Daily living · Daily energy, water and household budgets · living-7

Budget water day to day

Know how many days of water are in your tanks and adjust use before it becomes urgent. Read tank levels at the same time as the battery.

How

Read tank level gauges daily and log them. If you have no gauge, mark a dipstick in litres for your tank.
For context, WHO links about 20 litres per person per day to basic access with high health concern, about 50 litres to intermediate access and 100 litres or more to optimal access. Measure your own use rather than assuming a figure.
Use the water days remaining calculator below every week, and every day in dry spells.
Set three trigger levels with the household: normal, careful (shorter showers, no garden watering from potable tank) and emergency (drinking, cooking and hygiene only).
Keep an emergency reserve of drinking water. Ready.gov advises at least about 3.8 litres (1 US gallon) per person per day for several days, and notes needs can double in very hot weather.
Rotate self-filled stored drinking water every six months, as Ready.gov advises, in food-grade containers cleaned and sanitised before filling.
Separate water quality from quantity: the water module covers treatment and testing.

Safety: Only drink water that has been treated and tested as the water module describes.

Determine Water Needs. Ready.gov (US FEMA), accessed 2026-11
Build a Kit. Ready.gov (US FEMA), accessed 2026-11
Domestic water quantity, service level and health (infographic). World Health Organization, accessed 2026-11