Water. One little two syllable word that is life. There are many things that we can go without for surprisingly extended periods of time, but one of them is NOT water. It cannot be argued that water is essential to our lives, and therefore should be a priority in any family's emergency preparedness plan. Don't have a plan? Well, here is a perfect place to start.

First we have to determine how much water you need to store. Set a primary goal for a little over the minimum, then set a secondary goal for an enduring emergency situation and work towards that over time. To determine your family's needs for water storage, here is a generally accepted rule of thumb for calculating usage.

One gallon of water, per person, per day. This allows 2 quarts for drinking and 2 quarts for food preparation. Elderly family members, women who are pregnant and hotter climates will require more water, perhaps 50% more will be a good number to set. So, if you are in a hot environment, a good amount would be one and a half (1 1/2) gallons, or 6 quarts, per person, per day. For an example, we'll use a fictional family of 4. A husband, pregnant wife and two kids. We'll call them the Preppertons. The Preppertons should allot the expecting mother 1 1/2 gallons per day and 1 gallon per day for the other 3 family members. We will assume for this example that Mrs. Prepperton is not expecting any time soon. The minimum recommended amount of water to keep on hand is 3 days worth. This would make the Prepperton's minimum emergency water storage 13.5 gallons of water.

Remember, 3 days is the minimum recommended. I think 10 days is a more comfortable goal, and reasonable in that it still would not require an excessive amount of space, would be affordable, and can easily be monitored and rotated as necessary. So 10 days for the Preppertons would mean they need 45 gallons of water. Another reason I like 10 days is because the math is really easy!

Bottled water is probably the best way to go, if you are keeping 10 to 30 days worth on hand. Remember that if you are not using commercially bottled water, to rotate the water out every 6 months. Either use the water within 6 months, or consider not potable.

Always label the water so you don't forget when you got it.

Store in different sized containers, so you can carry water with you if need be.

DO NOT USE:

Containers that do not create a tight seal

Containers that are breakable. (like glass)

Containers that may have contained, at any point, cleaners or chemicals such as bleach.

Containers made from cardboard that were used for milk or juices.

DO USE:

Clearly label all containers, include the date

If water is not commercially bottled, replace it within 6 months

Keep in consistently cool dry place

Keep away from direct sunlight

Keep away from pesticides, fuel and other hazardous materials

Even if your plan involves only using commercially bottled water, it is a good idea to have some chemical tablets, filters or other purification technology immediately available.

Water purification is a very broad topic, so I will cover that separately and in detail in a later article.