Printable household plan • Updated October 2026
Power Outage Water Checklist
Prepare before the outage, protect safe water while the power is off, and avoid assuming that restored service means restored water quality.
How much water should you have?
Ready.gov recommends at least one gallon per person per day for several days for drinking and sanitation. Treat that as a planning floor, not a promise that it covers every household. Hot weather, illness, pregnancy, medical needs, pets, and limited mobility can increase demand.
Quick calculation: people × days × one gallon = minimum planning amount. A household of four planning for seven days starts with 28 gallons, then adds water for pets and special needs.
Print this page from your browser and check each box as you complete it.
Before an outage
- Store at least one gallon of water per person per day for several days; add water for pets, medical needs, heat, pregnancy, and hygiene.
- Use factory-sealed water or clean, food-grade water containers with tight lids; label home-filled containers with the fill date.
- Place stored water where it is cool, protected from sunlight, chemicals, flooding, and freezing, and where every household member can reach it.
- List the water utility, local health department, emergency management office, well contractor, electrician, and plumber.
- Write down where the main water shutoff is and make sure an adult can operate it.
- Keep unscented household bleach or another verified treatment method with printed instructions—but do not assume treatment removes fuel, chemicals, or radioactive material.
- Store disposable plates, cups, utensils, heavy trash bags, hand sanitizer, moist wipes, and a sanitation plan that uses little water.
- Make a separate plan for infant formula, medical devices, dialysis, mobility limitations, livestock, and pets.
During an outage
- Confirm whether the problem is only your home, a neighborhood outage, or a drinking-water emergency. Monitor the utility and local authorities.
- Protect stored drinking water first. Use it for drinking, food preparation, medications, infants, and pets before lower-priority uses.
- Stop laundry, dishwashing, irrigation, and other high-volume uses. Fix or isolate active leaks if it is safe.
- If tap water still flows, do not assume it is safe or unsafe. Follow the exact advisory: boil water, do not drink, or do not use.
- Keep containers closed. Pour water without touching the inside of lids, necks, or dispensing surfaces.
- Use hand sanitizer when hands are not visibly dirty. If hands are dirty, wash with safe water and soap.
- Record when power, pressure, or water service was lost and any changes in color, odor, sediment, or sputtering.
Public water and private wells require different decisions
If you receive public water
A power failure can affect treatment, pumping, storage, or system pressure, but an outage does not automatically mean the water is unsafe. Monitor official alerts. Under a boil-water advisory, use bottled water or follow the exact boiling instructions provided locally. Under a do-not-drink or do-not-use notice, boiling may not address the hazard.
If you use a private well
An electric pump normally stops when power fails, although the pressure tank may provide a limited reserve. Conserve it. Do not estimate the reserve as a fixed percentage of tank size; usable drawdown depends on the tank, precharge, pressure settings, condition, and pressure at the moment of failure.
Never backfeed house wiring through a receptacle. A generator-powered well circuit needs properly selected, code-compliant transfer equipment and generator capacity that accounts for the pump motor’s starting demand. Operate portable generators outdoors, more than 20 feet from doors, windows, and vents, and use working carbon-monoxide alarms.
First-hour priorities
- 1. Check for an official water advisory.
- 2. Protect drinking water and stop avoidable use.
- 3. Confirm that everyone has safe water for medications and health needs.
- 4. Record loss of service or pressure.
- 5. Use generators only with safe placement and connections.
After power or water returns
- Wait for the utility or health authority to lift any advisory; restored pressure alone does not prove water is safe.
- Follow official flushing instructions for faucets, refrigerator lines, ice makers, filters, softeners, and treatment equipment.
- Discard ice made while water safety was uncertain and replace filters only as directed by the utility or manufacturer.
- For a private well, determine whether pressure was lost and inspect for flooding or damage. Use safe water until local officials or a well professional say the supply is safe.
- Do not restart damaged or wet well equipment until qualified electrical and well professionals have checked it.
- Clean, dry, and restock containers and sanitation supplies. Record what ran out first and revise the household plan.
Do not use these as drinking-water sources
- Water from radiators or a home-heating boiler
- Waterbeds, which may contain chemicals
- Floodwater or water that smells of fuel or chemicals
- Swimming-pool or spa water
- Ordinary bathtub water unless it was captured in a purpose-made liner and handled exactly as directed
Frequently asked questions
Should I fill the bathtub before a forecast outage?
It may provide water for toilet flushing or cleaning. Do not treat an ordinary bathtub as a sanitary drinking-water container.
Can I drink from the water heater?
A tank heater may hold water, but safe access depends on plumbing, temperature, controls, sediment, and contamination conditions. Follow the manufacturer and local emergency authorities; never use water from a heating-system boiler.
Does clear tap water mean it is safe?
No. Many microbial and chemical hazards cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted. Follow official instructions.
Can a household filter replace boiling?
Not automatically. Filter capabilities differ, and an advisory may involve germs or chemicals the device is not certified to address.
Complete the rest of your water plan
Calculate storage first, then prepare for the equipment and water source in your home.
Sources
Minimum kit guidance follows Ready.gov. Water treatment limits and boiling guidance follow the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Outage precautions follow Ready.gov power-outage guidance. Private-well recovery guidance follows the CDC.