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I have a very basic prepping question since I'm a total beginner. As I begin to prep for earthquake & any other emergencies at our house, I'm starting with water.

Is the Costco Kirkland bottled water adequate for long term storage? I know I shouldn't store water long term in milk jugs or other such cheap plastic that could biodegrade over time. But are the plastic bottle of the typical bottled water ok? And how frequent should I rotate & replenish my bottled water supply? Once a year? Two years?

Thanks to everyone in advance for your answers. People on this website have helped me with awesome information & so I'm grateful.
 
I would think so it is important to not store it on cement like your garage floor put wood under it
so it does not sit of cement I don't think water goes bad may not taste fresh but drinkable.
 
Cases of bottled water have dates on them, so just keep an eye on those. I keep about 5 cases on hand and buy the Winco brand since that's the cheapest I've found: 35 pack for $3.28= 9.3 cents/bottle. The case I bought yesterday had a best by date of 4/2018. Remember, that is a best by date, not a use by date, so I think it's safe to assume bottled water has at least a 2-year shelf life.

Warehouse stores buy bottled water by the semi-truck load, so they will get a ton of it at a time that all has the same date. Once I use a case, I just check the stock at the store every time I go and wait until they have a fresh shipment before replacing it so I'm not rushed to use it up.

At work one day I ran across some bottle water that the local Sheriff's office had stashed in one of their storage areas but never used. The water was partially evaporated and the bottles had pulled a vacuum. I don't remember the date that was on them, but it's safe to say they were well past their prime... This illustrates the rule that you shouldn't store anything that is perishable unless you use it regularly and rotate it.

On another note, if you have a water heater and it remains intact during a disaster such as the impending Cascadia earthquake, you will likely have at least 55 gallons of water available there. The keys here are making sure the tank is strapped to the wall, flushing the tank annually to remove sediment, and isolating the tank as soon as possible following any disaster that may have damaged your municipal water system to avoid contaminating your personal supply.
 
We keep about 5 gallons of drinking water bottles in the freezer. This does two things one should the power go out the freezer becomes a large ICE box and this extends the length of time the food in the freezer will stay usable. And we have a source of drinking water. Water keeps very well as ICE. Granted 5 gallons is not a lot. But Silverton has a Gravity fed water system with a pretty good sized reservoir the plan would be to fill the Huge claw foot bath tub as soon as we have warning or something happens.
 
As for relying on a municipal water system.

If a severe earthquake hits, no matter what the source (gravity or not), the water lines may rupture and lose pressure - also, if the water lines break, then the water may become contaminated.

I have a well, and even the drill casing/etc. may break in an earthquake. I have a creek at the bottom of my property and I could haul water from that and then sterilize it.
 
BPA/etc. theoretically causes cancer with long term exposure.

If I have 50 gallons of drinking water in water bottles, I am going through that in a few weeks, not a few years. Also, I am almost 63, and I have been drinking water from plastic bottles for over a decade. I have not developed cancer yet. With my heredity, I probably won't live more than another 20 years, and if I do I will probably be a vegetable. So I am not too worried about BPA/plastic/etc.

Even if I was younger, cancer from long term exposure would be the least of my worries in a SHTF situation. Hydration would be a prime concern - I remember when I was young and working in logging; I would get so thirsty from the hard work that I was willing to drink from puddles and ditches.

If the water in a clear container is clean (not contaminated with bacteria or virus) to start with, then if it is kept in a clean container and the container is water tight, exposure to the sunlight will keep it clean, not cause anything to grow in it because there isn't anything there to start with.

I keep gallons of water in my SUV in used plastic water bottles. I have for years. I sometimes drink from them. I have not gotten sick. I do have water filters too - every prepper should have water filters and if there is a question about the water, then filter it.
 
I have one of those old clear glass gallon cider jugs that was filled as emergency water back in 1963 (a week after the JFK assassination). It has never been opened and still looks clear with no visible sediment.
It seems that anything tastes better coming out of glass. With plastic, it seems the clear plastic has less after-taste than the opaque type (at least to my taste).
 
The problem with plastic water bottles is that they're not really solid... if you looked at one with a high enough powered microscope it looks more like a molecular net, as a consequence, while they're technically "waterproof" this is something of an illusion, as they are slowly loosing water over time. In most cases the net is tight enough to keep out air (just remember, oxygen gas is O2 with a molecular weight of 32, water is H2O with a molecular weight of 18) but the water will slowly be lost over time as a gas.

I don't really have a problem with keeping water bottles on-hand on a regularly rotated stock. I frequently take a case of water to a job site, or etc, so I often have them in my car and I tend to go through one every week or two. However, you simply cannot store enough water in disposable plastic water bottles to be economical. Even at $.10 each, that's for what? 16oz? That's still 80c/gal, and lets say you're going to take a modest field shower with 2gal of water? That's 16 bottles you have to empty.

Long term 55gal drums are a better way to go, they're kinda the low point in terms of purchase cost. Used drums can be had for $10, depending on what was in them... I usually get soy-sauce drums, I find after the first water change they no longer carry any flavor or odor, soda drums are horrible and always have a hint of something, I can't really define what, but it's something. If you have the ability to, the best deal by far are the 275gal totes, I have a few of them, but I really only use them for projects... like my cabin has one of these as it's total water supply, and there's a trailer with one on it for refilling the cabin. However the totes require a forklift to move when full, and 2 people when empty. 55gal drums are HEAVY, but one person can reasonably roll one to where it's needed, and if you have a heavy duty hand truck, it is possible to move them around.

HTH!
 

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