During hurricanes, fires, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, your water supply could be cut off or contaminated. If a disaster or emergency shuts down the local water supply for longer than a day; waterborne diseases and lack of water become two incredibly real and serious risks.
Pro Tip: Lakes and ponds in urban environments are unsafe for drinking. They are full of chemicals from lawns and pesticides from businesses and building sites. Many of our filters and water treatments will not take care of chemicals and heavy metals.
In a survival situation, water is one of the most important things you need to survive. The human body can only go for about three days without water, but that time can be shorter depending on the environment and how hard you are working. If it is hot and dry, you may only last one or two days without drinking. In our blog about bugging out of the 2025 L.A. fires, we talk about how the dry, smoky air almost doubled our water consumption. On the other hand, if you are in a cooler area, you may last a little longer. The rule of three states that an average human can go three days without water, but we should remember that that average is based on someone who is not already dehydrated. Many people do not drink enough water on a daily basis and probably start their survival situation much closer to dehydration than the rules of three would have us believe. It is important to remember that even if you do survive without water for a while, your body will be weakened and much less able to handle other challenges.
The average person needs about a gallon of water per day, depending on factors like activity level and climate. This amount covers hydration for normal daily activities, but it does not include extra water needed for cooking, cleaning, or other survival needs. In a situation where you have limited resources, it is important to find ways to stretch your water supply and use it wisely. One place to look for water in an emergency situation is your water heater. Many people overlook this potential resource, but it can provide a valuable backup supply when other sources are unavailable.
Water can take up space, see our blog on creative storage methods for your disaster preparedness gear.
When preparing for a power outage, bug-in situation, or any other at-home emergency, it is important to start collecting water soon, if you have not already done so. You do not need to purchase all of your water at once if cost is a concern. Instead, try adding a few bottles to your grocery trips. However, what happens if you are away from your water supply? Many of us have friends or family who may not be as well-prepared as we are, and sometimes emergencies can last longer than expected. In those cases, we might need to “MacGyver it” and find alternative ways to access drinking water. One often overlooked option is your water heater.
Did you know that the clean water stored in your water heater is safe to drink? It could be a lifesaver when you need it most.
Depending on where you live, and the size of your house, you likely have 30-50 gallons of water stored in your water heater right now. My water heater is larger in size and contains 50 gallons, which is 10 days of drinking water for my family of five. But we need to be able to protect and access this water.
Use this general picture to get an idea of where stuff is on your water heater before an emergency strikes.
Make sure to read your manual too, this picture is just general similarities in the water heater setup.
Home Work: Add the following to your at-home disaster preparedness kit.
With one twist of a lever, we can shut out any contaminated city water.
If the arm is parallel with the pipes, it is open, if the arm is at a 90-degree angle to the pipes, it is closed.
Recent history has shown us just how quickly a city's water supply can become contaminated during an emergency. Do not wait to find out if the city's water supply is contaminated or not. You absolutely do not want to let any water contamination into your house, one of the first things you should do is turn off the cold water supply going into your water heater from the city's source. Our goal is to shut off the supply of water from the outside going directly into our water heater. This is actually really easy to do, and it only takes a few moments. There is a valve, almost always on a copper pipe running to the top of your tank, which controls the water coming into your heater. I turn this off first things first, then I fill up my bathtubs and some containers for extra water. I will leave all this stored water ready to go, and then I make a decision. If I feel safe with the water situation, I continue to use tap water, should that water be cut off, or if I have any fear it is contaminated, then I shut off the main water supply coming into my house. If you are not sure, then just assume the water is contaminated and use your reserves until you know for sure.
Learn how to shut off the main water supply to your house before you need to.
Should you ever have busted pipes, this comes in just as handy as with contaminated city water.
Pro tip: If you know for sure that the tap water is not yet contaminated, there will often be warnings of disasters, you can fill up any containers and all your bathtubs with water to use for hygiene and cleaning needs too.
It is recommended to empty your water heater once a year, even without emergencies or zombies.
Once you decide to start draining your water heater, remember to let the water cool, then turn off the power on your heater. This is important even if the power is out. During a power outage, the electricity could come back on at any moment.. Not only could you get hurt if the unit turns on unexpectedly, burns are more likely than electrocution, but many heaters will break if they turn on without a certain amount of water in them. Water heaters are normally run either on gas or electricity. When you turn off the power the pilot light may go off on the gas versions, make sure to shut off the gas too, if this is the case.
Turn off the power, and the gas, for both safety and to protect your device from damage.
I grew up drinking from a hose, but I keep a short designated hose in my at-home disaster preparedness kit anyway. This way I know it is clean, and a shorter length is much easier to use in tight basement spaces. Should you find yourself in a situation where you have to use a found hose, just do everything you can to make sure it is clean and not contaminated.
Attach one end of your hose to the drain valve on your heater and run the other end into your containers, see why a shorter hose might be nice for this?
It can be hard to fill your containers from the drain valve, but a small hose attached can be a game changer.
Now we need to open the valve to get the water flowing. This is normally a flat head screw, but check your heater and manual for the exact location and exact tool to store in your kit. On my water heater, I can easily open the valve with my screwdriver and the water will start to flow out of my hose.
Sometimes the water will start to flow slowly, and other times nothing will happen. Your water heater has a sort of vacuum effect going on and we may need to address this vacuum pressure. Open up the air pressure relief valve, normally on top, and air will flow in. Once you get a steady flow of water, you can close the valve again. If you get a steady flow from the start, you can skip this step.
The relief valve may have a discharge pipe attached to it. The pipe will run straight toward the ground, but be open on the end.
Keep an eye on your containers as you fill them up. The pressure situation could change and the flow might speed up or slow down. As soon as your container is filled, simply shut off the drain valve until you need to fill up another.
Whether you had to drain any water or not, we need to undo all of this and restore ourselves to normal operation when the emergency passes. You will need to turn the city's cold water supply back on, and your main water supply if you shut it off too. Let the water heater fill up before you do anything else!
Note: Make sure the drain valve, where you were filling up your containers, is shut before you start filling your water heater, otherwise you could have a flood to deal with. Once the tank is filled again, turn your gas back on and light the pilot light. I highly recommend you contact a professional from the gas company if you had to shut off your gas. Be especially careful with this step as it can be dangerous in both the short and long term. Now return your gear to your kit and start resupplying your stored water cache for the next adventure.
WARNING!!!
This was a general guide, based on what I feel comfortable doing with my training and my device, make sure you read your manufacturer’s instructions for your water heater, every water heater is a little different. Only drain your water heater if you feel that you fully understand any dangers and safety concerns. Doing this wrong could damage the heater, your house, or your person. For example, some water heaters can burn out their heating elements if there is no water in the tank. Do not forget to be especially safe with your gas elements, if you have them, and to turn off your electricity. We recommend you wear gloves and other safety gear and only do what you feel comfortable with. Draining the water heater should be done only for regular service and for emergency situations. There are certainly other options if you do not feel comfortable with any of these steps or techniques.
Become familiar with your owner's manual now so you are ready when you need to be.
There are several other places to get water around your house, more on that later, but we would recommend you store several days' worth of water in your house and some more in your bug-out vehicle, more articles on that soon.
It is a good idea to drain your water heater once a year as part of its maintenance schedule, why not use that time to get yourself just one step closer to being prepared for any old thing? That reminds me, I need to drain mine and get some new heater air filters too. Guess that means I am off to run errands.
If you are interested in urban Bug-In or Bug out classes, especially as part of our new Denver Location, send me an email at hutch@thesurvivaluniversity.com
Stay prepared, and stay safe out there. I will see you next time on the adventure trail,
Hutch
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Aaron “Hutch” Hutchings is a seasoned survival, bushcraft, and wilderness living instructor with years of experience both as a student and a teacher. He is the owner of Ready Set Adventure Box (www.readysetadventurebox.com) and serves as a lead instructor at The Survival University (www.thesurvivaluniversity.com), where he teaches both beginner and advanced courses, as well as runs youth and family programs. Hutch has studied under some of the biggest names in the survival industry, and has even worked with a few of them directly.
A former Marine and lifelong Boy Scout, Hutch grew up immersed in outdoor skills, thanks in part to his grandfather, another outdoor instructor who used training with survival legends as rewards for achieving goals. Hutch is also the author of four books and brings a unique perspective to his teaching as someone who is autistic. His passion for survival skills and outdoor education shines through in every class he teaches.
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