Your Own Home Store: Water Storage

The human body can survive for weeks without food, but it cannot survive very long without water. The recommended amount of water you should have stored in order to survive a 2 week period if your water supply was cut off is 14 gallons per person.

1 person family: 14 gallons
2 person family: 28 gallons
4 person family: 56 gallons
5 person family: 70 gallons
6 person family (ME!): 86 gallons
10 person family: 140 gallons

This would only provide for your basic survival needs. It is only 1 gallon per person per day. When you think of all the ways in which you use water each day: washing your hands, flushing the toilet, brushing your teeth, cooking, doing dishes, laundry, showers etc, you realize that 1 gallon a day isn't much at all. If you can, you should store more and/or purchase a water purification system.

Here are a few tips:

If storing water outside, make sure to store it in opaque containers (such as the blue 55 gallon drums) so no light can get in.
Store water in containers in a variety of sizes. For example, large drums work well unless you have to leave your home. 16.9 oz water bottles work well unless you need a sink full of water to bathe or wash dishes in.
If you do store water in large drums, make sure you store a siphon so you can effectively get the water out.
If storing water inside, you can use soda, gatorade, or juice bottles (not the refrigerated kind) etc as long as they aren't exposed to light.
Make sure all used containers are very well cleaned before storing drinking water in them.
Do not store water containers directly on cement.
As an extra precaution add 1/8 tsp bleach to every gallon of water you store. This will keep the water safe to drink for 6 months - 1 year.
If you are concerned about the taste of bleach treated water (especially if you have kids), store powdered drink mixes to help mask that taste.
If you do not want to treat your water with bleach, be sure you rotate it every six months.
Clearly label all containers "drinking water."
Even if treated with bleach, try to rotate your stored drinking water every 6-18 months.
Store a water filter so that if your stored water is contaminated for any reason (or you haven't been able to rotate it), you will still be able to use it.
When storing water for cleaning purposes, it can be stored in old cleaning/laundry/soap bottles (don't rinse them out) and will be ready to use. Just make sure you mark it as cleaning water so that no one drinks it.
Keep all water away from stored gasoline, kerosene, pesticides, or similar substances.
It can be a good idea to store a few containers of water in the freezer to help keep food frozen should the power go out for a period of time.

Some tips for using your water during an emergency:

If supplies run low, DO NOT ration your water. Drink what you need today (2 quarts for most people, more if extremely hot, pregnant or nursing) and try to find more tomorrow.
Minimize the amount of water you need by reducing activity and staying cool.
If you have not stored enough water, you can usually find 30-60 gallons of water in your water heater (as long as public water is still considered safe). Make sure to treat it with bleach (1/8 tsp per gallon) first!
You can also use the water in the reservoir tank of your toilets (not the bowl) if treated with bleach first.
Canned fruits and vegetable also contain water that you can use to hydrate yourself.

As a supplement to stored water, you can also store water purifiers. These can be taken with you if you need to leave home and can also be used to treat pool water or other public water sources that may have been contaminated.

For more information on water storage and treatment, visit FEMA

Shelf Reliance offers many water storage supplies. Here are a few of my favorites:

Water Boxes: $0.58

These are great in 72 hr kits: especially those that will be carried by kids. They have 5 yr shelf life.

Collapsible 5 gallon water containers: $9.89
Great to use in a 72 hr kit and fill when a water source is found.

Filtration Bottle: $14.99

Filters up to 30 gallons of water. Another awesome addition to a 72 hr kit. No need to mess with a separate filter...just add the water to your bottle and go. I plan to add one of these for each person in my family. They are currently on sale at $14.99 which is 25% off.

Katydyn Combi Microfilter: $138.59

This will filter 13,000 gallons of water. That is A LOT! That would be enough for my family of six to filter 6 gallons of water a day per person for an entire year. It would also be useful if we needed to filter water for others who were less prepared.

Heavy duty 5 gallon water container: $13.85

This is Constructed from HDPE plastic (like the larger drums) and can be stored outside.

55 Gallon Water Container: $69.29

55 Gallon Water Supply Kit: $98.99