8 Reasons To Have A Water Purification System

Sustaining a reliable source of drinking water is imperative in an emergency situation.  The Rule of Threes tells us a person can only survive up to three days without water.  Yet many people only look at one type of water purification option as part of their preparedness plan.  For a resource that is so vital to life, everyone should have more than one solution for water purification.

Boiling Water Has Its Limits

Well we can just boil water, right?  Sure, but boiling water doesn’t always make water drinkable.  It does kill bacteria and viruses which are present but it does not remove chemicals, pesticides, or turbidity (dirt, silt, and other non-dissolved solids).  Pesticides such as Atrazine or DDT make their way into water systems via agricultural or residential run-off into reservoirs.  They have even been identified in shallow residential well systems.  Pesticides such as these, when ingested over time, can be damaging to the endocrine and immune system of the body. Boiling does not remove these and an additional filtration process is required to remove these chemicals and impurities.

Boiling Water Requires Fuel

Boiling water requires heat and that process is solely dependent on a limited commodity; fuel.  Be it wood, gasoline, propane, or natural gas, fuel is a resource that is especially limited during times of emergency.  Especially for those living in urban areas.  In addition to fuel, you must wait for your water to cool before you drink, something that is not a quick process.  Go ahead and tell your thirsty youngster that he has to wait an hour to drink his water when he is sweaty and hot.

Purification System Longevity is Longer Than Stored Fuel Source

Just as boiling water is dependent on a fuel source, water filtration is dependent on the life of the filter.  However, the right filtration system can provide a filtration life much longer than what you could store in fuel.  The Berkey Purification System, Katadyn Drip Gravidyn, or Sawyer Point ZeroTWO™ 0.02 Micron Absolute Inline Water Purifier all have filter longevity well over 3000 gallons and can last a family from 1.5 – 8 years.  They are not combustible and do not require additional space for storage.

We like the Berkey system for home use.  Not only does it filter bacteria and viruses, but also the chemicals and pesticides we mentioned previously.  You can find out more in this article.

Use Fuel for Other Priorities

When using a water purification system such as the Berkey, it allows you to reserve your fuel source for other purposes such as cooking or heating.  Save your propane for cooking your food on the grill or wood for heating the home.  There are a number of uses for fuels around the house, and the more you have the ability to redirect/adjust the use of this commodity, the longer it will last you in an emergency.

Minimize Need for Bulk Water Storage

For many families, space is a limited commodity.  This means that the ability to store bulk water is possible, but usually limited due to the space it takes up.  With a water purification solution in place, you can decrease the amount of bulk drinkable water storage needed.  Please note, we’re not saying to stop storing water completely.  Just that storage can be minimized because you now have the capability to purify water around your homestead or area of operation.

A solution such as the WaterBOB can also be integrated to allow additional water storage capacity of water, even after the event occurs and is a great use of existing space.  You will just have to run it through the purifier system before consumption.

Water Storage Eventually Runs Out

If you do store water, your stores will eventually run out.  A water purification system allows you to not only filter the stagnant water taste from your stored water and provide a better flavor, but it will also allow you to filter dirty water from other external sources when your water stores run dry.

Plastic Containers Create Extra Garbage

For many, boiling water is the last option and the first solution is to go buy bottled water at the store.  Another limited commodity during times of emergency.  But even if you can pick some up, be it the 16 ounce drinking bottles or gallon jugs, it creates a large amount of waste in a short amount of time.

During emergencies you will likely have a delay in trash pick-up activities meaning you have to store this excess garbage for an extended period of time.  This is on top of the additional debris from clean-up and normal daily garbage output you usually have.  Sure you may be able to reuse a few of the containers, but rarely all of them.  In a long term event, homes with limited storage space will quickly run out of room and dumpsters at multi-family dwellings such as apartments will quickly become overwhelmed.

Continuity is Key

During a disaster situation, having multiple ways to solve the drinking water problem can provide a sense of confidence and relieve one of the many stressors during hard times.  With all the challenges and hardships that you will face during an incident, anything that you can take off your shoulders will be a welcomed relief.  Set up a multi-tier water purification plan now, so you don’t have to stress about it later.

Start creating a robust water continuity plan by combining the three tiers below and insure you have drinkable water when you need it most.

1. Water Storage
2. Water Purification
3. Boiling Water as a Backup

For more information on why we like the Berkey Water Purification System for water purification, check out our review here.  Think of another reason to have water purification that wasn’t in the article?  Leave a comment below and let us know.