Explain emergency water sourcing

A person can survive days without food but only about three without water — which is why a water outage in your home emergency plan (requirement 7e) deserves its own explanation of where safe water actually comes from.

Before an Emergency: Stored Water

The simplest source is water you stored ahead of time. Emergency planners generally recommend at least one gallon per person per day, stored in clean, sealed containers, for drinking and basic hygiene.

During an Emergency: Water Already in Your Home

If a water outage hits without warning, several sources inside a typical home are still usable:

• Water in the pipes — open the highest faucet in the house first to let air in, then drain from the lowest faucet.
• Water heater tanks, drained from the tank’s own spigot.
• Ice cubes already in the freezer.

Avoid water from toilet tanks (not the bowl) only if it hasn’t been chemically treated, and never use water from a bowl, radiator, or waterbed.

Making Questionable Water Safe

Water from an outdoor source — a stream, lake, or rainwater collection — or water you’re unsure about needs treatment before drinking:

• Boiling: bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute (three minutes above 6,500 feet elevation). This kills bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
• Chemical treatment: purification tablets or unscented household bleach (a small measured amount per gallon, per the label’s emergency-use instructions) disinfect water when boiling isn’t possible.
• Filtration: a water filter rated for removing bacteria and protozoa, sometimes combined with chemical treatment for viruses, which most filters don’t remove on their own.