Water Storage

Water is an essential element to survival and a necessary item in an emergency supplies kit. Following a disaster, clean drinking water may not be available. Your regular water source could be cut-off or compromised through contamination. Prepare yourself by building a supply of water that will meet your family’s needs during an emergency.

A common recommendation is that you should store one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation. A medical emergency might require additional water. If you live in a warm weather climate more water may be necessary. In very hot temperatures, water needs can double. Don’t forget to include your pets and livestock when calculating how much water you will need during an emergency.

There are other things that you may need water for during an emergency. For example, it takes 1.5 to 2-gallons of water to flush a toilet. When there is no water coming into your home you can still flush your toilet by pouring water into the bowl, or by filling the tank and flushing as normal. If you plan to use your toilet during an emergency, be sure to have a water supply with which to flush it.

The most basic water storage is a 5 - 7-gallon container, such as the Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Rigid Water Container. Larger storage containers such as a 35-Gallon Water Tank, or the Augason Farms 55-gallon Emergency Water Storage Kit are available to increase your water storage at home. Even when storing water in larger containers, I recommend that you have at least one 5 - 7-gallon container of water per person to allow a small supply of water to be carried with you if you are forced to evacuate your home.

35-Gallon Water Tank

A US gallon of water weighs about 3.78 kilograms or 8.34 pounds at 62 °F (17 °C). A 55-gallon barrel of water weighs about 209 kilograms or 459 pounds. So, be sure that wherever you are storing your water can support the increase in weight. Even a 7-gallon container of water weighs 26 kilograms (60 pounds), so you are not going to carry this if you have to evacuate on foot, but it is reasonable to add a 7-gallon container of water to your vehicle if you are able to drive out of the evacuation area.

When storing water, it is good to use household chlorine bleach to disinfect water from any questionable source. Store a bottle of unscented liquid household chlorine bleach (label should say it contains 8.25% of sodium hypochlorite) to disinfect your water, if necessary, and to use for general cleaning and sanitizing.

Add a container of water to your preparedness supplies today. It’s simple to do, but an essential if your regular supply of water becomes unavailable or contaminated.

Augason Farms 55-gallon Emergency Water Storage Kit