very useful in connecting water containers or for draining water from large containers without dropping junk into the water. A wide range of hand pumps and tubing is available and usually a trip to your local hardware store will enable you to buy a plastic syphon pump that will be perfect for transferring water from large containers. If you don't have a hand pump, it's also possible to remove water from containers by simply siphoning it out "the old fashioned way." All you need is a small length of plastic or rubber hose. To siphon water, the source of the water must have a higher level than the point at which the water is needed. The hose itself must be submerged in the water source but the water being "piped" may travel above or below the level of either the source or the outlet as long as the outlet is below the top level of the water source. The flow of water has to be started by sucking on the end of the hose (soda-straw style). Once the water starts flowing, gravity--and the vacuum created as the water leaves the tube--should make the water continue to flow. To stop the flow, bend or pinch the tube shut and then raise the tubing above the water level in the container.