Never Caught OutIndependent UK guide Crisis

Tool

Drinking water calculator

Be Ready suggests keeping 3 litres of drinking water per person per day, for 3 days. Here is what that means for your household.

Be Ready suggests 3
Pets (optional, a rough guide)

There is no single official figure for pets. Their needs vary with size, diet and the weather, so ask your vet and enter your own estimate.

How we work it out

People × days × 3 litres, plus pets × days × your estimate for each pet. Bottle counts are rounded up.

  • This is for drinking only. Be Ready notes you would need more for cooking and washing.
  • If you have a baby, ready-to-feed formula avoids needing water to make up bottles. See our water supply guide.
  • If your water is cut off, your water company may provide bottled water, with extra support for households on the Priority Services Register.

The 3 litres per person per day figure is from the UK Government’s Be Ready checklist, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.