Water Water storage and hot temps

[econjon33]

I'm sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere. We have four 55 gallon blue, "officially for water use" water barrels. We have them - currently empty - in an external shed, which gets very cold in the winter (mountains of southern Appalachia), but it also gets hot in the shed in the summer.

1) Can we store water there, for long-term purposes, given the temperature extremes?

2) We have well water, so I think we need to add bleach as well. I've read that about 1/8 cup is appropriate. Is that correct?

3) Also, how much empty room should we leave for expansion, so there are not problems if the barrels freeze?

Thanks, in advance, for any assistance.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Not sure if this will help.

There are Chlorine test strips that can be bought off the internet. Strange thing is the price can vary between $5 and $17 or $18 USD for the same number of strips that do the exact same thing. They are used by restaurants and commercial food processors to test water used for cleaning and sanitizing to verify the correct concentration of chlorine. The strips color change for the amount of chlorine present in water. Find out what color shade is the right concentration to kill the wee beasties and how long it's necessary to wait until the chlorine evaporates off and the water becomes safer to drink. The water may have to be filtered first. Chlorine is famous for killing germs but will not remove dissolved toxic chemicals and I'm not sure if it can destroy cysts (like beaver fever - Giardiasis). Maybe your county USDA Agent or Emergency Management Coordinator or other board members would have more detailed information?

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Found this Chlorine Kill Chart for pool water over at the CDC.

Fair use.

Free Available Chlorine Germ-Killing Timetable
E. coli 0157:H7 (Bacterium) less than 1 minute
Hepatitis A (Virus) approximately 16 minutes
Giardia (Parasite) approximately 45 minutes
Cryptosporidium (Parasite) approximately 15,300 minutes (10.6 days)

Notes:

Times based on 1 ppm free chlorine at pH 7.5 and 77°F (25°C)
These disinfection times are only for pools and hot tubs/spas that do not use cyanuric acid. Disinfection times are longer in the presence of cyanuric acid.

Link to source:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/residential/disinfection-testing.html

 

[econjon33]

Thanks for the great information. I'd also really love your input on the storing of water in a hot shed (using certified water storage barrels).

 

[Old Gray Mare]

Thanks for the great information. I'd also really love your input on the storing of water in a hot shed (using certified water storage barrels).

I can tell you what happened when I ate commercially canned beef stew after it had been stored a year in an unheated, un air conditioned garage. I got sick.

If I was forced to use water stored a hot shed (using certified water storage barrels) I would treat it like it was coming from an unprotected source. First I would filter it. Then depending on the method of filtration available, consider boiling or treating with chlorine if needed. A lot of things can get happy in a water barrel stored over time that I would not want to drink.

 

[LilRose8]

Living in Florida, I can say from experience that storage of emergency water and food is NOT recommended anywhere that has temperature extremes. I was cleaning out my garage last week and discovered a few boxes of food stuffs from a few years ago. The honey had all turned dark brown and the beans had lost their scent despite still being under vac seal. I threw it all away ( WHAAA ) and will be replacing it. I have been keeping my freeze-dried stuff in the house.
One box of freeze dried foods had also been in the garage and I Can say that the taste was FLAT on the strawberries I tested. I got rid of those too.
Lesson learned. As far as water goes. I would guess the heat and cold extremes could potentially cause issues, not just with the water itself but in making the container brittle and allowing either water loss or contamination in though cracking.

 

[summerthyme]

LilRose... the standard for storing MREs is that for every 10 degrees ABOVE 70 degrees Fahrenheit, you HALVE the storage life. For every 10 degrees below 70, it doubles.

I have no reason to doubt that doesn't apply to pretty much all forms of preserved foods... canned, dehydrated and freeze dried. Even if they don't become unsafe, they lose all nutrients and flavor. Probably as well off to eat the cardboard boxes they're stored in!

I didn't try to answer the original question, because I have no experience storing water under those conditions. But it stands to reason that unless the water is completely sterile, bacteria would tend to multiply at higher temperatures. My bigger concern would be the potential for chemicals to leach from the plastic barrels under high temps.

I think if I absolutely had to keep an emergency supply of water under hit conditions, I'd want to can it in 2 quart canning jars. Not practical for large amounts, and useless if freezing conditions could also be expected.

There's a reason we thank God daily for our artesian well!

Summerthyme

 

[LilRose8]

LilRose... the standard for storing MREs is that for every 10 degrees ABOVE 70 degrees Fahrenheit, you HALVE the storage life. For every 10 degrees below 70, it doubles.

I totally am on board with how the temp fluctuations degrade freeze dried food. This was stuff I had missed when I moved and it had lived in the garage for a few years...obviously, it was not good.

I won't be making that mistake agin.