The human body requires a minimum of one quart of water per day just to sustain life. A healthier recommendation is drinking two quarts of water each day. In addition to drinking water, your water storage plan should also consider the following:
- It is important to store enough water to take care of personal hygiene and sanitation. Staying clean reduces the spread of disease, keeps our skin healthy, and just makes us feel better. Washing dishes and sanitizing surfaces are especially critical when germs are abundant and immune systems are compromised.
- Water for medical and first aid needs is an important consideration. Water may be needed for flushing wounds or other medical procedures. It can take a lot of water to clean up after someone who is vomiting or has diarrhea.
- Food preparation is another use that may be overlooked when calculating water needs. Cooking with freeze-dried or dehydrated foods requires clean water for re-hydration. If you just eat these foods as is, your body will need additional fluids in order to process them appropriately. Cooking with dry grains, beans, and rice requires water to make them edible.
- Pets water needs must also be calculated and included in your water storage plan.
How much water should you store?
The bare minimum suggested amount of water to store is 14 gallons per person based on one gallon per day for two weeks. Many preparedness experts recommend twice that amount. Considering that in an emergency you will be under stress and likely to be working physically, 30 gallons per person may be a better goal.
How to store water
There are many excellent on-line sources of information about how to store water. Here are links to several of them:
The Church – Drinking Water Guidelines
CDC – Creating and Storing an Emergency Water Supply
CDC – Finding Other Water Sources in an Emergency
CDC – Making Water Safe in an Emergency
Provident Prepper Blog – How to Store Water for Emergency Preparedness