How Much Water is Needed Per Person for Emergency Storage?

Recent events around the world have shown that disasters, pandemics, and other emergencies are devastating. These emergencies don’t just affect people in faraway lands, but they can personally affect you. Did you know you can live much longer without food then you can without water? The number one item that we all need in an emergency is water.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that each person should have at least one gallon of water per day in storage. You should store a minimum of three days’ worth of water with a goal of two weeks’ worth, if possible.  This recommended amount of water is only for survival. Pregnant women, those with certain medical conditions, and those living in a hot climate should store more than the single gallon a day recommendation. The CDC suggests that half a gallon is for drinking and the other half is for hygiene. 

For more comfortable survival, we recommend that you keep three gallons of water per person per day on hand. This will allow you to have enough for drinking, hygiene, sanitation (flushing toilets, etc.), and cooking. We recommend at least a one-month supply. 

How you should store water is a complete topic in itself. We recommend waterbricks for the personal 72 – hour emergency or if you have to move your’ water. For the stationary water storage supply we suggest WaterPrepared’s 55-gallon or 160-gallon stackable tanks.