Calculate emergency water supply per person - prepper calculator for crisis preparedness.

Water is essential for life and more important than food. Calculate with our prepper calculator your required water emergency supply per person.

from Martin Gebhardt | Prepping | reading time 2 Min
Updated on 14 March 2024 71.221 views 95% found this guide helpful
Calculate emergency water supply per person - prepper calculator for crisis preparedness.

Martin Gebhardt

From Martin Gebhardt. Check out my “About me” page.


👉 The key facts from this guide

  • Water is essential to life and more important than food. Therefore, you should store the right amount of water. Our practical calculator can help you determine the required emergency water supply for your family.
  • The recommended amounts of water per day are: Drinking water: 1.5 liters per person, Hygiene: 0.5 liters per person, Cooking: 0.5 liters per person. These amounts are an absolute minimum for survival.
  • It is advisable to prepare for 30 days and more. Start slowly so that you can bridge 3 days. Then gradually increase until you reach 10 days. From there, work your way up to 30 days.
  • Storing your water should always be in a dark and cool place. Under the right conditions, your water can be stored in containers for at least 6 months and up to 1 year or longer.
  • If you would rather not take water from your tap, then buy normal water bottles and transfer the water into containers. The water bottles from the supermarket almost all contain plasticizers in the plastic, which are harmful to your health.

Water is essential for life and more important than food.

It is therefore essential that you store the right amount of water.

Use my practical calculator to determine how much emergency water supply your family should have.

Calculate your required water supply for a crisis

Simply use the slider and enter all the data, and you will receive the recommended amount.

How much water is necessary per person?

The website bbk.bund.de and most other reputable sources recommend storing approximately the following amounts of water per day:

  • Drinking water: 1.5 liters per person
  • Hygiene: 0.5 liters per person
  • Cooking: 0.5 liters per person

Kindly note that these amounts are an absolute minimum for survival. Most German households consume approximately 217 liters of water per day (source).

Therefore, 4 liters per person per day is better for drinking, hygiene, and cooking. In the summer, for example, you will consume more water than in the winter. If you work hard, your body will also demand more water.

In addition, older people consume more water per day (approximately 2 liters of drinking water). Younger people, such as children up to 12 years old, consume approximately 1 liter per day.

I recommend preparing for 30 days or more. Start slowly so that you can bridge 3 days. Then work your way up to 10 days. From there, work your way up to 30 days. At the end, your emergency water supply is stored.

Here is my recommendation for storage: Surecan SUR5SU1 Camping Portable Water Station Water Utility Tank with Spigot, White or take a look at these water tanks.

And here is my recommendation for water purification: Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets, Portable and Effective Water Purification or look at these water purifier tablets.

If you would rather not use the water from your tap, then buy regular water bottles and transfer the water to containers. But why transfer?

The water bottles from the supermarket almost all contain plasticizers in the plastic that are harmful to health. The expiration date applies not to the water, but to the plastic packaging. After a few months, the plastic bottles are very likely to release these dangerous plasticizers into the water.

However, purchased full water bottles are also okay if nothing else is possible, as they are sterilized and last just as long as bottled water in containers.

Important for storage: Always store your water in a dark and cool place.

If you do so, your water in containers will last at least 6 months and can be safely stored for up to 1 year or even longer under the right conditions. How long your water will really last depends on several factors, which I have described in the guide "How long can water be stored before it goes bad?".

And you are aware that water is only ONE component of your storage. You can find the entire prepper list with PDF checklist in my article "Prepper List: Everything you need to survive (+PDF)". And in my article on the storage calculator, you can calculate your food supply.


How do you like the calculator?

Do you have an idea of how much water you need to store now?

Take care, Martin
Martin Gebhardt

Author of the guide


Martin Gebhardt

Hey, I'm Martin. On my blog, you will learn the basics and numerous details about living in the wild. I think survival, bushcraft and the good life in nature are the keys to happiness. Find me here on Instagram or on YouTube. You can find more about my mission on the About Me page.

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