While mentioned breifly in a few threads, this compound is so necessary to life. A LOT of people skip it or fail to consider it.

If you have acess to a natural water supply within 1 mile, and a method to collect and transport 1 gallon/person/day, then you will be served okay with a method to ensure the water is potable. Solar stills, tablets, settling tanks and filtration systems all have their +/-. Many harmful materials can be removed by one method, but not another.

If you do not have access to a natural supply, then you should consider storage. 1 month supply for a family of 4 would be 120 gallons minimum. A cistern in a crawl space filled with tap water and treated with an appropriate inhibior is a good method. Such a system can be installed in such as way as to use the water (with a pump) for irrigation say once every 6 months to rotate the supply based on the instructions for the inhibitor.

Colorado has some of the best water anywhere in the world and as such, most water storage inhibitors are more than enough for our water.