How Much Water to Store Per Person: A Family Guide
How many gallons of water to keep per person per day, where to store them, when to swap them out and what to do if you doubt your tap water.
Nearly every preparedness guide starts with water, and it isn't just habit. Canned food can wait a couple of days; safe water can't. The math, at least, is short: one gallon per person per day, about 3.8 liters.
The number the manuals use
Ready.gov, the FEMA-run site, says to keep at least one gallon per person per day for a minimum of three days. That gallon isn't only for drinking. It also covers washing your hands and a bit of cooking. If you have room, aim for two weeks, since after a big disaster services can take a long time to come back.
I put the multiplication in a table so you don't have to:
| People | 3 days | 7 days | 14 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 gal (11 L) | 7 gal (26 L) | 14 gal (53 L) |
| 2 | 6 gal (23 L) | 14 gal (53 L) | 28 gal (106 L) |
| 4 | 12 gal (45 L) | 28 gal (106 L) | 56 gal (212 L) |
| 6 | 18 gal (68 L) | 42 gal (159 L) | 84 gal (318 L) |
To get a feel for it: a 5-gallon jug lasts one person five days, but a family of four goes through it in a little over one. People who buy "one jug just in case" often end up short without realizing it.
When a gallon isn't enough
A gallon is a floor, not a ceiling. Young children, nursing mothers, people who are sick and anyone in a hot climate need more, and in extreme heat the need can double. Pets drink too, so count them. And if someone at home follows a medical treatment that calls for extra fluids, plan around that instead of the average.
Where to keep it
Sealed commercial jugs or food-grade plastic bottles are the easy choice. A full 5-gallon jug weighs about 40 pounds, so think twice before putting one on a high shelf. Skip milk cartons and glass, which break or break down, and keep the water away from gasoline, solvents and pesticides, because their fumes can pass through plastic. Any cool, dark corner works.
If you fill containers yourself, wash them with soap and sanitize with a teaspoon of unscented bleach per quart of water. Write the date on the cap and swap the water every six months. Sealed store-bought water follows the date printed on the bottle.
If you don't trust the tap
Bring it to a rolling boil for one minute and let it cool. If you can't boil and the water looks clear, Ready.gov accepts eight drops of unscented bleach per gallon, stirred and left to sit. Cloudy water should be strained through a clean cloth first. The bleach amounts and what a filter won't fix are in the guide to making water safe at home.
Fill it up gradually
The self-reliance guidance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints talks about starting with a small supply, building it up over time and not going into debt to do it. That works better in practice than one big purchase: an extra bottle or two each week and in two months you have a week's worth.
So the date doesn't get lost
A water reserve fails when nobody remembers how long it has been sitting there. In Despendo you can log your jugs like any other pantry item, with quantity and a swap date, and if you enter your family in the family profile the app works out how many days your supplies cover. The Telegram bot sends a heads-up when something is about to expire.
Sources and further reading
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By subscribing you accept our privacy policy.Despendo is an independent app. This guide is general information: adapt it to your family, climate and medical needs, and always follow local authorities' instructions.
