How to Store Water for Emergencies: How Much, What Containers, and How Long It Lasts

We all need water. In as little as three days without it, a person can perish. Every family should have water stored in case of an emergency. This guide walks you through how to store water for emergencies, how much you should store (my answer might surprise you), and how long stored water lasts.

Having the capability to both store and effectively purify water is a crucial aspect of emergency preparedness and the development of an emergency food storage pantry.

How much water do you need?

The first question on everyone’s mind is usually about how much water to store for an emergency. The American Red Cross has some guidelines but it’s important to keep your own circumstances in mind when planning. They recommend storing one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanititation.

I disagree completely. That might be because I’ve spent my entire life in the deserts of Arizona and now in southeast Texas where heat and humidity reign supreme, but the fact is, in any emergency you still need to care for your most basic physical needs, and hydration is one of them.

One gallon of water is only 128 ounces. If you drink eight glasses of water per day, granted, most of us don’t, but that’s half your supply for a 24 hour period! Think about the rest of your daily routine — cooking, cleaning, bathing, and more. Within a short two or three days in a water crisis, you’ll quickly wish you had more!

Water is free — just fill 2-liter bottles with tap water, and you can store it just about anywhere as long as you’re careful about preventing leakage.

• Start with a 3-day supply and expand it to two weeks, if possible, depending on your living space.
• Store extra for babies and pregnant and nursing mothers , as do those who live in a hot or dry climate.
• Store water for pets also.

Short term vs. long term water storage

Once you decide how much water per person per day, think about how many days’ supply you want. Short-term storage, like having three days’ (72 hours) worth, helps during temporary disruptions like power outages or pipe leaks. It’s a good start because it’s manageable and helps you get used to the routine. However, some disasters might require more and that’s where long-term storage comes in.

Long-term storage, which could be weeks or months of supply, is crucial for bigger disasters or when help might take longer to arrive.  After Hurricane Helene in parts of North Carolina (2024), many people were without water for five or six weeks. Once the municipal water infrastructure is compromised by pollutants or severely damaged, this isn’t uncommon.

How much do pets need?

As a general rule of thumb, estimate that a healthy pet will drink about one ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. Read more about creating a pet emergency kit here. If you have livestock, 55-gallon drums can be purchased used on sites like Craigslist, refilled with water, and then stored in the corner of a shed, barn, or other outbuilding.

I don’t have water stored, and the emergency is now!

If you haven’t stored up any water and the emergency is happening now, there are still some steps you can take.

• Quickly, put pots and large bowls under each faucet in your house and backyard, and drain the water lines into those containers.
• Fill containers and bathtubs with water. If you don’t have a Water BOB to hold the water, clean the bathtub first, if at all possible.
• Melt ice cubes.
• Access the water in the water heater.

The average water heater holds between 30 and 80 gallons, depend on your tank size. This is a significant amount of water if you have no other source and nothing left in your water storage. Draining the water is fairly straightforward.

Start by turning off the water supply coming into the heater. Learn how to do this now and make sure you have the correct tool on hand. This can be important as if the water supply becomes tainted at some point down the road, you don’t want that flowing into your water heater.

If your water heater is electric, turn off the power at the circuit breaker panel. Do this even if the power is already out in the area. The heating element inside a water heater can be come damaged if it turns on and there isn’t any water inside. If you have a gas water heater, turn the thermostat to Pilot.

Toward the bottom of the water heater, you’ll see the drain valve. It looks like a faucet. Connect a garden hose to the drain valve but do not open the valve just yet. First, open a hot water faucet in your bathtub or sink, being sure to plug the drain so as to save any water that comes out, of course.

Opening a hot water faucet elsewhere in the house prevents a vacuum from forming inside the tank, which would otherwise stop the water from draining. Think of it like putting your finger over a straw — the water won’t flow until air can get in from the top

Run the hose from the drain valve to a bucket, then open the valve. This water this water can be dangerously hot, usually between 120-140°F, so use caution and allow it to cool before handling. It is best to have several water containers at the ready as, again, you have about 30 gallons or so of water to drain. You don’t have to drain it all at once but that might be ideal, depending on the circumstances.

As you get the last of the water out, you may notice some sediment. This stuff isn’t going to harm you, it is merely mineral deposits. Just let it settle to the bottom of your bucket and then run it through a water filtering system, like a Berkey or even pour it over something like a coffee filter to remove the sediment.

If the water doesn’t come from a potable source, it must be purified. Do not consume any water or liquid that has a very unusual odor or color. 

Take The Guesswork Out Of Water Storage

When Hurricane Harvey devasted our small city, we couldn’t deliver cases of water fast enough on those hot summer days to people in need. When you don’t have instant, easy access to the most necessary survival, you get worried, fast!

That’s why I created my online course “Survival Begins With Water” — because it does! I’ve created worksheets, tutorials, reviews of water filters, and more. Every question you have about water storage is answered in this one online course.

How should you store water?

When it comes to water storage, two primary options are commercially bottled water and food-grade containers.

Commercially bottled water

One of the easiest options is buying bottled water. It requires doing a little bit of math to figure out how many bottles you need, but generally about 8 bottles of water equal one gallon. If there are four people in your family, you’ll need at least 32 bottles of water per day. Cases usually have 24 bottles for a few dollars. For a basic week’s worth of water, you’d need just under 10 cases. Double that if you want 2 gallons a day per person.

I love having several cases of bottled water on hand because they will always get used, whether I pack a case for a road trip or bring a case of water bottles to my son’s baseball practice, they’re inexpensive, easy to store, and add a layer of extra water for emergencies.

Food grade containers

If you want to store water in containers, make sure they are food grade containers. Two-liter soda bottles are another option. Glass containers can be used, but are heavy and can break. WaterBricks are a great long term water storage container option, but pricey compared others. Milk and juice jugs are not recommended for use because the sugars and milk proteins cannot be completely washed off the containers and can lead to bacterial growth.

Containers should be thoroughly cleaned before being filled. You can sanitize containers by soaking them for at least 30 seconds in a mixture that is 1 teaspoon bleach in 1 quart of water.

Water stored in containers may need to be treated by adding some bleach before storage. Learn more about water purification options here.

Expert tips

You don’t spend all your time at home so be sure to store water at work and in your vehicles as well. I always have a case of water in our minivan as part of my vehicle emergency kit, and, with little children, it has come in handy for everyday life, not just traffic jams and emergencies.

During long power outages, you might not have running water at home because city water systems could stop working. It’s important to save every drop of water, so store containers for washing and cleaning. If you’re in a rural area, think about collecting rainwater in big barrels or larger containers for a longer-term water solution. Also, consider buying a water purifier that you can use many times instead of tablets or bleach that will run out faster.

How often should you rotate?

Proper rotation of stored water involves swapping out both water and bleach supplies.

Water

For commercial water bottles, rotate them by the expiration or use-by date. This is primarily due to the type of plastic used. The plastic used for easily crushable water bottles can become brittle over time, but the plastic used for brands like Fiji and Dasani is a better quality PET plastic. These have a longer storage life.

Water itself doesn’t go bad, so there’s no hard and fast rule for its shelf life or how often it should be rotated. If it’s stored in a clean container and in a dark location, it will remain safe to drink. Just keep an eye on any type of contamination, such as algae or if you have any concerns about the container or storage conditions.

Keep scent-free, dye-free bleach on hand for treating, sanitizing and purifying water. (Basically, you don’t want any additives in the bleach that could end up in your drinking water.) Bleach has a shelf life and starts to break down after six months. It needs to be replaced every 16 months. Rotate your bleach bottles frequently to ensure you have effective bleach on hand. I recommend buying the smallest-sized bottle of bleach, and then after 12-16 months, use it in laundry or for cleaning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Water Storage Content

• All About Water Purification
• Collecting Rainwater in Rural Areas
• The WaterBrick
• Harvesting Water in Urban and Suburban Areas

Final Thoughts

Water is essential for survival. This guide emphasizes the importance of every family storing water for emergencies. It covers the basics of water storage, including quantity, storage methods, rotation schedules, and last-minute preparations, to ensure you have this vital resource, and plenty of it, stored for your family.