How to Store Emergency Drinking Water at Home (UK): How Much, How Long and What Containers

Taps running dry isn’t just a storm problem. Between November 2025 and January 2026, up to 70,000 homes supplied by South East Water in Kent and Sussex were left without water during a series of supply failures, ITV News reported, and the company has since agreed a £30.5 million redress package with Ofwat. Burst mains, freezing weather and power cuts can all cut supplies. Here’s how much water to keep, how to store it, and what your water company has to do when supplies fail.

How much water to store

The government’s Be Ready campaign says to have “bottled water for 3 days”, with “3 litres per person per day for drinking”, and adds: “More would be needed for other tasks such as cooking and washing.”

Then add extra for:

• Pets. The government’s kit list includes “pet food and bottled water”.
• Babies. Be Ready suggests keeping ready-made or “ready-to-feed” formula, because you “may not be able to boil water”.
• Medical devices that need water.
• Flushing the toilet and washing. This doesn’t need to be drinking water.

Bottled water vs filling your own containers

Bottled water

This is the easiest option and the one the government recommends. Buy multipacks of sealed bottles and keep them in their wrapping. Bottled water has a best before date, and GOV.UK explains that best before dates “relate to quality” rather than safety. Even so, it’s easiest to rotate it: use the oldest packs in everyday life and replace them, so your stock is always in date.

Tap water in your own containers

UK water companies’ advice for storing tap water is short-term. Northern Ireland Water says water kept in the fridge “needs to be changed every day, or used within 24 hours”, and South West Water says to keep it “in the fridge in a covered container” and replace it every day. We couldn’t find a UK water company or regulator recommending long-term storage of tap water at home.

So use your own containers when you know an outage is coming, such as planned works, a freezing forecast or a storm warning. Fill them with fresh tap water just before, keep them covered, and use them within a day or so. For anything longer, rely on sealed bottled water.

Where and how to store it

• Cool and dark. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ power-outage advice says to “store your water in a cool, dark place”.
• Clean, food-grade containers only. The same advice says not to use “a container that used to hold chemicals such as fuel or paint”.
• Away from chemicals like garage solvents, and not in direct sun.
• Spread it out. Large bottles are heavy, so a few smaller packs are easier to move than one huge drum.

Never drink water from a water butt

The government’s advice on water outages is clear: don’t drink water from a water butt, as it “could contain bacteria or disease”. Use it for flushing toilets or watering plants instead. For other alternative water sources in an emergency, it says boiling or purification tablets “can help make it safer to drink”, but most will need filtering first, and you should follow the instructions on the tablet label.

What your water company does when the taps run dry

• Bottled water stations. Thames Water, for example, says it sets up bottled water stations if supply isn’t restored within 12 hours, and each customer receives two packs of six 2-litre bottles.
• Deliveries for vulnerable customers. Be Ready says that if you’re on the Priority Services Register, “your water company will arrange alternative supplies for you”. Contact your water company to join; it’s free.
• Boil water notices. If there’s a risk to water quality, the Drinking Water Inspectorate says you may be told to boil water before using it. Bring it to a rolling boil, let it cool naturally, and store any boiled water in a clean container in the fridge, throwing it away if it’s not used within 24 hours.

Compensation for supply interruptions

Under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme, consumer body CCW says that in England:

• For planned work, your water company must give at least 48 hours’ notice, or pay £50.
• If your supply isn’t restored by the time the company said (or within 12 hours of an emergency burst main), it must pay £50, plus £50 for each further full 12 hours, up to a cap.

In Wales, the amounts are lower: £20 if you don’t get 24 hours’ notice of planned work, and £20 plus £10 for each further 24 hours if supply isn’t restored on time.

The kit worth buying

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• GOV.UK — Be ready for emergencies and Water supply interruptions or outages
• GOV.UK — UK CMOs: water and sanitation advice during a power outage
• GOV.UK — Best before and use by dates
• Drinking Water Inspectorate — Receiving a boil water notice
• Northern Ireland Water — Keep a jug of water in the fridge
• South West Water — Maintaining the quality of water in your property (PDF)
• Thames Water — What happens during an incident
• Southern Water — What happens when there’s an incident
• CCW — What standards are guaranteed by water and sewerage companies?
• ITV News — South East Water to pay £30.5 million after repeated supply failures
• Jay’s Sporting Goods — Reliance Aqua-Tainer 4 gallon
• Colapz — Collapsible 2-in-1 water carrier and bucket, 8L
• LifeStraw — LifeStraw Personal

Related reading: our storm-proofing guide, how to thaw a frozen condensate pipe and will winter 2026/27 be the coldest for years?