Dear friends,

Thanks for all your kind replies. I had no idea that the water issue in Floria was so hard. I guess the only safe and affordable thing do do is to store a 7 day supply of water for 2 adults and 3 kids. Using the water only drinking and minimal washing, what amount of water should I plan should I set aside and, no less important, what kind of container would you recommend? Is there something cheap and readily available to store water for my family for, say a couple of months at a time?

(Using buckets, or even my bathtub, will work for hurricanes, but for any other emergency situation this might be too little, too late depending on the warning time)

@Falcon5000: thanks for the welcome and for recommending all the gear. I will look it all up and read about it even if I do end up storing water at my home (that gear looks like something which I might want to have in all cases.

One more question, if I may: you mention pesticides. The canal we live on is on the Turnbull Bay Creek and it comes from a natural preserve. We have tides and some current, but nothing like the Intercoastal River so the water is comparatively more stagnant, in particular in our canal. Also, there are two golf courses in the immediate vicinity and these courses are often sprayed against bugs and, no doubt, the greens are also heavily treated. Still, people regularly catch and eat fish from these waters. I do not fish, but I do regularly eat the blue crabs which I can in my crabpot. Should I worry about these blue crabs being filled with all sorts of pesticides and other chemicals?

Again, many thanks to you all for providing your time and expertise!