Food Storage, Part 2 - Water

So now you have a plan to amass a year's supply and eat high on the hog while your doubting neighbors eat dirt and tin can soup.  But unless you've included water in that plan, you'll only last 3 days after the water is cut off and they find you choked on dry lima beans and ground red wheat.  Water storage can be challenging, so planning ahead is important.  Consider these points about your family's water needs:

1. Drinking/bathing water: 2 adults and 3 children. -- Needs: 14 gallons per person for a 2 week emergency situation plus additional water for an extended situation or to help out others. Solution: buy two 5-gallon and 4 15-gallon water jugs, which can be easily transported, and a 55-gallon drum to refill. All can be stored in the garage. Treat water with 5 drops of bleach per gallon (or iodine, potable water tablets, etc.).
2. Emergency back-up water sources: -- Needs: Find out what the community will do in the event of loss of water supply in an emergency (i.e. water trucks, wells). Alternative solution: If this appears shaky, consider investing in water purification equipment.
3. Water conservation: discuss water conservation in our next family home evening. -- Message: avoid wasting water by not letting sinks run, not flushing toilets excessively (yellow = keep it mellow, brown = flush it down), not watering lawns during the heat of the day (or at all if you can help it), reusing grey water to water plants and gardens.

Work on this, or a similar list until you have it completed. You now have a plan in place for one of life's most precious commodities and your family is better prepared for a disaster. This site here has more detailed information on water storage specifically.