How Much Water Should You Store For Your Family

How much water should you store for your family? I know I have mentioned many times before how much water we all need to store, but sometimes we need a little reminder to fill those empty water jugs sitting on the shelves that we may have purchased. You know the ones that we keep saying, “Oh yeah, I need to fill those.” I totally get it.

As I’ve said many times before, I recommend 4 gallons of water per person per day. One of the easiest ways to store water is to buy one WaterBrick for each member of the family, this equals one day’s worth of water for one person. They are 3.5 gallons (not the 4 gallons I recommend) but it’s easy to plan using these and I will explain how below.

The WaterBricks that are 3.5 gallons are very close to 4 gallons and so easy to calculate how many you need. Let’s say you have four people in your family and you want to store, give or take, 4 gallons per person per day. We need water to hydrate ourselves, water to cook meals, wash dishes, and for personal hygiene. I realize there may be several scenarios, but here’s the deal, I would rather have excess water than have less water than my family needs.

How Much Water Should You Store

WaterBricks:

Remember, always store all containers on 2 by 4’s to keep them off the concrete, you don’t want them absorbing unsafe chemicals.

WaterBrick 1833-0001 Stackable Water and Food Storage Container, 3.5 gals of Liquid, 27 lb of Dry Food Products, Blue

Here’s the approximate calculation for SEVEN days using 3.5 gallons instead of four gallons:

• One person=Seven 3.5-gallon Waterbricks
• Two people=Fourteen 3.5-gallon WaterBricks
• Three people=Twenty one 3.5-gallon Waterbricks
• Four people: Twenty-Eight 3.5-gallon WaterBricks

Pros: stackable, spout accessory optional, handles that are easy to carry

Cons: somewhat pricey

55-Gallon Water Barrels:

Augason Farms Emergency Water Storage Supply Kit You may be able to purchase these locally if not, this is a good company and it has everything you need. Remember always to store all containers on 2 by 4’s to keep them off the concrete, you don’t want them absorbing unsafe chemicals.

I just saw these barrels for sale at a local grocery store for $39.99.  You still need the pump and a bung to tighten the cap, but this is a great price. I have seen them at Walmart for the same price. You may be able to order them online and have them shipped to the store near you.

A family of four using 4 gallons per day per person would use just a little less than one 55-gallon barrel in THREE days. I would rather plan for more water than have less than needed. Just remember to get a pump for the barrel and a bung to open the cap on top.

• If you want to plan on one-gallon person per day then you would have enough water for 55 days.
• If you want to plan on one-gallon person per day for two people then you would have enough water for 27.5 days.
• If you want to plan on one-gallon person per day for three people then you would have enough water for 18.33 days.
• If you want to plan on one-gallon person per day for four people then you would have enough water for 13.75 days.

Pros: fairly cheap

Cons: hard to pump out the water, and hard to store the large containers

Blue Cans:

The cans are 12 ounces and the cases hold 24 cans which equals 2.25 gallons per box. They are expensive because they have the best water that lasts 50 years, even at 145 degrees. I call my cases my “set and forget” water. Yes, they are expensive, but it’s worth it to me to have some of this long-lasting and convenient-to-use approach to water storage. They are cheaper if you live where you can pick them up rather than having them shipped. Here are the locations and the website Blue Water Cans They need zero water purifier or preserver.

As of today, the cheapest place to buy these is at Brownell’s. Sign up for their emails and you can watch for the sales or reduced shipping costs.

Remember always to store all containers on 2 by 4’s to keep them off the concrete, you don’t want them absorbing unsafe chemicals.

Pros: Long shelf life, easy to stack, can store up to 145 degrees

Cons: expensive

One Gallon Jugs:

If you store water in one-gallon containers this is quite easy to calculate. With this scenario, you can take the days desired and multiply the gallons needed.

• If you want to plan on one-gallon person per day then you would have enough water for one day.
• If you want to plan on one-gallon person per day for three days you will need three one-gallon jugs.
• If you want to plan on one-gallon person per day for seven days then you will need seven one-gallon jugs.
• If you want to plan on one-gallon person per day for thirty days you will need thirty one-gallon jugs.

Remember always to store all containers on 2 by 4’s to keep them off the concrete, you don’t want them absorbing unsafe chemicals.

Pros: practically free, if you reuse your water or milk jugs (please note I do not recommend these, but if this is what budget warrants, store the water where they will not damage the floor when or if they leak). You can use this water for personal hygiene or wash your laundry when needed.

Cons: short shelf life, they can crack, hard to really clean

Stay Hydrated Service Project

I saw something on the TV about the heat this summer and asking people to share a bottle or two with the homeless families living in our community. My granddaughter mentioned she had just participated in a program at her school that was a service project where the kids took one-gallon baggies and filled them.

We all need a minimum amount of one gallon of water per person per day. I recommend four gallons per person per day, but this was a humanitarian project. One gallon baggie for each homeless person was filled with the items listed below. The group drove around with the director to find some homeless people to hand out the bags to as many people as possible. It’s not quite the one-gallon per person, but they can hopefully refill the bottle to keep themselves hydrated.

This is what they put in the bags:

Bottle of water

Fruit cups

Granola bars

Toothbrush and toothpaste

Comb

Small package of tissues

Mints and gum

A card typed with addresses to different homeless shelters, animal shelters, and hospitals

What a great idea to teach the youth to help others in need.

Final Word

I think sometimes we just need a little reminder to get prepared for the unexpected. Here’s the deal, this is why I wrote this post, how much water do you need to store for your family? You can do this, my friends, store some water today, yes today. Just do it, you can thank me later. Linda

American Red Cross