H2O-Dog

Maybe I don't fully understand... But I had thought it was a good idea to keep water chlorinated (or brominated which is not good for drinking) in order to kill micro-organisms and that in order to keep chlorine working well, that the PH should be a little below 7.5. Running out of water is a bad idea, but drinking spa water that gives you dysentery isn't much better. If I can maintain it properly then I have another possible resource to use in an emergency. Just trying to keep my options open.

I agree that purified bottled water is better and I have a few bottles - 5 gallon though. But when it comes to water and emergencies, you never have enough. And 350 gallons is a lot of water to not be able to use.

Chem Geek - To clarify: I have no swimming pool, just the hot tub. Water heater is tankless so no help there. There is no salt water system, but it does have an ozenator type system. Temperature is kept at 80 to reduce cost, discourage swimmers, and reduce growth of nasties. No one uses the hot tub at all. It is basically patio eye candy that came with the house. I thought it might as well serve a purpose. I think hydrochloric acid should also work, but not sure where to get food or pharmaceutical grade low molar. Or maybe I should just use the vinegar. Thoughts?

I am interested in managing my hot tub water so that it could be used as a source for drinking water in the event of an emergency or contamination of the municipal water supplies. For sterilization I plan on using Pool Shock (Calcium Hypochlorite) as this is what FEMA recommends for sterilizing drinking water. The disadvantage that I see is that it breaks down fairly quickly I am less sure how to handle Ph and alkalinity. To raise Ph I was going to use Arm and Hammer Baking Soda (12 pound bag). I believe that should be safe. I am even less certain about a safe method for lowering Ph. Vinegar is a possibility, but may leave the water with an odd odor and taste. Alkalinity??? I have no idea. Any suggestions or advise would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.