simonandCursor
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Safety snapshot of mobile work before merging upstream chat-v2: - Qortino AI: QDN pack discovery/download (Q-Share ids), external app storage, install validation, teach/report Q-Mail, PDF thumbs+zoom - Android share target "Quitter" with native ShareReceiver plugin - Categorized device saves (Images/Videos/Audio/Documents/Apps/GO state) - createNamedFile helper: cordova-plugin-file clobbers global File Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
75 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
75 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
# Water: Storage, Treatment, and Sourcing
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*Educational preparedness information. Water safety mistakes cause illness
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fast — when in doubt, treat twice (filter + boil or filter + chemical).*
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## How much you need
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Plan 4 litres per person per day minimum: 2 for drinking, 2 for cooking and
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basic hygiene. In heat, exertion, illness (fever, diarrhea), pregnancy, or
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for large people, drinking needs alone can hit 4-6 litres. A family of four
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needs ~112 litres for one week — most households store a tiny fraction of
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this. Two weeks per person is a serious baseline; grid-down water utilities
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can fail within hours to days when pumps lose power.
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## Storage that keeps
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- Food-grade containers only (HDPE #2): purpose-made 10-20 L stackable jugs,
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200 L drums with pump and bung wrench, or factory-sealed bottled water.
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- Never reuse milk jugs (protein residue breeds bacteria and the plastic
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degrades). Old soda bottles washed with a bleach rinse are acceptable.
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- Store cool and dark; sunlight grows algae in clear containers. Off concrete
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floors on wood slats (chemicals can leach through plastic from concrete).
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- Tap water from a treated municipal supply stores as-is; rotate yearly. For
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well water, add 2 drops of unscented 5-6% bleach per litre when filling.
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- Emergency last-minute capture: fill bathtubs (a tub liner like a WaterBOB
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holds ~350 L clean), sinks, pots, and washing machines the moment trouble
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is announced. Your hot-water tank holds 100-300 L of drinkable water (turn
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off power/gas to it, let it cool, drain from the bottom valve) and toilet
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*tanks* (not bowls) hold a few litres of tap water if no chemical pucks are
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used.
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## Treatment methods, ranked by what they kill
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| Method | Bacteria | Protozoa (Giardia/Crypto) | Viruses | Notes |
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| Rolling boil 1 min (3 min above 2,000 m) | yes | yes | yes | Gold standard; costs fuel |
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| Hollow-fiber filter (0.1 micron, e.g. Sawyer-style) | yes | yes | NO | Fast, cheap per litre; protect from freezing |
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| Purifier bottle (filter + ion/adsorption media) | yes | yes | yes | Cartridge lifespan limited |
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| Unscented bleach 5-6%: 2 drops/L clear, 4 drops/L cloudy, wait 30-60 min | yes | partial (NOT Crypto) | yes | Bleach loses potency ~1 year after opening |
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| Chlorine dioxide tablets | yes | yes (4 h wait for Crypto) | yes | Best chemical option; long shelf life |
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| UV pen / SODIS (clear PET bottle, 6 h full sun) | yes | yes | yes | Clear water only; UV pens need batteries |
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To purify cloudy, muddy, or dirty water from a river, lake, stream, or
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puddle: pre-filter first through a tightly woven cloth, coffee filter,
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or a Millbank bag (a canvas drip bag that removes sediment), or let it settle
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and decant. Sediment shelters microbes from chemicals and clogs filters.
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## Practical toolkit
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A resilient household covers three layers: a gravity or squeeze hollow-fiber
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filter for volume, chlorine dioxide tablets as compact backup, and the
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knowledge + fuel to boil. Add a dedicated "dirty" and "clean" bucket pair to
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avoid cross-contamination, and mark them permanently.
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## Rain and wild sources
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Rain catchment: a clean tarp or metal roof section feeding a barrel yields
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about 1 litre per square metre per millimetre of rain — a 20 m² roof in a
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10 mm shower collects ~200 L. First-flush the initial runoff (it carries
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roof grime and bird droppings) and still treat before drinking. Wild
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sources: prefer moving water, collect from the surface (not stirred-up
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bottom), upstream of trails, livestock, and settlements. Never drink
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untreated surface water no matter how clear — Giardia is invisible. Salt
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water and urine are never drinkable and dehydrate you further; distillation
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is the only way to reclaim them.
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## Winter and hot climates
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Freezing destroys hollow-fiber filters (cracked fibers pass microbes with no
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visible damage) — sleep with the filter in your jacket or switch to boiling
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and chemicals in winter. Melt snow with starter liquid in the pot; ice yields
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more water per volume than snow. In heat, ration sweat, not water: rest in
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shade through midday, work at dawn and dusk, and drink what you have — people
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have died of dehydration with water still in their canteens.
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