Fallout Shelter Water Containers
Individual pages in
this section
1-Water Barrels
2-Food Rations
3-Sanitation Kits
4-Medical Kits
5-Radiation Kits
and Instruments
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Civil Defense Fallout Shelter Water ContainersThis is a picture of the standard 17.5 gallon shelter water container from a Civil Defense/Red Cross book on Emergency Mass Feeding. The standard shelter water container is a steel barrel that has 2 plastic liners inside and stands 22 inches tall and 16 inches in diameter. The center plastic liner is the actual water container and the outer liner is a backup liner. The liners were either tied or heat sealed closed. This method of storing water does seem a bit complicated in today's plastic container filled world but keep in mind that this was back before large plastic containers were in common use. The plastic liners did hold up fairly well though. I have seen stocks of hundreds of these drums in shelters where none of the barrels were leaking, however when the liners did leak, the steel barrels wouldn't last long before they would begin rusting.
The original shelter water containers were fiberboard drums like the sanitation kits. I have never managed to locate one though. See below.
According to the Civil Defense Management Textbook SM-2.1.1 1967 Civil Defense had procured supplies for 63,000,000 shelter spaces. That's 12,600,000 water barrels since each barrel was to supply 5 people. Click photo to see larger.
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Component
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Storage Life
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Normal Storage
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Adverse Storage (1)
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Poor Storage (2)
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(years)
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(years)
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(years)
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| Liners, 4-mil polyethylene |
10+
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5-8
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2-3
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| Metal drum |
10+
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5-8
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2-3
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| Metal drum in direct contact with water, in and outside |
1.5-3
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1.5-3
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1.5-3
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| (1) Indicates materials stored in basements, underpasses, igloos, and similar locations, generally below ground, where temperature, humidity, and housekeeping may be less desirable than expected for normal storage. | |||
| (2) Indicates materials stored in locations such as mines, caves, and railroad tunnels exposed to saturated air, condensate, dripping water, and dust, on a seasonal basis. | |||
Polyethylene
Liners Polyethylene liners were used in the steel water containers so they would hold water. Liners came in packages of 20 double-bag liners, an instruction sheet and a bag of twist-ties. The liners were usually packed in flat boxes but this set was found in a shelter simply rolled up. See description of bags above. Click photo to see larger.
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Here is a photo of one of the water barrels in my collection. The barrel
label color seems to vary between white, yellow and orange depending on
the contractor who manufactured the barrel. Some of the contractor names
I have seen on barrels are Rheem Mfg. New Orleans LA, U.S. Steel Sharon
PA, Southline Metal Houston TX, Malleable Iron Range Co. Beaver Dam WI,
and Cincinnati Galvanizing Co. OH. to name a few.
Click photo to see much larger.
Fiberboard Water ContainersI received this amazing photo via e-mail a while back but I can't remember who sent it to me. I have no idea where this is. Obviously it's hundereds of the original fiberboard shelter water containers. I wish I had some info on the photo. I might need permission to put it up but usually with these old photos it doesn't matter so that's why I put it up on the site. If anyone sees this and knows where the photo came from please let me know. Click photo to see larger.
Here's
an interesting photo that was found in the National Archives. This photo
was sent to me by Dave Monteyne who did some digging through the National
Archives at College Park, Maryland in November 2004. Thanks Dave! The date on the photo is 1963. Notice that the man is filling the bottom layer of the second row from the wall and that the barrels are standing on wooden strips to keep them off the floor. Also visible at the far left of the photo is a stack of sanitation kits in the background. Wonder how many barrels he ended up filling with water here. Heck, the things might still be there today. There is a note on the photo about "Social Security Administration Building" but there is no location given other than that. Click the photo to see a larger version.
Documents Referenced
Federal Civil Defense Guide Part D, Chapter 2, Appendix 1, Annex 1, December 1965
Instructions For Filling Civil Defense Water Containers DOD- OCD
Basic Course In Emergency Mass Feeding Handbook, DOD-OCD, American National Red Cross August 1966
