Non-Potable
Non-potable water is water that is not safe to drink as-is because it may carry pathogens, chemicals, or other contaminants. We use the term for any source that needs treatment before it reaches a cup, from a pond or stream to a rain barrel or floodwater.
Preppers meet non-potable water the moment the tap stops. It still has plenty of jobs, such as flushing toilets, washing clothes, cleaning surfaces, gardening, and firefighting. Putting it to work saves your potable supply for drinking and cooking. Non-potable water is also the raw material for more safe water. Boiling, filtering, chemical treatment, and distillation can each make a source drinkable when the method matches the contaminant.
Learn to stretch and sanitize what you have when you are left with no running water. See how flooding can contaminate a home supply among the hurricane hazards every coastal family plans for. Then build a reserve from your own roof with rainwater collection.
