One of the most common questions I get from folks who don't live on a large property in a rural area is how to store a lot of water for a long-term emergency. First, let me give you a harsh reality check. If the crisis goes on long enough you will run out of stored water. So this is only a portion of your water preparedness plan. You also need to know how to acquire and filter more water. But that's beyond the purview of this article.

Let's talk about how to store a lot of water in a smaller space and how much water you need.

How much water do you need for emergencies?

There's a "rule" that preppers often quote that suggests you need one gallon of water per person and pet per day in the event of emergencies. That is a decent basic guideline but there are other variables to consider too. Some pets, for example, certainly aren't going to require an entire gallon of water while larger livestock will need more than a gallon on hot days.

This amount doesn't take into consideration things like the climate, whether people will be doing strenuous work, or if certain health conditions are in play. It also doesn't cover the water you'd need for personal hygiene, sanitation, or your garden. The best way to calculate how much water you truly need is to go without running water for a weekend and jot down every drop you use from your stash.

For more information on calculating how much water you'll need for emergencies, check out this article and this one.

How to store a lot of water

Below, find some options for storing a significant amount of water.

Water Barrels

I live in an apartment building as of the writing of this article, and there isn't a whole lot of extra space for water storage. I purchased a 65-gallon food-safe barrel for $15 from a lady on Facebook Marketplace. The barrel had initially held pickles long ago but she'd used it in her garden to collect rainwater for quite some time, so by the time it got to me, any residual pickle-y smell was long gone.