Without water, you can only last a few days

In the event of a power failure, the municipal pumps are shut down and water can no longer be distributed to the taps. Therefore, you need to have a plan for access to clean and drinkable water.

Each person needs at least three liters of water per day. You need water for cooking, hygiene and not least drinking water. When the electricity goes down, it's all about hours to prepare for. Having a plan for how to store water is a good idea. The easiest way is to fill up with as much clean water as possible to avoid sterilizing later. Foldable cans can be a good solution. They take up little space without content and can store amounts of water once they fill up. Even the tub can be a good container and there are smart plastic inserts that hold very large amounts of water.

Water storage

Water should be kept as dark and cool as possible. If both water and containers are clean when bottling, the water will last a long time. If the degree of cleanliness is uncertain, boil, filter or chemically clean it before drinking.

In the absence of water, the municipality may exhibit water tanks in specific locations. You will get to pick it up yourself and the amount you get with you might be limited. In the event of a major crisis, it is not sure that municipal water will be available and then you have to fetch water where it is.

A tip is to get to know your local area. Where is the water that is drinkable. Or where is there water that can be made drinkable.

Just drink clean water

In most cases, where water is drawn from natural watercourses, the water will need to be cleaned. You shouldn't drink water you're not sure about. A crisis situation can go from being dangerous to worse through poisoning that can cause diarrhea and weakened general condition. Fortunately, there are many ways to purify drinking water. A simple filter can be made with a container filled with gravel, sand and coal, which removes large parts of the infectious agents in the water. A basic rule, however, is to always boil the water after filtration. There is also many factory-made filters that are very good and that purify the water up to 99.9% The technology in this area has taken a big leap forward in recent years and water purifiers are today extremely efficient and affordable.

Water as a carrier of infection

The infectious agents that can spread through water include viruses, bacteria and parasitic protozoa. Although we in the Nordics are fortunate to have generally high water quality, outbreaks occur. In recent years, perhaps the most high-profile case is the Cryptosporidie outbreak in Östersund

In an interview with Johan Lindh, a parasitologist at Uppsala University, it is revealed that nearly 3,000 people have persistent stomach problems after the outbreak in Östersund, where 47,000 people are estimated to have contracted the parasite Cryptosporidium.

There are several reasons why outbreaks occur. One of the reasons may be that we get infections home from trips that we then spread through the waste water. Another cause may be floods caused by climate change where manure or sewage enters the water supplies. Typical infectious agents that can spread that way are:

Protozoans (Amoebas, Giardia, Cryptosporidium)
Animal single-celled organisms, 1-15 mm in size end up just like bacteria in the water via human and animal faeces

Bacteria (e-coli, Salmonella, Cholera
Single celled organisms, 0.2-5 mm in size. Reproduces rapidly in warm environments, especially in water.

Viruses (Hepatitis A, Rotavirus, Polio
Small parasites only 0.02-0.2 mm in size can only multiply in living cells because they do not own their own metabolismHeavy metals

Heavy metals& chemicals
In addition to living organisms, water can become unfit for metals and chemicals that may sometimes otherwise be found in pesticides.

The most common symptoms

The most common symptoms of disease caused by contaminated water are diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea and headache. The symptoms of an infected person depend on the agent of infection and on the characteristics of the individual. If you have a compromised immune system, the symptoms can be both severe and long-lasting. The effect of being exposed to chemicals and heavy metals can be even more harmful and can be responsible for cancer, damage to the genome or reproductive capacity and affect the hormonal system.

Various water purifiers

Water filter

Water filters very effectively remove harmful substances. Ordinary water filters are made of ceramic and fiberglass where you catch all the small particles and clean the water to 99.9999% from Protozoans and Bacteria. Today there are also water filters that by other technology remove chemicals and heavy metals, which makes virtually all water drinkable.

UV Purification

Neither Protozoans, bacteria nor viruses survive a UV treatment. The treatment is very simple, place the UV lamp in the water and stir. After a few seconds, the water is safe to drink. However, a UV lamp does not filter sediment and other things from the water so cloudy water should be pre-treated.

Water purification tablets

But the help of Chlorine and silver ions is effectively removed Protozoa, bacteria and viruses. Treatment is simple by applying a tablet that dissolves in a quantity of water. After a few minutes, the water is safe to drink. Here, too, the water should be pre-filtered as the chemical process does not remove dirt and sediment from the water.