How much water?

[mrkstvns]

Do you ever camp in places that have no nearby source of potable water?

If so, how much water do you bring with you?

This is not a hypothetical and it is not a backcountry trip --- we can drive a car up to near the site. 2 nights, 30 participants.  

If I bring 30 gallons, will it be enough to cover cooking, dishwashing, drinking for 2 nights?  How much would you bring?

[Treflienne]

47 minutes ago, mrkstvns said:

cooking, dishwashing

What kind of cooking and dishwashing?  

Chopping vegetables,  getting lots of prep dishes dirty,  setting up a full three-dishpan wash station -- which might need to be refilled if kids are sloppy about getting food into the dishwater?  

Or rehydrating dehydrated meals,  eating out of a single cup/bowl per person (or eating out of the meal pouch), then  licking your cup and spork clean and calling than good enough?

[SteveMM]

7 minutes ago, Treflienne said:

What kind of cooking and dishwashing?  

Chopping vegetables,  getting lots of prep dishes dirty,  setting up a full three-dishpan wash station -- which might need to be refilled if kids are sloppy about getting food into the dishwater?  

Or rehydrating dehydrated meals,  eating out of a single cup/bowl per person (or eating out of the meal pouch), then  licking your cup and spork clean and calling than good enough?

I was starting to say it should be higher than 30 gallons, but I was thinking more of the first example Treflienne gave, and not the second.  

They say a person needs to drink two liters of water each day, and you may absolutely go through that if you're doing hiking or other exercise during your trip.  Each gallon has a bit less than two liters, and I would err on the high side to be safe, so maybe 17 gallons for drinking.  That leaves 13 gallons for cooking and cleaning, and as mentioned above, what kind of cooking and cleaning you're doing will determine whether that's enough.

Edited October 11, 2019 by SteveMM

[Pale Horse]

Depends on weather & planned activities to a big extent. I would suggest a minimum of 1 gallon of water per participant per day.

Edited October 11, 2019 by Pale Horse

[elitts]

If you have no access to ANY water, I'd plan on 1 gallon per person per day just for drinking.  So for 2 nights, I'd go with 1.5 gallons per person.  Plus another 4-5 gallons at least for cooking and washing.

But if you have some access to water, it's just not potable, then you don't need to bring nearly as much water because you can boil much of what you'd need.

[MattR]

We rarely go camping where there's potable water. We have the big blue water jugs that hold about 6.5 gallons. On our last campout we brought 9 for about 35 people. We were comfortable. When I asked if I could have 2 jugs for my events I was told no. We had other jugs so I was fine. Anyway, I think 1 gal/person could work for food and drinking, but not enough for cleaning and fires. And that's for very mild weather. I will drink a gallon a day if I'm exercising. 

[Jameson76]

Is there a creek or lake nearby you can use for fire, etc?  Typically it's about 1 gallon per person per day.  If you are staying maybe 48 hours (2 days) with 30 people, I would take 60 gallons.  We have camped at sites that do not have potable water there, but it is accessible.  So we can refill.  Hard part for toting 30 gallons of water is the weight, weighs about 8 lbs per gallon.

[qwazse]

Leave the trailer. Hitch up a buffalo!