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The Prepper's Water Survival Guide: Harvest, Treat, and Store Your Most Vital Resource
No source is left untapped in this all-encompassing guide to supplying life-saving water after a disaster
Humans can survive up to three weeks without food, but only around three days without water! Of all the resources needed after a catastrophe strikes—food, heat, electricity, communication, transportation—none are as important as simple water. While a substantial supply should be stored, water's size and weight make storage impractical for long-term survival. Therefore it's equally critical to know how to acquire and purify additional water supplies over time. This guide addresses all of these factors and more with straight-forward instruction anyone can follow.
Suitable for novice and expert preppers alike, this book's laser-sharp focus on water allows for a depth of information not found in any other guide. Storage is the first area covered including details on types of containers, where to store them, and how to avoid contamination—from basic bottles to large tanks. The author follows with real-world applications for harvesting water from every possible source including digging a well, collecting rain, and purifying lake and river water.
Whether you are looking to set up a supply for a week, month, year, or longer, this book offers a solution for your specific need.
Humans can survive up to three weeks without food, but only around three days without water! Of all the resources needed after a catastrophe strikes—food, heat, electricity, communication, transportation—none are as important as simple water. While a substantial supply should be stored, water's size and weight make storage impractical for long-term survival. Therefore it's equally critical to know how to acquire and purify additional water supplies over time. This guide addresses all of these factors and more with straight-forward instruction anyone can follow.
Suitable for novice and expert preppers alike, this book's laser-sharp focus on water allows for a depth of information not found in any other guide. Storage is the first area covered including details on types of containers, where to store them, and how to avoid contamination—from basic bottles to large tanks. The author follows with real-world applications for harvesting water from every possible source including digging a well, collecting rain, and purifying lake and river water.
Whether you are looking to set up a supply for a week, month, year, or longer, this book offers a solution for your specific need.
222 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 2015
About the author
Daisy Luther
32 books28 followersDaisy Luther lives in a small village in the Pacific Northwestern area of the United States. She is the author of numerous books on emergency preparedness and self-reliance. On her website, The Organic Prepper, Daisy uses her background in alternative journalism to provide a unique perspective on health and preparedness, and offers a path of rational anarchy against a system that will leave us broke, unhealthy, and enslaved if we comply. Daisy's articles are widely republished throughout alternative media. You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 18, 2022
This was not what I was hoping for at all. A lot of the information in this book is common sense stuff that anyone in a rural area learns at an early age.
I would like more pictures, diagrams, and data.
A quick and easy read.
I would like more pictures, diagrams, and data.
A quick and easy read.
January 22, 2018
COPIED FROM GOOREADS SITE: Humans can survive up to three weeks without food, but only around three days without water! Of all the resources needed after a catastrophe strikes—food, heat, electricity, communication, transportation—none are as important as simple water. While a substantial supply should be stored, water's size and weight make storage impractical for long-term survival. Therefore it's equally critical to know how to acquire and purify additional water supplies over time. This guide addresses all of these factors and more with straight-forward instruction anyone can follow.
Suitable for novice and expert preppers alike, this book's laser-sharp focus on water allows for a depth of information not found in any other guide. Storage is the first area covered including details on types of containers, where to store them, and how to avoid contamination—from basic bottles to large tanks. The author follows with real-world applications for harvesting water from every possible source including digging a well, collecting rain, and purifying lake and river water.
Suitable for novice and expert preppers alike, this book's laser-sharp focus on water allows for a depth of information not found in any other guide. Storage is the first area covered including details on types of containers, where to store them, and how to avoid contamination—from basic bottles to large tanks. The author follows with real-world applications for harvesting water from every possible source including digging a well, collecting rain, and purifying lake and river water.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2023
Helpful and informative though for me at times a little too technical
May 22, 2023
Something we all need to read right now.
November 29, 2024
This was an "Oh well, it's okay, I guess" book for me. I think that the writer felt compelled to make the book longer so that it doesn't feel like a pocket book, but as a result, this book has many information that goes nowhere. I read them and go quoting Ariana Grande like, "Yes, and...?" here and there because things just left there hanging.
Also, as a non-American, the one that might actually be useful for me is much less than I expected. But it's a little bit shocking to know that people at least need around 7,5 liters of water for consumption and sanitary. Per day. That's... a lot, man. And now you're telling me to store water for bad days? Where to put them all, pray tell? Unless you're RICH, nobody has a frigging basement (or a swimming pool!!!) where I live.
Also, as a non-American, the one that might actually be useful for me is much less than I expected. But it's a little bit shocking to know that people at least need around 7,5 liters of water for consumption and sanitary. Per day. That's... a lot, man. And now you're telling me to store water for bad days? Where to put them all, pray tell? Unless you're RICH, nobody has a frigging basement (or a swimming pool!!!) where I live.
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December 9, 2018It's not that I'm convinced disaster is coming for me, it's that my kindest friend is and wanted me to be prepared. And also I'm a pin-head who studies water, academically. So I read this book my kindest friend gave me on how we will die without water and what to do about that.
General review: the chapters are short and readable and contain bulleted lists/instructions that would be easy to work from. Importantly, many of Luther's recommendations are actionable, involving either household supplies or cheapish, accessible materials.
For my purposes, what was most valuable was the reminder that water insecurity comes from not total societal collapse (or the collapse of the state) etc but the disruption of relatively fragile infrastructure that can take a long time to repair (editor: U.S. bombing of water infrastructure in Iraq during the first Gulf War estimated to have killed over one-hundred thousand civilians. See Nagy. I.e. F Pres. Bv1). No water, no life. And in a world if increasing climate instability, those shocks to the grid will be more frequent. And that's the complex the book is playing w/: the anxiety that disaster is close, that it will catch you unprepared and you will suffer because you didn't prepare in small ways. I'm also intrigued by the larger prepper culture/life style Luther casually refers to. Though it's not so alien. In Luther's little stories, I remember my own childhood living in a house in the woods at the end of the road, the power going down and us having to treat water in a very different way, knowing and prepared to do that. The book, in its accounts of the expense of storing and hauling water also reminds me how much WORK goes into producing this most basic commodity.
Now when the grid does down I can make brown in a bucket lined w/a garbage bag and filled with kitty litter. Now I know to do that. Pretty good! I feel a little more confident. Thank you, kind friend. I'd also like to see a volume 2 whose focus isn't the single household. What would communal preparation look like? How does one communalize preparation? Like if I and my kind friend wanted to prepare together? And as other readers have noted, Luther assumes the reader is rural. These last two points are probably related.
Of course, if disaster comes, it will most likely come in forms that can never be prepared for. Still one's trying to not be worried about not doing what one could to prepare for the kind of disaster that could be prepared for right now.
General review: the chapters are short and readable and contain bulleted lists/instructions that would be easy to work from. Importantly, many of Luther's recommendations are actionable, involving either household supplies or cheapish, accessible materials.
For my purposes, what was most valuable was the reminder that water insecurity comes from not total societal collapse (or the collapse of the state) etc but the disruption of relatively fragile infrastructure that can take a long time to repair (editor: U.S. bombing of water infrastructure in Iraq during the first Gulf War estimated to have killed over one-hundred thousand civilians. See Nagy. I.e. F Pres. Bv1). No water, no life. And in a world if increasing climate instability, those shocks to the grid will be more frequent. And that's the complex the book is playing w/: the anxiety that disaster is close, that it will catch you unprepared and you will suffer because you didn't prepare in small ways. I'm also intrigued by the larger prepper culture/life style Luther casually refers to. Though it's not so alien. In Luther's little stories, I remember my own childhood living in a house in the woods at the end of the road, the power going down and us having to treat water in a very different way, knowing and prepared to do that. The book, in its accounts of the expense of storing and hauling water also reminds me how much WORK goes into producing this most basic commodity.
Now when the grid does down I can make brown in a bucket lined w/a garbage bag and filled with kitty litter. Now I know to do that. Pretty good! I feel a little more confident. Thank you, kind friend. I'd also like to see a volume 2 whose focus isn't the single household. What would communal preparation look like? How does one communalize preparation? Like if I and my kind friend wanted to prepare together? And as other readers have noted, Luther assumes the reader is rural. These last two points are probably related.
Of course, if disaster comes, it will most likely come in forms that can never be prepared for. Still one's trying to not be worried about not doing what one could to prepare for the kind of disaster that could be prepared for right now.
December 12, 2020
A comprehensive, thoroughly researched guide to collecting, storing, testing, purifying, and conserving water. I skimmed it to learn what I wanted.
Notes
Introduction
Humans consume 1 gal/person/day, not counting sanitation (bathing, cleaning house, cleaning dishes, disposing of human waste).
Have at least 2-week supply of water.
Storing Water
Unsafe containers
• Milk or juice jugs (milk protein and fruit sugar can't be adequately removed, and support bacterial growth)
• Plastic containers that held non-food items (not all residue can be removed)
• Non-food-grade containers (non-PET, non-PETE)
Safe containers
• Plastic 2-liter soda bottles
• Gallon water bottles
Before filling containers with tap water, thoroughly clean with dish soap and water, then rinse completely. For soda bottles, sanitize with solution of 1 tsp liquid chlorine bleach per quart of water, then rinse completely.
Purifying Water
Purify with rolling boil for 1 minute.
Chlorine and iodine are most commonly used chemicals.
Iodine
• Don't use iodine-treated water for more than 14 days.
• Use 1 tablet for each quart of water.
• Iodine crystals are available.
Chlorine
• Use unscented (not scented) household chlorine bleach (not non-chlorine).
• Filter before or after using chlorine.
• 1% chlorine: 40 drops/gal; 4-6% chlorine: 8 drops/gal; 7-10%: 4 drops/gal.
• You can use granular calcium hypochlorite (pool shock).
Activated carbon filters are very popular, and remove chemicals and gases. They're best used with another purification method, like reverse osmosis.
Best overall purification method is reverse osmosis with activated carbon filters, which removes most contaminants. But, they use a lot of water, and work slowly.
Distillation kills most microbes and chemical contaminants. It requires a lot of energy and water, and is slow (4-5 hrs to produce 1 gal).
UV light is often used with reverse osmosis to completely purify water.
Gravity filters (e.g., Berkey systems) filter and purify. They're the most thorough off-grid method. Author uses Berkey system. Berkey, Platypus, Sawyer sell portable gravity filters. Author's favorite is Sawyer Mini.
Notes
Introduction
Humans consume 1 gal/person/day, not counting sanitation (bathing, cleaning house, cleaning dishes, disposing of human waste).
Have at least 2-week supply of water.
Storing Water
Unsafe containers
• Milk or juice jugs (milk protein and fruit sugar can't be adequately removed, and support bacterial growth)
• Plastic containers that held non-food items (not all residue can be removed)
• Non-food-grade containers (non-PET, non-PETE)
Safe containers
• Plastic 2-liter soda bottles
• Gallon water bottles
Before filling containers with tap water, thoroughly clean with dish soap and water, then rinse completely. For soda bottles, sanitize with solution of 1 tsp liquid chlorine bleach per quart of water, then rinse completely.
Purifying Water
Purify with rolling boil for 1 minute.
Chlorine and iodine are most commonly used chemicals.
Iodine
• Don't use iodine-treated water for more than 14 days.
• Use 1 tablet for each quart of water.
• Iodine crystals are available.
Chlorine
• Use unscented (not scented) household chlorine bleach (not non-chlorine).
• Filter before or after using chlorine.
• 1% chlorine: 40 drops/gal; 4-6% chlorine: 8 drops/gal; 7-10%: 4 drops/gal.
• You can use granular calcium hypochlorite (pool shock).
Activated carbon filters are very popular, and remove chemicals and gases. They're best used with another purification method, like reverse osmosis.
Best overall purification method is reverse osmosis with activated carbon filters, which removes most contaminants. But, they use a lot of water, and work slowly.
Distillation kills most microbes and chemical contaminants. It requires a lot of energy and water, and is slow (4-5 hrs to produce 1 gal).
UV light is often used with reverse osmosis to completely purify water.
Gravity filters (e.g., Berkey systems) filter and purify. They're the most thorough off-grid method. Author uses Berkey system. Berkey, Platypus, Sawyer sell portable gravity filters. Author's favorite is Sawyer Mini.
February 9, 2018
This is a very quick and easy read. It covers the basics without bewildering a new-to-emergency-preparedness person. It really paints a clear picture for folks who forget about water planning or think that it can't happen to them. A number of the tips and suggestions are not viable for city living or those in an apartment or condo. The end of the book recap was very nice as was the suggested supply list.
March 7, 2018
Decent reference book with some new ideas. Will keep it on my shelf just in case. Easy read and well organized.
March 27, 2019
Very very basic. Would have liked some more facts on purification and extreme survival.
June 19, 2022
As the first water survival guide and one of the first prepper books I've gone through I'd say this one was interesting. I like that we are going past the 1 gallon a day of water per person. Realistically we do use more than one gallon a day. We're advised to drink at least one gallon of water a day, but we also need water to cook and clean.
The section covering the art of a sponge bath it was great. You don't know when your water is going to be turned back on or when you can use it so the last thing you want to do is wash using as much water as you normally would, a small bit of water and just baking soda. I for one love to be clean. I hate to stink of the unwashed, smells like armpits and toilets, when you are not "nose-blind" to it.
It seems a lot of research as well as repetitive practice and application has gone into the writing of this book. The section covering rainwater collection even warns about knowing laws because rain collecting is illegal if the government branches believe they own rain (or anything and everything).
The section covering the art of a sponge bath it was great. You don't know when your water is going to be turned back on or when you can use it so the last thing you want to do is wash using as much water as you normally would, a small bit of water and just baking soda. I for one love to be clean. I hate to stink of the unwashed, smells like armpits and toilets, when you are not "nose-blind" to it.
It seems a lot of research as well as repetitive practice and application has gone into the writing of this book. The section covering rainwater collection even warns about knowing laws because rain collecting is illegal if the government branches believe they own rain (or anything and everything).
May 28, 2023
( Format : Audiobook )
"We don't get a two day warning."
As the most vital aspect for survival in the event of a disaster, water often see!s to get only a secondary place in the prepping advice. This quick and easy read is a reminder of just how vital it is. And even here the author deals mostly in temporary sensation of public services assuming that these will probably resume within two weeks or so. I had expected at least a section on long term survival for families or small groups. However, it was still a good starter point with useful advice about dealing with contamination and testing water safety, with a handy check list of what to keep in store for emergency usage as well as a brief synopsis of the preceding chapters at the end. It also did make depressing reading as it highlighted the near impossibility of surviving long term in a city.
A bit repetitious but nevertheless with useful information, clearly read by Emily Durante, and currently part of the Audible Plus programme.
"We don't get a two day warning."
As the most vital aspect for survival in the event of a disaster, water often see!s to get only a secondary place in the prepping advice. This quick and easy read is a reminder of just how vital it is. And even here the author deals mostly in temporary sensation of public services assuming that these will probably resume within two weeks or so. I had expected at least a section on long term survival for families or small groups. However, it was still a good starter point with useful advice about dealing with contamination and testing water safety, with a handy check list of what to keep in store for emergency usage as well as a brief synopsis of the preceding chapters at the end. It also did make depressing reading as it highlighted the near impossibility of surviving long term in a city.
A bit repetitious but nevertheless with useful information, clearly read by Emily Durante, and currently part of the Audible Plus programme.
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September 26, 2020Great information
A lot of great information. Amazing how much water we use in a day.
Will be making changes and prepare for any emergency.
Thanks for the work put in to the making of this resource.
A lot of great information. Amazing how much water we use in a day.
Will be making changes and prepare for any emergency.
Thanks for the work put in to the making of this resource.
July 30, 2023
Lots of good, practical advice on how to manage this increasingly dwindling crucial resource. A good reference book that would be handy to have on hand as we move into a more uncertain future and resources become scarce.
July 15, 2020
Good content, quite short but there's only so much you can focus on with water. Goes beyond just purifying water, with other topics such as cleaning/washing and hygiene as well.
August 18, 2020
This book needs to be in your preparedness reference library. It is a must have and a must read! So much good information that could save your life in a disaster or other SHTF situations!
November 20, 2020
I learned a lot about water and how important it is and how sensitive it is
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October 28, 2022paper
November 11, 2023
A lot of good information. Some of the tricks I would only learn from hindsight. This book save me the learning curve.
I am glad I listened through the boring parts.
I am glad I listened through the boring parts.
December 4, 2023
Interesting and informative, but this is not great subject matter for an audiobook given how much technical information is included.
January 17, 2024
A pretty thorough read however I couldn't find much information about life straws and how they work
March 24, 2024
Small easy to read guide to everything you need to know about water, nothing ground breaking. Could've been as effective as an article or blog post (probably is)
May 12, 2024
Thirsty?
This is a good, thorough look at water. It contains a lot of good ideas and information. Water is a MUST so, make sure you have it or a source readily available.
This is a good, thorough look at water. It contains a lot of good ideas and information. Water is a MUST so, make sure you have it or a source readily available.
September 22, 2015
Well, well, well… Is a place you may find water and my initial brain rumblings about Daisy Luther’s water survival guide. The “Well, well, well…” is all about me thinking I knew as much information on securing, purifying, and storing water, as possible. Being able to enjoy a book that teaches me new and simple ways to hold dear that water resource is of utmost importance in a short or long term SHTF situation.
Plus, this book covers way more than I thought it would. Daisy leads you to consider the facts in areas such as; sanitation, causes of illness and its toxins, how it would look & feel to be without water, and how everyone needs this resource to stay healthy. The 2 major items that I never deeply considered were the “Toxins in municipal water supplies” and “Sanitation”. They were at the back of my brain, but now I pay more attention on these issues.
When it is time to actually get a plan and learn how to find, transport, store and purify the H2O, she has it all laid out in terms that any layman can understand and implement. There is no talking-down to the reader about how dense they might’ve been when it comes to always having water available.
If there was anything that I’d like to have changed, it is the order in which the chapters are laid out. Perhaps add chapter 12 after chapter 4 and having an order of chapters 8, 11, 7, 9, and then 10. Having it order, in my opinion, of how one would go about the tasks of making your water plan work from top to bottom may serve the reader better.
Recommended? Absolutely add this book to your prepper and/or survival library. Hey, if you don’t have a collection like that, then this is a good place to start.
Plus, this book covers way more than I thought it would. Daisy leads you to consider the facts in areas such as; sanitation, causes of illness and its toxins, how it would look & feel to be without water, and how everyone needs this resource to stay healthy. The 2 major items that I never deeply considered were the “Toxins in municipal water supplies” and “Sanitation”. They were at the back of my brain, but now I pay more attention on these issues.
When it is time to actually get a plan and learn how to find, transport, store and purify the H2O, she has it all laid out in terms that any layman can understand and implement. There is no talking-down to the reader about how dense they might’ve been when it comes to always having water available.
If there was anything that I’d like to have changed, it is the order in which the chapters are laid out. Perhaps add chapter 12 after chapter 4 and having an order of chapters 8, 11, 7, 9, and then 10. Having it order, in my opinion, of how one would go about the tasks of making your water plan work from top to bottom may serve the reader better.
Recommended? Absolutely add this book to your prepper and/or survival library. Hey, if you don’t have a collection like that, then this is a good place to start.
July 25, 2015
The title of this book is spot on because that is exactly what it is. The main portions of this book is all about preparing for a disaster where you won't have access to water. The beginning of this book has several modern disasters in the United States and other countries where people did not have access to clean water. The author attempts to convince you that you need to start storing up water now. She also goes on to describe her own story of not having clean drinking water. The next portion of the book talks about different medical problems you will have when you drink water that is not clean enough for human consumption. She then finally gets to different methods to treat water and how to store it. I found that the most interesting and helpful. The book finishes off with how to's on other things such as alternatives to bathing and cleaning. I found this book very informative and did not contain subjective material when it came to the facts.
July 7, 2015
Officially getting into the prepper state of mind. Full of amazing and helpful information. I didn't realize how much I didn't know! This is a complete guide. Most likely the ONLY water related prepping guide one will ever need. Covers finding, conserving, storing and treating water; along with illnesses that come from contaminated water, their symptoms and treatments. Also has many other gold nuggets of knowledge; like waste removal, website urls for further research on a variety of topics, an accurate description of what life without water would be like and drills to prepare for the inevitable.
Want to Read
July 21, 2015Received free copy through Goodreads First Reads
September 19, 2015
Informative.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews