Guide, Australia
How much water per person per day in an emergency? The Australian answer
Plan for at least 3 litres of water per person per day. That is the figure on the Get Ready bushfire and flood pages, and for a household of 4 it comes to 36 litres over 3 days.
Last reviewed: 1 November 2026. Get Ready does not say how many days to plan for, so the sums below show 3 days and 7 days and you pick.
We sell packs and gear for this, and we say so up front. Here is how Holdline Provisions chooses: we match the pack to your household and the number of days, and we repeat only what the supplier documents.
The short answer: at least 3 litres per person per day
Start with the Get Ready number and do the multiplication. It is litres per person per day, times people, times days. The table is our arithmetic from that one figure, and it is a minimum, not a comfortable allowance.
| People | 3 days | 7 days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 litres (1 x 3 x 3) | 21 litres (1 x 3 x 7) |
| 2 | 18 litres (2 x 3 x 3) | 42 litres (2 x 3 x 7) |
| 4 | 36 litres (4 x 3 x 3) | 84 litres (4 x 3 x 7) |
| 6 | 54 litres (6 x 3 x 3) | 126 litres (6 x 3 x 7) |
Minimum water to store, from the Get Ready figure of 3 litres per person per day. Get Ready does not say what that water has to cover, so treat the table as the floor and add to it for cooking, washing and hot weather.
What the Australian guidance says
Get Ready: bushfire and flood pages
Get Ready is a Queensland Government resource, part of the Get Ready Queensland program. Its bushfire page and its flood page both list "Water (at least 3 litres per person, per day)" in the emergency kit, next to non-perishable food, a can opener, a battery-operated radio, and a torch with spare batteries. Neither page gives a number of days.
The Queensland emergency pantry list
The Queensland Government pantry list is built for 2 people for 7 days. It puts the bottled water, which it describes as for drinking and food preparation, at 42 litres, or 21 bottles of 2 litres. The page was last updated on 27 February 2017, so read it as a worked example rather than a current rule.
Here is our arithmetic, and it is ours, not the page's: 2 people over 7 days is 14 person-days, and 42 divided by 14 is 3 litres. So the Queensland list quietly uses the same rate as Get Ready.
Other Australian lists
A pantry list hosted on the NSW Health website, written by Emergency Management Australia and dated 2008 in its file details, lists bottled water at 3 litres per person per day. It suggests holding enough supplies to be confined at home for up to 14 days. It is old, so use it as a cross-check on the 3 litres, not as current advice.
The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services emergency document wallet (September 2021) lists "Fresh water for three days (10 litres per person)". At the Get Ready rate, 3 days is 9 litres, so 10 litres is a touch above it. Three sources, one rate, give or take a litre.
None of this is law. It is the best Australian guidance we could open and read.
Why the numbers differ
Different lists cover different jobs. Some count drinking only, some add food preparation, and a few add washing. The Queensland list says its water is for drinking and food preparation. Get Ready does not say.
Three things push the number up. Heat and people come from Ready.gov, the United States government's preparedness site, so that is US guidance and not an Australian rule:
- Heat. Ready.gov says "In very hot temperatures, water needs can double".
- People. It says children, nursing mothers and sick people may need more water.
- Washing. Its figure is for drinking and sanitation together, which is one reason it sits higher than a drinking-only number.
We could not find an official Australian page that puts a number on any of these, so we do not invent one.
Work it out for your household
The calculator on this page does the sums for you. Enter people and days, and it multiplies by 3 litres.
<!-- calculator: household water. Inputs: people, days, pets, hot-weather toggle. The toggle adds a clearly labelled assumption, not an official figure. -->
By hand, it takes a minute:
- Count the people at home, and note anyone who is a child, nursing or unwell.
- Pick the days. Start with 3 and build toward 7.
- Multiply: people x days x 3 litres.
- Add a margin if you live somewhere hot. Ready.gov's "can double" line is the only official wording we found, so if you use it, label it as your own assumption.
- Count your containers. Do they hold that number?
- Write the date you filled them on the side.
For pets, we did not find a sourced per-animal figure, so we do not give one. RSPCA ACT's free Ready To Go kit is a sensible place to start.
Where and how to store it
Containers
Ready.gov says commercially bottled water should stay sealed in its original container, kept in a cool, dark place. If you fill your own containers, it says to use "food-grade water storage containers".
Holdline Provisions sells water storage containers and bladders. We describe them by what the supplier documents: capacity, material and fittings. For the longer version, see emergency water storage at home.
Rotation
Ready.gov says water that has not been commercially bottled should be replaced every six months. That is a United States rule of thumb. We did not find an official Australian interval, so check the label on anything you buy and keep your own dated reminder.
The bathtub idea
Some guides tell you to fill the bath. We did not find an Australian health department page that gives safe steps for storing drinking water that way, and the Queensland Health fact sheet below does not cover it. So we are not going to suggest it.
If your tap water may not be safe
Queensland Health's fact sheet "Drinking water safety in a disaster" (November 2025) says: "During a disaster, your tap water may not be safe to drink." It says to boil water with an electric kettle, or, if you have no power, in a saucepan on a gas stove, barbecue or portable gas cooker.
Once boiled water has cooled, the sheet says it can be used for drinking, preparing baby formula, hand washing, preparing food and cooking, brushing teeth, bathing infants and making ice. It also says your local council or water utility might tell you to boil your water and how to collect another source. Its heading says to follow local advice.
That is a Queensland sheet. Check your own state's health department and your water utility for yours. We do not write treatment steps of our own. For the next step, see how to make water safe in an emergency.
General information, not medical advice. Follow your local council, water utility and health department.
What to buy, and how it fits a 72-hour pack
The water line in a 72-hour pack is the part people check last and run short on first. At the Get Ready rate, 3 days is 9 litres per person, so a household of 4 is 36 litres before you count anything else. Check each pack page for exactly what water it includes.
If you add a filter, treat it as an extra layer and not a replacement for official advice. We list water filters with only the claims on the supplier's own documents, and nothing beyond them. For food to go with the water, see the emergency pantry list.
Next step: See 72-hour packs sized by household and days.
FAQ
How long does stored water last? Ready.gov, the US government's page, says to replace water that has not been commercially bottled every six months, and to keep commercially bottled water sealed in its original container in a cool, dark place. We did not find an official Australian interval. Check the label.
Is bottled water better? No official Australian page we read ranks bottled water above water you store yourself. Ready.gov's advice is to keep bottled water sealed, and to use food-grade containers when you fill your own.
How much for pets? We did not find a sourced figure, so we do not give one. Start with RSPCA ACT's Ready To Go kit and your vet.
What about the hot north? The Get Ready figure is the same on its bushfire and flood pages, and neither page gives a different figure for any region. Ready.gov says needs can double in very hot temperatures. Our calculator's hot-weather toggle is a labelled assumption, not an official number.
Sources and last checked
Opened and read on 1 November 2026.
- Get Ready: bushfires, Get Ready Queensland (Queensland Government). No date shown on the page.
- Get Ready: floods, Get Ready Queensland. No date shown on the page.
- Emergency pantry list, Queensland Government. Last updated 27 February 2017.
- Emergency Pantry List, pamphlet hosted by NSW Health, file author Emergency Management Australia, file dated 2008.
- Emergency document wallet, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, September 2021.
- Drinking water safety in a disaster, Queensland Health, November 2025.
- Ready.gov: Water, US Department of Homeland Security (United States guidance). Last updated 22 February 2021.
- Ready To Go pet kit, RSPCA ACT. No date shown on the page.
