Best water storage containers & purification for emergencies (2026)

The most widely trusted purification tablet in the world, and a sensible few pounds to keep in any grab bag. It disinfects clear water reliably, but it is not a filter, so treat it as one layer of your water plan rather than the whole answer.

Best for A cheap, compact backup for disinfecting clear tap or stored water if the mains supply is compromised.

• Certified to NSF/ANSI 60 and used by the WHO, UNICEF and Red Cross; kills bacteria, viruses and Giardia in about 30 minutes.
• Very cheap and compact, with a roughly five-year shelf life; one tablet treats a litre, so a 50-pack covers a household's drinking water for a few days.
• Milder chlorine taste than older iodine tablets, and individually sealed so part-used packs stay stable.

• Disinfects but does not filter: it won't remove sediment, chemicals or heavy metals, and won't reliably kill Cryptosporidium.
• Leaves a faint chlorine taste that some people notice.

Who shouldn't buy it: Your likely water source is cloudy, silty or chemically contaminated. Tablets only work on clear water, so in that case choose or add a proper filter rather than relying on these alone.

The alternative philosophy to the big tanks: split 150 litres across six UN-approved, food-grade, interlocking 25-litre cans. Each is 25kg full — heavy but liftable — so water can go where it's needed: two in the car, one in the kitchen, three in the shed. No pump needed, no single point of failure, and the stack footprint is one cupboard corner. The cost is faff: six caps to check and six cans to rotate every six months, and mind the near-identical 20L pack sold alongside this one.

Best for 150 litres the modular way — six cans you can lift beats one tank you can't.

• Every can is liftable — capacity you'll actually use
• UN-approved and stackable; no pump required
• No single point of failure

• Six containers to rotate, not one
• 25kg per can is still a real lift for some

The Aqua-Tainer's smaller stablemate: a rigid, translucent 19-litre container whose spout detaches for storage. It stacks neatly, and at about 19kg full it is easier to shift than a 25-litre can.

Best for Bulk water storage at home in a rigid, stackable container with its own spout.

• Rigid and stackable, empty or full
• Spout for pouring without a pump, detached for storage
• Translucent, so you can see how much is left

• Holds less than a 25-litre jerry can
• Translucent plastic lets light through, so store it somewhere dark

Who shouldn't buy it: You'll need to carry water any distance: at about 19kg full it's a keep-at-home container.

Towsure's WaterHog does what the Aquaroll does, with more capacity: you roll the water rather than carry it. It's 51 litres of food-grade polythene with a pull handle, a fill-up tube, and a top opening wide enough for a caravan pump. Full, it weighs over 50kg, so roll it along paths rather than across grass, and treat it as fill-use-empty kit rather than long-term storage.

Best for Moving a lot of water without lifting it, from a bowser or outdoor tap to the house.

• Rolls, so one person can move 51 litres without lifting it
• Food-grade polythene, with a fill-up tube included
• Wide top opening that takes most submersible caravan pumps

• Over 50kg when full: hard going across grass, gravel or steps
• Made for touring, so rotate the water rather than storing it for months

Who shouldn't buy it: You need to carry water up stairs or keep it stored indoors for months; stackable jerry cans suit that better.

A plain, food-grade rigid jerry can is one of the most cost-effective ways to store the several litres per person, per day that the government suggests keeping in. It is unglamorous but does the job, and stacks neatly in a garage or under the stairs.

Best for Cheap, robust bulk water storage kept at home for a stay-at-home emergency.

• Food-grade HDPE and usually UN-approved, so safe for drinking water and hard-wearing
• Very inexpensive per litre stored, and stackable to save space
• Rigid walls and a screw cap survive knocks better than collapsible or bag-style containers

• A full 25L can weighs around 25kg, which is awkward and heavy to lift or carry any distance
• Narrow filler necks can make filling and pouring slow without a tap or funnel

Who shouldn't buy it: You want water you can grab and carry out the door - at 25kg full this is a keep-at-home container, so choose smaller 5-10L cans or a wheeled option if portability matters.

A sensible, low-cost way to keep spare water capacity in a cupboard until you need it, and 15L is a practical amount for one person's drinking water over a couple of days. Treat it as short-term standby storage rather than a rugged, fill-and-forget container.

Best for Cheap, packable back-up water storage you can fill ahead of a planned supply interruption.

• Very inexpensive and folds flat, so you can keep two or three tucked away until a storm warning or works notice gives you time to fill them
• 15L is a well-judged size: roughly a couple of days' drinking water for one, while a full unit at about 15kg is still liftable by most adults
• Built-in tap makes dispensing tidy without tipping the whole container

• The seams and tap are the weak points and can weep or split, especially after repeated folding and unfolding
• Thin walls mean it is easily punctured and not designed for long-term stored water, which is best kept fresh and rotated

Who shouldn't buy it: You want water you can store filled for months, or a container that shrugs off being knocked about in a garage or car boot; a rigid HDPE jerrycan is the better buy there.

A clever, low-cost way to bank around 380 litres of clean water in your bath when you get warning of a supply cut, and it packs away to nothing the rest of the time. Its weakness is that it only helps if you have a standard bathtub and enough notice to fill it, and it is effectively single-use once opened.

Best for Households with a standard bathtub who want a large, cheap water reserve to fill when a supply interruption is forecast.

• Stores roughly 380 litres of water for a modest outlay and folds flat when not in use
• Sealed food-grade liner keeps water far cleaner than an open tub, and a siphon pump is included
• Simple to deploy in any standard bathtub and much cheaper per litre than stockpiling bottled water

• Effectively single-use once the seal is cracked, and stored water is only reliably fresh for a few weeks
• Needs a standard bathtub and advance warning to fill, so it is no help in a sudden, unannounced cut

Who shouldn't buy it: Skip it if you only have a shower, or if you want a reserve that is always ready to go, in which case a few rigid water containers kept filled will serve an unannounced outage better.