I was looking into purchasing something for water purification for emergency situations (unsafe water, power outage, any number of catastrophes that people are concerned about...). There is the lifestraw products, tablets, mass storage containers, and a lot more other options. I didn't realize it would be so difficult in choosing something.
I also came across the Berkey water filtration systems which people use on a daily basis and for preparedness. The cost is about $225 or more! This got me doing some research on tap water and all the chemicals in it. This would be a solution that would benefit me on a day to day basis and in an emergency.
So, two questions:
-What is your solution for safe drinking water in your emergency kit?
-Do you drink tap water? If not how do you drink your water?
Thanks
Water purification is complex because there are many different types of contaminants requiring different types of filters.
For 'emergencies', you generally want to remove bacteria if you are in the US and bacteria and viruses if international. In such a scenario I would default to my backpacking water filter, which is the MSR miniworks ceramic filter. For backpacking use, this one is relatively heavy (1lb or so) and slower to purify than other filters, but this is because it has smaller pores and removes smaller contaminants. It will removal all bacteria I believe. As I recall, it will not remove viruses, so if international you could combine it with a UV pen. Alternatively, chemical purification tabs are the norm for emergencies (or good old fashioned water boiling).
A good value blanket filter is an activated carbon filter; this will remove many organic contaminants, though will not remove biologicals or inorganic contaminants. Almost all house systems (and many small portable systems) contain a carbon filter in there somewhere.
Generally speaking, reverse osmosis is the best universal filter. It removes a high percentage of almost all contaminants, including biologicals. If you have uncertainty on your house water, this should give you peace of mind.
Generally speaking, tap water in the US is very safe. Go read the water report from your local water treatment center; it should be publicly available. You will need to spend time reading background information on all of the different contaminants in order to understand what the report means. Don't bother reading information from mommy-bloggers who are convinced that fluoride is going to kill them. Often, complaints from the public about water quality in the US go something like this: "I read a news article which referenced a new scientific study that said that chemical A now causes cancer, and I read that there is one part-per-trillion in the water, and now I'm going to die because of the government". Our media over-sensationalizes everything, and the public does not understand causation vs correlation or how the scientific generally works. The result is assumptions of doomsday when no major threat is present.
Of course, there are exceptions (e.g. the Flint, MI fiasco). When in doubt, get a carbon filter if you're cheap, and a RO system if you are serious. These will cover you in the event that certain trace chemicals end of causing long term effects, or if a sudden event occurs and your local water treatment plant somehow misses (giardia outbreak, dissolving lead pipes, etc...).
For emergencies where you cant use the RO, bottled water reserves are always good as long as you don't have to move. If you need something mobile, then a backpacking water filter combined with sterilization method is a good idea. For removing inorganics, you might need to add an ion-exchange filter.
