Water storage & drought FAQ

A minimum of 2.5 to 3 litres of drinking water per person per day, or around 10 litres per person per day for a more comfortable amount including basic cooking and hygiene.

It depends on your household size and how many days you're preparing for — there's no single official figure. WaterReady's calculator works it out for you using the government's minimum (3L/person/day) and comfortable (10L/person/day) figures.

No — it may contain bacteria or disease. It's fine for non-drinking uses like flushing the toilet, but keep it clearly separate from your drinking water.

No. It's an independent calculator that applies published UK government figures to your household. Always follow your water company's instructions during an actual live outage — this tool is for getting ready beforehand, not for responding to a supply that's already off.

As a general starting point, roughly 40mL per kg of bodyweight per day for dogs and 35mL per kg per day for cats — based on UK veterinary guidance (Hill's Pet UK cites a normal range of 25–50mL/kg/day; UK veterinary practices commonly reference a textbook range of 20–70mL/kg/day). This varies with diet, activity, heat and health, so check with your own vet for anything more precise.

Yes — planning for 7 days or more brings in extra needs beyond drinking and basic hygiene, such as laundry. The calculator surfaces these extra non-drinking questions once you plan for a week or longer.

We don't currently give a specific shelf-life figure on this site, so we won't guess one here — check the guidance printed on whatever you're storing water in (commercially bottled water carries its own best-before date), and when in doubt, rotate your stored water periodically rather than relying on it indefinitely.

Yes. By law, UK tap water must be "wholesome" — meeting strict limits on microorganisms (for example, E. coli and Enterococci must be undetectable in a 100ml sample), chemicals such as nitrate and pesticides, and metals like lead and copper, under the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) enforces these standards for England and Wales.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) — an independent regulator that checks water companies' compliance data, investigates water quality events and consumer complaints, and can take enforcement action. This is separate from Ofwat, which regulates prices and service standards rather than water safety itself.

Contact your water company directly first — they're required to investigate quality complaints and can usually tell you quickly whether it's a local issue (like nearby pipework) or something wider. If you're not satisfied with the response, the Drinking Water Inspectorate also handles enquiries from the public about drinking water quality. Use WaterReady's calculator to find your water company if you're not sure who supplies you.

No — a hosepipe ban restricts certain non-essential *uses* of water during a drought (see below); it has nothing to do with water safety. Drinking water quality is governed by a completely separate set of regulations, and your water company remains legally required to supply water that meets the same safety standards regardless of drought conditions.

There's no fixed minimum length of time before England can officially be in drought — it's assessed as a lack of water against several indicators: rainfall, river flows, groundwater levels, reservoir storage, and ecological impact. The Environment Agency uses a severity scale running from "prolonged dry weather" through "drought" and "severe drought" to "recovering from drought." Source: House of Commons Library.

The Environment Agency, through its National Drought Group — which also includes government, water companies, farming and environmental groups — reviews conditions by region ("operational area") and makes the call. As of September 2026, ten of England's operational areas were officially in drought, with the National Drought Group saying roughly 120% of typical rainfall over the following seven months would be needed to end it. Source: House of Commons Library.

No. "Prolonged dry weather" is an earlier, milder stage on the Environment Agency's severity scale, before "drought" is formally declared — and even during an actual drought, whether a hosepipe ban is introduced is a decision each individual water company makes based on its own resources, not an automatic trigger.

It's more nuanced than a simple yes. The Met Office's own research states there currently isn't a UK climate-attribution study that clearly links human-caused climate change to more frequent drought events so far — in fact, the longest runs of consecutive dry days have generally been getting shorter in recent decades. Looking ahead, though, is a different picture: the Met Office's UKCP18 climate projections point to drier summers on average, with stronger drying in southern parts of the UK, especially under higher-emissions scenarios — so future drought risk is expected to rise even though a clear increase hasn't been proven in the historical record yet. Source: Met Office.

The Environment Agency coordinates planning through the National Drought Group and the National Framework for Water Resources, bringing together government, water companies, farmers and environmental groups to plan for future supply shortfalls. This includes using rainfall and weather forecasting to model how reservoirs and underground aquifers will refill under different scenarios, and reviewing how past droughts were managed to improve future response. Source: Environment Agency.

Use clean, sealed, food-grade containers — the kind sold specifically for water storage rather than a repurposed container that held something else. Keep them out of direct sunlight and away from heat, since warmth and light encourage bacterial and algae growth, and store them away from fuel, solvents or other strong-smelling chemicals, as some plastics can absorb odours through the container wall over time.

There's no single official figure we can point you to for this. As a simple, memorable interval, WaterReady's own recommendation is to check your stored water roughly every 6 months: look for a compromised seal, cloudiness, or an off smell, and replace anything that doesn't look or smell right. If you opt in to reminder emails from the calculator, you'll get 9 short emails, one every 2 weeks, starting a month before the season you're planning for, rather than a fixed 6-month cycle.

If it's stayed sealed in a proper food-grade container the whole time, no extra treatment is generally needed. If a container has been opened, damaged, or the water smells or looks off, treat it as suspect — either replace it or purify it first (water purification tablets or a suitable filter) rather than drinking it as-is.

Use WaterReady's calculator — select your city or town and it automatically shows your regional water supplier, based on real UK water-company coverage areas. You can also see supplier-specific guidance on compensation and contacts on our blog.

A hosepipe ban (formally a "Temporary Use Ban") restricts non-essential uses such as watering your garden with a hosepipe, washing a car with one, or filling a paddling pool. In worse conditions it can extend to some commercial uses too. Breaching a ban can mean a fine of up to £1,000. Individual water companies impose bans during drought conditions and lift them once the situation improves. Source: Consumer Council for Water.

They're unrelated. A hosepipe ban is a demand-management measure during drought that restricts certain non-essential water uses — it says nothing about safety. A boil water notice is issued when there's a genuine contamination risk in the supply, and means you should boil tap water before drinking it or using it for food until your water company lifts the notice.

Often, yes, under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme. In England, since 1 October 2025: £50 if your supply isn't restored in time, plus £50 for each further full 12 hours (capped at twice your annual water supply charge); £50 if you don't get 48 hours' notice of a planned interruption; and £50 for low water pressure (up to 5 times a year). In Wales: £20, plus £10 for each further full 24 hours; £20 if you don't get 24 hours' notice of planned work (which you must claim); and £25 for low pressure (once a year). Companies don't have to pay if severe weather conditions prevent their attendance or put staff at risk. Separately, Ofwat says companies should pay £10 a day if an emergency drought order interrupts your supply. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes; check your own supplier's guide on our blog. Sources: Consumer Council for Water, Ofwat.