Emergency Water Storage Guide

You can survive weeks without food. You can't survive 3 days without water. Of all the things you can do to prepare, water storage has the highest impact-to-effort ratio.

How Much Water Do You Need?

1 gallon per person per day

Drinking (½ gallon) + sanitation (½ gallon)

Household Size	3-Day Min	7-Day Goal	14-Day Ideal
1 person	3 gal	7 gal	14 gal
2 people	6 gal	14 gal	28 gal
4 people	12 gal	28 gal	56 gal
+ pets	Add ½ gal/day per large pet

Increase by 50% in hot climates, for nursing mothers, or for illness.

Storage Methods by Living Situation

🏢 Apartment / Small Space

• Stackable 5-gallon jugs — fit in closets, under beds, behind furniture
• Commercially bottled water — cases stacked in closets, 1-2 year shelf life
• WaterBOB ($35) — fills your bathtub with 100 gallons when you get a warning
• Total space needed: about 2 cubic feet per person per week

🏠 House with Garage/Basement

• 55-gallon drums — food-grade, BPA-free. One drum serves a family of 4 for 2 weeks of drinking water
• Stackable 7-gallon containers — more manageable weight (58 lbs vs 458 lbs)
• Keep off concrete floors — use a pallet or boards to prevent chemical leaching
• Away from sunlight — cool, dark storage extends life indefinitely

Water Purification Backup

Storage is primary. Purification is backup. Both matter.

Rotation Schedule

6 mo Commercially bottled water — replace or use in cooking 1 yr Self-stored tap water in food-grade containers — drain, clean, refill 5 yr Commercially sealed water in opaque containers — inspect for algae/taste ∞ Properly stored water in sealed, food-grade containers away from light — technically indefinite

Water Is Day 1. What About Days 2-30?

The Emergency Preparedness Essentials guide covers water, food, power, communication, and documents — all in a structured daily plan you can finish in 30 days.

See the Complete System — $29 →

Water is boring until you don't have it.
Then it's the only thing that matters.