Store and rotate emergency drinking water
Stored water covers the gap when pumps, power or treatment fail. Keep it in clean, food-grade containers, label it and rotate it.
How
- Store at least 1 US gallon (3.8 L) per person per day (Ready.gov). For longer outages, plan towards Sphere's 15 L per person per day, which includes cooking and hygiene.
- In extreme heat or with sick people, Sphere targets up to 20 L per person per day.
- Use commercially bottled water in its sealed container, or fill food-grade containers yourself (Ready.gov). Sweden's MCF also advises keeping bottles or cans filled with water.
- Clean self-filled containers with dish soap, then rinse with 1 teaspoon of unscented bleach in 1 quart (about 1 L) of water (Ready.gov).
- Replace self-filled water every 6 months (Ready.gov). Write the fill date on each container.
- Keep stored water cool. Legionella bacteria multiply between 20 and 45 °C (HSE).
- Work out how many days your store lasts with the water-days calculator in the living module.
Safety: Never store drinking water in containers that have held fuel, chemicals or pesticides.
Do these first
Sources
- Water (emergency water storage). Ready.gov, US Federal Emergency Management Agency, accessed 2026-11
- Sphere Handbook, Water supply standard 1: access and water quantity (interactive edition). Sphere Association, accessed 2026-11
- Basics of home emergency preparedness. Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MCF), accessed 2026-11
- Managing legionella in hot and cold water systems. UK Health and Safety Executive, accessed 2026-11