How Much Bottled Water Is Distributed After a Hurricane?

Emergency water distribution is a crucial component of a comprehensive disaster response and relief plan. State and local disaster preparedness compile thousands of data points for needs throughout the planning process, and at the top of every list is disaster water relief. 

But how much water does a city need for disaster recovery efforts? What are the logistics like for providing emergency water supplies? Let’s find out. 

The Critical Role of Bottled Water in Disaster Relief

Clean water is the most critical item after breathable air. One of the most destructive forces of a hurricane is water. Hurricane Harvey not only brought a massive storm surge into Houston, but it also dumped four feet of rain that led to enormous flooding. 

Flooding of that magnitude overwhelms the freshwater system (as we also saw in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina) and contaminates the freshwater supply. There isn’t anything that can be done about this until all the water has fully receded, so fresh water must be provided by either tankers for distribution or bottled water. 

Bottled water is the most obvious and immediate solution to obtain fresh drinking water on location, and bulk bottled water is a viable option. It is challenging to provide an accurate estimate of the freshwater required for hurricane response. Still, some of the more reliable estimates are around 800,000 gallons, which were used for Hurricane Ike relief in Galveston, Texas. Other estimates are around 4 million standard bottles. 

These numbers absolutely vary wildly from place to place. For example, the Houston metropolitan area has approximately 7.5 million people within it. However, if that storm shifts south by just a hundred miles or so and targets Corpus Christi, it will impact approximately 450,000 people. Both are tragic, but Houston has roughly 15 times the population of New Orleans. It would require far more water for the same storm than Corpus Christi. 

FEMA and State Emergency Response Plans

Water distribution is primarily the responsibility of the local and state agencies, who will be on scene much faster and understand the lay of the land. Disaster response is not a one-size-fits-all plan. FEMA plays a role. The Environmental Protection Agency plays a role in the process, depending on the community's needs. But in those first few critical hours, it will be up to local and state agencies and sanctioned organizations like the Red Cross. 

However, the plans and funding from federal agencies are primarily focused on achieving short- to medium-range goals, specifically getting the water systems operational. This is the ultimate goal of disaster recovery, but what about when a river floods in July, contaminating the drinking water for a few weeks, and the resulting flooding also knocks out power? It’s hot, and there is no drinking water, which is an immediate problem. 

Greenwood Aerospace has partnered with a local vendor to sell and ship palletized water by the semi-truck load, which consists of 20 pallets of 16.9-oz bottled water per semi-truck. This is by far the fastest and most efficient way to get water to people in need, and what happened in Western North Carolina last Fall is an excellent example of why. 

People were stuck in areas with no access other than ATVs, UTVs, and maybe 4x4 pickups. Sometimes, the only way to get fresh water to those folks was to depalletize water into cases and haul it up on these vehicles.   

How Much Water Is Needed Per Person?

Several variables are at play, primarily related to temperature. A good rule of thumb is that, on average, every person needs at least one gallon of clean drinking water per day. This is for drinking and basic hygiene, such as brushing your teeth. More would be better, but if you're talking about having to haul bottled water to remote areas, you’ll be forced to work with minimums. The easiest way to do this is in one-gallon jugs, but it amounts to roughly seven and a half 16.9-oz bottles of water daily, so round that up to eight bottles per day.

Distribution Logistics and Challenges

One thing we noticed at Greenwood Aerospace was that bottles were inconveniently batched either by the case or pallet on GSA Advantage, but in a hurricane recovery, you’ll need a lot more than a pallet or two. 

A semi-truck load of 29 pallets of one-gallon water jugs holds 4,872 gallons of fresh, bottled water. So, that only gets you a little over one day of water for a small town of 4,000. 

One of the biggest challenges in the past has been for the Red Cross and local/state agencies to access bulk bottled water at fixed prices. In 2010, the federal government allowed organizations, including the Red Cross, to access GSA Advantage, along with local, state, and tribal governments. This was approved through Section 833 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 and the Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act of 2010.

Why Bulk Water Suppliers Are Essential for Government Procurement

Disaster response agencies rely on vendors to provide bulk bottled water for disaster and emergency response, and it is for a simple reason: bottled water has a shelf life. It is a complete waste to pull it out of the inventory, purchase it, and then discard it when it expires, as it was never needed. More accurately, because it wasn’t ever picked from the warehouse, it was held, because there are definitely disasters every year that require bulk bottled water. 

Final Thoughts

Greenwood Aerospace has partnered with local vendors to supply bulk 16.9-oz water bottles by the semi-truck load and one-gallon water jugs by the semi-truck load, so your disaster response team has options. Additionally, we have partnered with one of our preferred local shipping companies to offer you guaranteed rates and timetables for delivery anywhere in the lower 48. Thanks to our central location, we can provide accurate delivery schedules to anywhere in the CONUS, allowing you to choose the option that suits you best.