Philadelphia water: How much bottled water do you need?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- After the city alerted residents not to use tap water on Sunday following a chemical spill in Bucks County, the rush was on to buy bottled water.
Officials say only the ZIP codes east of the Schuylkill would be affected, because they are served by the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant, which is several miles downstream from where the chemical leak occurred.
Residents west of the Schuylkill are not affected, because they get their water from a different plant.
Despite the reassurance from city officials that tap water is still safe to drink until at least 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, people are buying up bottled water, emptying store shelves.
So how much bottled water do people need to set aside, in case the water is deemed unsafe?
Not only is bottled water hard to find, customers also dont know how many bottles they need on hand, especially for big families.
Here's what the experts say.
Officials have been advising residents who could be impacted to have an emergency three-day supply of water on hand.
So how much is that?
FEMA says a normally active person needs to drink at least a half gallon of water each day.
They also recommend keeping another gallon on hand per person for food preparation, and if needed, hygiene.
The problem is that for many - bottled water is becoming harder and harder to find as it continues to fly off shelves.
If you're looking to buy water, several grocery stores tell us, they expect additional shipments to come in later Tuesday.
