All the ammo and food is for not, without clean water.

[packinmamax3]

So I keep reading on here I have $200 to spend do I get more ammo or more food storage. The real question is; what kind of water filtration system do you have? If you aren't filtering your water that you are adding to all your food storage from the local creek after your store is dry you will be sick as a dog and not shooting any of the ammo you saved up and boiling it wastes too much of your fuel sources long term.
So the question is are you going to die from dysentery or Giardia or are you good to go?

We have a Sawyer Point Zero Two Purifier with Bucket Adapter kit. filters up to 600 liters a day and has a backwash system Removes 99.997% of viruses, 99.99999% of bacteria, and 99.9999% of Protozoa/Cysts. Plus life straws, next is water bottles with filters built in. Any other systems worth looking into?

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[oli700]

the Sawyer Mini works and is versatile. I went 14 days with one in AK and every drink I took that wasn't boiled went through one.

I like the versatility and they say if you use the flush it will get an unreal amount of gallons , cheap too

 

[Caveman Jim]

If you get Giardia or dysentery you are going to wish you were dead!!!! Bad stuff.

 

[IronMonster]

The whole key to survival prep is the have the most options that are reasonable and affordable. If you have more space and money its always smart to back up your back up and expand on capability.

If you dont have room and money for more gear, I would start with real world testing on your current filtering gear. Find out how much water you can process. Find out what real world limitations are and adjust accordingly.

I started with a home built 5 gallon bucket filter system thinking it would be sufficient for my family if the need arose. After having it stored for several years I got to wondering what it would really do so I put it into use running all the water I used though it for just a few days. It became clear real fast than unless I wanted to greatly reduce the amount of water I used or I wanted to spend hours every day dealing with water I needed to triple its capacity to deal with the folks I wanted to provide for.

 

[IronMonster]

If you get Giardia or dysentery you are going to wish you were dead!!!! And yes you will die if not treated.

BS, I have had both.

you could die, but its unlikely unless you are very old or very young.

 

[Joe13]

Crappy above ground pool and a fire fed water distiller is what I have.

 

[Caveman Jim]

And you were treated and lived. That was my point, they are excruciatingly painful diseases, left untreated you can eventually die from them both.
Look at the last tsunami, thousands died afterwards from dysentery.

 

[IronMonster]

I was not treated, and lived. No treatment at all for Beaver fever, it cycled out of my system in less than 3 days (granted crippling, projectile vomit and squirts) Dysentery treatment was Pepto and lots of water. (I was in rural Mexico, that was all there was)

 

[oli700]

some folks never know they have it, some die from dehydration in the wild untreated and everything between.......some schools believe you never get rid of it once acquired , you just knock it way back.....I dont want to find out so I take measures

 

[IronMonster]

Im not recommending either, Just saying the idea you are a dead man because you do and cant treat it is silly.

 

[oli700]

no its not silly because it is possible and only a fool would discount its potential

 

[IronMonster]

Well, potentially can die from anything. More people die falling out of bed than are killed with rifles every year.

Telling someone they can expect to die if they get sick from a parasite than kills less than one percent of those that contract it is not a good thing.

 

[David Bowman]

Given the amount of rain that falls in this part of the world; all you need is a way to filter it so that the icky stuff comes out.

Water is a resource that literally falls from the sky here.

 

[308]

<broken link removed>

 

[Sgt Nambu]

My $.02, I had Amoebic Dysentery in Korea and I was treated! But I prayed for death for five days! I had the Second Infantry Division protecting me. No way I could have defended myself!

 

[The Heretic]

I have a well.

On a mountain, above most sources of possible pollution to the aquifer which is 100 feet underground.

I had it tested. No biological or viral or heavy metal pollutants.

Been using the water untreated/unfiltered for 3+ years for drinking and washing. Haven't got sick from it yet.

Only downside is the calcium in the water leaves deposits on some things - I have to use a citrus detergent in my dishwasher.

In 5 years when I retire, I will move further out, have a different place with a well, and that will have a different setup. A conventional pump that feeds into a system with much larger pressure tanks, a 500 gallon reservoir tank that can gravity feed the system, and a solar powered low pressure backup pump and solar powered booster pump if power goes out for more than a few days. That will feed a water softener and whole house filtration system.

But yes, each person that would come to my BOL has a personal water filter on their GHB (which has a hydration bladder) and I have a Katadyn filter.

 

[The Heretic]

Well, potentially can die from anything. More people die falling out of bed than are killed with rifles every year.

Telling someone they can expect to die if they get sick from a parasite than kills less than one percent of those that contract it is not a good thing.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/wash_statistics.html

• An estimated 801,000 children younger than 5 years of age perish from diarrhea each year, mostly in developing countries. This amounts to 11% of the 7.6 million deaths of children under the age of five and means that about 2,200 children are dying every day as a result of diarrheal diseases 4.
• Unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrheal diseases 1.
• Worldwide, millions of people are infected with neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), many of which are water and/or hygiene-related, such as Guinea Worm Disease, Buruli Ulcer, Trachoma, and Schistosomiasis. These diseases are most often found in places with unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, and insufficient hygiene practices 8, 9.
• Worldwide, soil-transmitted helminths infect more than one billion people due to a lack of adequate sanitation 10.
• Guinea Worm Disease (GWD) is an extremely painful parasitic infection spread through contaminated drinking water. GWD is characterized by spaghetti-like worms up to 1 meter in length slowly emerging from the human body through blisters on the skin anywhere on the body but usually on the lower legs or lower arms. Infection affects poor communities in remote parts of Africa that do not have safe water to drink. In 2014, 126 cases of Guinea Worm Disease were reported. Most of those cases were from Sudan (56%) 11.
• Trachoma is the world's leading cause of preventable blindness and results from poor hygiene and sanitation. Approximately 41 million people suffer from active trachoma and nearly 10 million people are visually impaired or irreversibly blind as a result of trachoma 12. Trachoma infection can be prevented through increased facial cleanliness with soap and clean water, and improved sanitation.

 

[packinmamax3]

I wasn't trying to start a battle I have younger children and they would be more likely to get parasites. We have farm animals on the property, parasites aren't a problem now but could be a problem I want to cover my bases. But thinking you are going to make it out of a gun fight while battling one of many water born illnesses is just not safe even Rambo would have to take a break to puke if he was sick.

 

[Medic!]

I was not treated, and lived. No treatment at all for Beaver fever, it cycled out of my system in less than 3 days (granted crippling, projectile vomit and squirts) Dysentery treatment was Pepto and lots of water. (I was in rural Mexico, that was all there was)

I have had giardia. And it ran it's coerce.
But I kept hydrated.

You should have a way to treat dehydration from diarrhea.

I keep a dozen or so vacuum sealed packs of 1/2 teaspoon salt and six teaspoons sugar, in my 72 hour bag. This in one Liter water [Boiled] will keep you hydrated.

As for water?
Boil it.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

Sawyer is great gear. Chlorine Dioxide tabs are a good addition too.
Testing your stuff during stable times is an excellent idea; when things blow up is NOT the time to find out it breaks, doesn't work as-is, or is inadequate for the demand.