Stored Water
Every jug, barrel and tank, how many days it lasts your household, and a reminder when it’s time to rotate.
See Your Water →Water Storage
Log every jug, barrel and tank, see how many days of drinking water your household has, and get a reminder when it’s time to rotate.
Rain and Bleach Calculators
How much rain your roof can catch, and exactly how much bleach makes stored water safe to drink.
Open the Calculators →Your free Water Storage Tracker
Keep your records in one private place — free for every registered member. Only you can see your data, and you can download it any time.
Water calculators
Rain from your roof
Each inch of rain on each square foot of roof is about 0.62 gallons. Rainwater is fine for animals and the garden; to drink it, filter and disinfect it first, and check your state’s rules on collecting rain.
Purify with bleach
From the EPA’s emergency guidance. Use plain unscented household bleach — not scented, color-safe or with cleaners added. Stir, wait 30 minutes; it should smell slightly of chlorine. If not, repeat once and wait 15 minutes more. Boiling is better if you can: a rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes above 6,500 feet).
Storing water
- How much: at least 1 gallon a person a day; Ready.gov suggests a 3-day supply at the least and 2 weeks if you can. More in hot weather, and for nursing mothers, children and anyone sick.
- Containers: food-grade plastic jugs, drums or totes (marked HDPE #2), or unopened bottled water. Never containers that held chemicals, and avoid milk jugs — they break down and are hard to clean.
- Where: cool and dark, off bare concrete, away from gasoline, paint and pesticides.
- Rotate: tap water you bottle yourself about every 6 months; sealed commercial water by its date. Use the old water on the garden.
Making water safe
- Boil: a rolling boil for 1 minute (3 minutes above 6,500 feet). Let it cool covered.
- Bleach: 8 drops of regular 6% unscented bleach per gallon of clear water (6 drops of 8.25%), double for cloudy water, wait 30 minutes. Use the calculator for larger amounts.
- Filters: a filter rated to remove bacteria and protozoa, then disinfect if viruses are a concern.
- Bleach and boiling do not remove chemicals, fuel or heavy metals. Floodwater and water that smells of fuel should not be drunk.
“Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” — John 4:14