Water Storage for a Family: How Much and How to Rotate It

People can go weeks without food but only days without water. In a disaster, water mains break, wells lose power, and boil orders last for days. Stores sell out of bottled water within hours of a storm warning. Storing water is the single most important prep, and the cheapest.

01How much

Ready.gov's guideline: at least one gallon per person per day for several days, for drinking and basic sanitation. More is better:

• Children, nursing mothers and sick people may need more.
• Hot weather can double drinking needs.
• Pets need water too.

A family of four needs 12 gallons for three days, 28 gallons for a week, 56 for two weeks. Start with three days, build to two weeks.

02What to store it in

• Store-bought bottled water: easiest. Keep it sealed and check the dates.
• Food-grade water containers: 5–7 gallon jugs, or larger barrels for long-term storage. Use containers made for drinking water.
• Clean two-liter soda bottles work in a pinch; skip milk jugs, which break down and are hard to clean.
• Never use containers that held chemicals.

03How long it keeps

• Commercially bottled water: keep it sealed and follow the date.
• Water you store yourself: replace it about every six months, as Ready.gov recommends.

04Where to store it

Cool, dark, off concrete floors (put it on a shelf or pallet), away from gasoline, chemicals and pesticides. Spread it around the house in case one area becomes unreachable.

05Rotation made easy

• Mark the date on every container.
• Twice a year, when the clocks change, use or replace the stored water, refresh it and update the date.
• Drink what you store. If you buy cases, use the oldest case first and put the new one at the back.

06Water you already have

• Your water heater holds 30–50 gallons or more. Learn how to shut off the inlet and drain it safely before you need to.
• Fill bathtubs and pots when a storm is coming, for flushing and washing.
• Ice in the freezer turns into drinking water.

07Treating water if you run out

Boiling, filtering with a quality filter, or disinfecting with unscented household bleach (following official instructions for the amount) can make questionable water safer. We'll cover purification in its own guide.

Water is the foundation of every other prep. Put the first three days in the basement this week. See the rest of the 72-hour kit.

Source (1)

Ready.gov: Water.

Related: Sanitation and Hygiene When the Water Is Off