The UK government's Be Ready guidance suggests 3 litres of drinking water per person per day, for three days. That's 9 litres each, and it recommends bottled water.
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That's 18 litres: 2 people × 3 days × 3 litres. That's about 1 container of 20 litres, or 9 two-litre bottles.
Be Ready notes that pets, baby formula and medical devices can need more. Each litre weighs a kilogram, so 20 litres weighs 20 kg.
Be Ready recommends bottled water. It's sealed and dated, and it can be drunk and replaced as it goes. Each brand's label gives its storage: Highland Spring's, for example, says away from direct sunlight and strong smells.
Filling containers from the tap is cheaper. For an announced cut, South West Water suggests filling bottles and containers while the taps still run, ideally that morning.
There's no official UK figure for tap water stored in a sealed container at home. The official figures that exist are short: the Drinking Water Inspectorate says to throw away water kept in a jug in the fridge after 24 hours, and Bristol Water explains why: "Removing the chlorine will mean the water is no longer protected against bacterial growth." The "six months" often quoted online comes from container sellers and prepping sites, not water companies. Container makers give their own intervals: Reliance, for example, says to empty, clean and refill its containers every 90 days.
Until its best-before date, stored as the label says. The government's food-labelling guidance says best-before dates "relate to quality" and use-by dates to safety. While the mains is off, Be Ready suggests keeping bottled water solely for drinking, washing hands and preparing food.
More in water containers: with a tap, or collapsible.
Bottled-water labels and container makers' care notes give the storage conditions, typically cool and dark, out of sunlight. Bottled water carries a best-before date; household-filled containers have the maker's replacement interval. The British Red Cross suggests checking an emergency kit regularly.
A boil-water notice means germs may have got into the supply. The Drinking Water Inspectorate's guidance is to boil tap water for drinking, cleaning teeth, ice, food, feeding equipment and pets; to bring it to a rolling boil and let it cool naturally; and to keep it in a clean container in the fridge, using it within 24 hours. It says showers, baths, laundry and flushing carry on as normal. Your water company's notice may add its own instructions.
A "do not drink" or "do not use" notice is different: UKHSA notes that boiling doesn't remove chemicals, and the company provides bottled or tanker water.
Be Ready names ready-to-feed formula as the best option in an emergency. For powdered formula, the NHS guide covers making it up.
Prices checked 4 November 2026. Specs are from the makers' and shops' listings.
A drum that rolls along the ground on its own body, so you can move 40 litres without lifting it. Hitchman says Aquarolls are made from "certified food grade materials", and the shop calls it a food-grade container, though Parkers advises against storing drinking water in one. Handy for fetching water from a tanker or standpipe. Full, it's for rolling rather than carrying, and pouring from it indoors needs a separate stand and tap.
A tough 20-litre can with a spout that tucks away inside, made of HDPE and BPA-free. It has no tap, so you lift and pour, and full it weighs over 21 kg. The page showed both in stock and out of stock when we checked.
Sold out at Wavian when we checked on 4 November.
A food-grade container with a tap and two handles, so it can sit on a worktop and dispense. Outwell showed it on pre-order, expected in February 2027, when we checked.
These fold flat when empty, so they're good for fetching water from a tanker or standpipe, or for a store where space is tight. They're less sturdy than a rigid can.
A tough fabric bag with a food-grade lining that packs down small when empty. Good for a smaller store, or for carrying water home. The shop had one left when we checked.
A cheap expanding carrier with a tap. The listing says BPA-free, but we couldn't find a food-grade or drinking-water statement, so it suits washing and flushing water unless the packaging says otherwise.
A low-cost folding carrier with a tap in the lid. The shop describes it as food-grade polyurethane. Useful as a spare for collecting water from a standpipe.
Water for the garden and the toilet is a separate job: see water butts.