Water

There is no substitute for access to a fresh water source.

If you are on municipal, you should also be storing water to be able to sustain through short-term water/electrical outages that stop the pumps. Plan on having 1 gallon per person per day: most folks need 2 quarts to drink, and the other 2 quarts will go towards very efficient cooking, bathing, cleaning. Don't forget animals and any vital plants.

Storage

It's heavy -- about 8.5 lbs per gallon -- and inconvenient to store. It won't "go bad," but you will need to store chlorinated or treated water to keep nasties from growing.

Purification

Beyond what you can store, you can also hope to collect water, possibly tainted, and purify it.

See [Water_Purification].

Filtration

No matter where the water comes from, it is good to filter it before putting it in your body.

• I have used a Berkey Lite with charcoal filters for years and love it. Note that it does require additional filters to remove fluoride and some other particles.
• Another noteworthy item is the Lifestraw -- you should have one in every vehicle and your EDC bag.

I don't always filter water before watering plants; I have seen studies demonstrating no effect on soil microbiology when using chlorinated water. I am aware of folks who do put filters on their garden hoses. Do you? Why? Add here or let me know.