does water go bad?

[kompressor]

Does water go bad if you keep it in a sealed barrel for too long? Why would it go bad? Does this mean some amount of chlorine is usually necessary or some other chemical?

[10101]

water does not go "bad" it is only contaminated . When water is stored in plastic containers for too long the plastic will leech chemicals into the water. Their are a number of factors that cause the contamination of water most are easily curable by either boiling or treating with solutions such as bleach.

[Hank]

How long is too long, what about using aluminum?

[10101]

Originally Posted by Hank

How long is too long, what about using aluminum?

aluminum is great it keeps out the UV rays and is very durable, problem is that the new aluminum cans are lined with a food grade plastic to keep the metallic taste out of the product so you also have the problem of the chemicals leeching out of the plastic this normally does not happen for at least two years or so (take a look at the inside of a beer can) its not always been this way used to have no lining and the beer or soda would develop the metallic taste after about a year or so.

During hurricane Wilma in south Florida FEMA was distributing canned water in beer cans. Budweiser was kind enough to can water and put there logo on the can although the water was a generous offer beer would have been better

Your best bet for long term storage is to use Mylar bags.

Here is a product that claims to have a shelf life of 5+ years but very expensive.

Aqua Bloxâ„¢ 5 YEAR Water Storage - 1 Case (27)

I am not saying the chemicals will kill you but why risk it when water is easily rotated and or used up quickly

[WakingUp]

Leeched chemicals are trace amounts and unless you drink this stuff exclusively, highly concentrated, the harm is truly minimal. (young children and infants are more susceptible.)

Dehydration on the other hand will kill you quick.

I would treat and boil swamp water drained over an outhouse and drink it if need be. I sure as heck am not going to worry about space age chems in my Pepsi bottle - in a pinch.

Call me reckless.

[Denny]

Originally Posted by WakingUp

Leeched chemicals are trace amounts and unless you drink this stuff exclusively, highly concentrated, the harm is truly minimal. (young children and infants are more susceptible.)

Dehydration on the other hand will kill you quick.

I would treat and boil swamp water drained over an outhouse and drink it if need be. I sure as heck am not going to worry about space age chems in my Pepsi bottle - in a pinch.

Call me reckless.

In extreme climates, the risk can increase. We were seeing that in Kuwait and Iraq near the beginning of the campaign. It is also one of the suspects of a lot of illnesses from the first Gulf War. We had clear plastic bottles by the pallets just sitting under a blistering sun.

[Canadian]

If even a small amount of bacterial gets into the container and it sits for long enough the bacteria will breed and get you when you drink it. This is especially true if the water is allowed to fluctuate in temperature.

Even in the wild non moving or "still" water should usually be treated as suspect. When water sits it is easy for bacteria to grow. A fast moving source of water is oxygenated by the movement of the stream and less likely to grow nasty bacteria.

[Chemechie]

Originally Posted by Canadian

If even a small amount of bacterial gets into the container and it sits for long enough the bacteria will breed and get you when you drink it. This is especially true if the water is allowed to fluctuate in temperature.

Even in the wild non moving or "still" water should usually be treated as suspect. When water sits it is easy for bacteria to grow. A fast moving source of water is oxygenated by the movement of the stream and less likely to grow nasty bacteria.

My experience agrees with Canadian - it is for bacteria of one form or another to be added to stored water when reusing or refilling containers; I've seen it myself in refilled & stored water bottles. This is a much bigger cause for concern than chemicals leaching out of plastic (unless the bottles were made in China or other places without quality controls; then who knows!).
Careful rinsing & washing of bottles before reuse can reduce or eliminate this problem.
Either aluminum or plastic works well, but personally I prefer plastic for less taste.

[The_Blob]

I think having a good water purifying filter is a smarter route than storing vast quantities of water...

even if you store water, filtering it is still a good idea IMO

[NaeKid]

What about water stored in a camper's fresh-water holding tank. What is the extent of life expectancy of water sitting in there. Will bacteria drain-away when the tank is emptied, or, would the bacteria have the ability to "stay alive" even when dry for extended periods of time?