Canning water is a simple way to ensure you always have fresh water on hand for emergencies. While bottled water only keeps for about a year, canned water should stay fresh for decades!
I know what you’re thinking…why on earth would you waste a mason jar on canning water?
It’s true that bottled water is cheap and plentiful, but you may not know that bottled water only lasts a year. After that, the bottle begins degrading and pollutes the water inside.
(A year’s not a “magic” number where it suddenly goes bad, it’s actually slowly degrading from day one.)
Water stored in glass, on the other hand, will keep for decades if properly sterilized first. Canning jars are the perfect way to store water for emergency use, as it’s easy to sterilize and seal the jars at home in a water bath canner.
Plus, you’ll cut down on waste from all those one time use plastic water bottles.
Is Canning Water Necessary?
Wait, why can’t you just store water in canning jars (without actually canning it)?
Believe it or not, water actually spoils if left to sit for a few months, even in glass jars. Things like moss and mold might proliferate, and you’ll notice an “off’ flavor in the water after a few months.
There’s a reason sailors on long sea voyages drank so much whisky and grogg. The water was actually spiked with alcohol to help prevent it from spoiling or going “off” during storage.
The same thing happens to stored water these days, unless it’s properly sterilized and completely sealed.
Can I Can Water?
Most canners know that high acid foods like jam, jellies, and pickles can be water bath canned, while low acid foods like meat must be pressure canned.
What about canning water?
Provided the water is clean and potable, it’s perfectly fine to water bath can plain water.
Keep in mind that you cannot add any nutrients or sugar attempting to make an electrolyte solution. It must be plain water, without anything added.
That said, I generally pressure can water instead because it’s actually faster start to finish. I don’t quite have space on my stove for a giant pot of water and a water bath canner, but my tall pressure canner fits beautifully next to a 5-gallon stockpot.
I’ll take you through both methods, and you can decide for yourself.
(Many home canners I know can water at home alongside their other canning batches. When a batch isn’t quite full, they’ll add in a jar of boiling water to fill out the batch. That way, instead of doing a dedicated batch they’ll slowly build up their supply of home-canned water. That’s a totally fine method, provided the canning times are at least what’s recommended below for both water bath canning and pressure canning.)
Preparing Jars for Canning Water
Canning water starts with preparing the jars, just like any canning project. Make sure they’re completely clean, washed with hot soapy water, or run through a cycle in the dishwasher.
While they should be completely clean, it’s not actually necessary to boil the jars to pre-sterilized them. According to the National Center for Food Preservation:
“In order to actually sterilize jars, they need to be submerged in (covered by) boiling water for 10 minutes. When the processing time for canning food is 10 minutes or more (at 0-1,000 feet elevation), the jars will be sterilized DURING processing in the canner. Therefore, when process times are 10 minutes or more at this altitude, pre-sterilization of jars is not needed. It doesn’t hurt your product to do it anyway, but it does require additional time and energy and is unnecessary.”
That said, it is a good idea to pre-warm the jars and set them on a towel on the counter for filling. Warm jars are less likely to suffer thermal shock as when filled with boiling water, and a towel under them helps insulate them from the cold counter below.
I’ll run mine through a hot cycle on the dishwasher and then leave them in there to stay warm until I’m ready to begin actually canning.
Water Bath Canning Water
You’d think something as simple as canning water would be easy to agree upon, but various state extension agencies have slightly different instructions. I read literally dozens of descriptions of the process to home can water, and each agency seems to have its own version.
Some say that canning in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes is totally sufficient, others insist on 20 minutes.
Some say to have the canner at itself at a simmer (around 180 degrees) when the jars go in. Others suggest starting with hot (but not simmering) water at around 140 F, and then bringing it up to a full rolling boil with the jars inside the canner.
When I finally put them side by side and tried to find a consensus…I was surprised to realize they’re all actually saying the same thing.
How is that possible?
Some agencies are writing for experienced canners, that understand that you need to adjust the canning time for elevation. Others are writing for novices, and just providing the hottest and longest process time out of an abundance of caution. (Process times that’d be completely overkilled at sea level, but just enough for over 6,000 feet.)
The starting temperature differs because generally when you’re canning, you use a canner at 140 degrees for a raw pack, and 180 degrees for a hot pack.
A raw pack is when you pack fruit/veggies/etc into a jar at room temperature, and then boiling water is poured over the top. That means the jars are cooler than if it’d been hot packed, where everything went in boiling.
The temperature of the canner is adjusted to prevent thermal shock, and more closely match the temperature inside the jar.
The trick is, when you’re canning water, are you “raw packing” or “hot packing”? There’s no produce in the jar to cool it, so I’d argue that it’s a “hot pack.” Clearly, the extensions can’t make up their mind on that one, and that’s why some recommend 140 degrees to help prevent thermal shock if the jars cool too much before they go into the canner.
Instructions for Canning Water in a Water Bath Canner
Bringing all the various instructions for canning water together, this process actually agrees with more than a dozen sources from various agricultural agencies. Rather than just giving you the longest possible times (as some do), I’m going to give you altitude adjustments.
That said, the quality of the water doesn’t really degrade if you “over can it” and process it for too long. If you want to error on the side of caution, that’s totally fine.
(If you’re not familiar with water bath canning, please read this beginner’s guide to water bath canning before getting started.)
Prepare a water bath canner by bringing it up to just barely simmering 180 degrees F.
In a separate pot, bring clean potable water to a full rolling boil. Boil the water for a full 5 minutes before proceeding.
Fill clean canning jars with boiling water, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Seal the jars to finger tight with 2 part canning lids, and use a jar lifter to place the hot jars into the preheated water bath canner.
Bring the canner to a full rolling boil. Once at a boil, start the timer.
Process jars for 10 minutes (below 1,000 feet). For 1,000 to 6,000 feet, use 15 minutes. For over 6,000 feet in elevation, use 20 minutes.
Those times are summarized in the table below, from the national center for food preservation:
They explicitly note that this only sufficient to sterilize pure water:
“Water for canning must be free of nutrients. Boiling water canning does not destroy the spores of Clostridium botulinum, so can pure water only.”
If you’ve added other things to the water (flavoring, sugar, etc) then this process will not work. Anything but pure water in this process might run the risk of botulism.
As for jar sizes, the national center for food preservation recommends either pints or quarts for these processing times.
If you’d like to use half-gallon jars, the Utah State Extension Service recommends using a 20 minute process time. They don’t provide altitude adjustments, but for safety, I’d assume that means below 1,000 feet. Add 5 minutes for 1,000 to 6,000 feet (making it 25 min), and use 30 minutes for over 6,000 feet.
This process for water bath canning water is the general consensus coming from the state agencies that test and develop safe canning recipes.
Pressure Canning Water
Personally, I’m a fan of the ease of pressure canning. Why?
- Pressure Canning is Quicker ~ Instead of bringing a full water bath canner to a boil, I’m only bringing a few inches at the bottom of the pressure canner to a boil.
- Batch Sizes are Larger ~ I have a double-decker pressure canner, and it allows me to can 14 quarts at a time on two levels.
- Less Fuel & Steam ~ Faster process times means I’m using less fuel (propane) to get the job done, and the sealed container means I’m not steaming up the kitchen as much.
- Quality ~ The high heat of pressure canning can degrade the contents of the jar, so it’s not a good idea for delicate things like home-canned lemon curd, but water is just water…the quality is the same no matter how hot it gets.
(If you’re not familiar with pressure canning, please read this beginner’s guide to pressure canning before getting started.)
Loading quart jars full of water into a pressure canner
The state and governmental agencies don’t actually provide any recommendations for pressure canning water. Common sense though, tells you that processing the jars at 5 pounds pressure for 10 minutes (below 1,000 feet elevation) is totally sufficient.
At 5 pounds pressure, the water in the canner is at 228 degrees F, which is well above the 212 F temps in a water bath canner. Following the same times as for water bath canning would be more than sufficient, given the higher temperatures.
(At above 1,000 feet, increase the pressure to 10 pounds.)
This method will work and is great if you’d like to use an abundance of caution. Heck, go ahead and can it at 10 pounds pressure for 20 minutes if you’re worried about it…but that’s not necessary.
I did find one source that has a tested pressure canning water recipe in Diane Devereaux’s book The Complete Guide to Pressure Canning. She suggests processing the jars at 5 pounds pressure for 8 minutes.
What do I do? I use 10 pounds pressure for 10 minutes. It’s overkill, but it only takes a few extra minutes and I know for sure that it’s going to be good.
How Long Does Canned Water Last?
In theory, clean potable water sealed in canning jars will last for decades. Provided the seal is still intact on the canning jar, the water inside should be good.
How Much Water Should You Store?
This really depends on your particular situation, and whether you live in a water-stressed region. FEMA recommends a gallon of water per person per day, half for drinking and the other half for cooking/washing.
Preparing for a week-long emergency, you’d need 7 gallons of water per person total. A flat of quart mason jars holds 3 gallons, so a bit more than two flats per person. That’s a lot of jars…
Here in Vermont, we live in a water-rich region and have a pond not far from the house. In a real emergency, we’d be processing water for safe drinking.
I keep canning jars of water on hand for short term emergencies and power outages. I have a total of 12 gallons canned for my family of 4, which takes us through little emergencies just fine. Longer than that, for things like hurricane Irene that cut off whole towns for 2+ weeks a time, and we’ll be breaking out the water filters.
If I lived in an arid climate, as many people do out west, I’d can considerably more given that there’s not accessible water around in the environment.
Canning Water for Emergencies
Canning water for emergencies is a simple way to ensure you always have a supply of potable water on hand.
Ingredients
- Water
Instructions
- Prepare a water bath canner by preheating it to roughly 180 degrees F (just barely simmering). Prepare canning jars and lids as the canner heats.
- Fill a second large pot with clean potable water and bring it to a boil. Maintain a full rolling boil for 5 minutes.
- Fill prepared canning jars with the boiling water, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Seal with 2 part canning lids to finger tight.
- Load the jars into the water bath canner and bring the canner to a full rolling boil. Once boiling, begin timing. Process for 10 minutes at altitudes below 1,000 feet. (See notes for higher altitudes)
- When the processing time is complete, remove the jars to cool on a towel on the counter.
- Once completely cool, check seals. Re-process any unsealed jars, and store properly processed sealed jars in the pantry.
Notes
Altitude Adjustments - For 1,001 to 6,000 feet, process for 15 minutes. For over 6,000 feet, process jars for 20 minutes.
Jar Size - This process is tested by the national center for food preservation for pint and quart jar sizes, but they did not test larger jar sizes. The Idaho extension suggests using a 20 minute process time for half-gallon jars, adding time for elevations above 1,000 feet.
Pressure Canning Water - To pressure can water, prepare a pressure canner and jars. Bring a separate pot to a full rolling boil for 5 minutes. Fill jars, and process inside the pressure canner for 8 minutes at 5 pounds pressure for altitudes under 1,000 feet. Above 1,000 feet use 10 pounds pressure.
Emergency Preparedness
Looking for more emergency preparedness resources?
- Best (and Worst) Survival Food Kits
- Choosing a Survival Seed Bank
- Can You Survive a Nuclear Winter?
- 40+ Plants You Can Make Into Flour
- Survival Gardening ~ Our Real Life Dry Run
Canning Tutorials
Putting up more than water? I have literally hundreds of canning recipes to fill your pantry with shelf-stable pantry staples…
Lorna
Thank you for the time you’ve put into researching this and so many other topics. I’m one of those throw-in-a-jar to fill a batch water-canners 🙂 Unfortunately, due to Covid, I haven’t been able to source canning lids! I did have quite a stash of two-piece and reusables that I went through this past season, but if I’m limited to the reusables for this coming season, I won’t be using them to can water! Instead, we’ll be relying on our Berkey and the lake across the street 🙂
Variya Salo
I’ve canned for years but me at thought of canning water. I would this I if you used reusable plastic lids you would avoid possible corrosion from regular lids so?the water would last indefinitely.
Ashley Adamant
Reusable lids are a good idea, I’ve heard great things about them…but I’ve yet to actually invest in them or try them out personally.
Vickie S Powell
Can you use tap water that has chlorine in it?
Administrator
You can use any water as long as it is clean, potable water without any added ingredients. You could boil it for a little bit longer if you wish to evaporate some of the chlorine off or even let it sit at room temperature uncovered overnight.
Linda Paxman
THANKS SO MUCH… WE have 8 – 5gal. Water “jugs” for our water cooler… That we drink and keep rotated and filled, for everyday and emergency use… We have a big Water Tower in the basement for washing… AND drinking, if necessary… And now, I’m going to bottle some water for EXTRA drinking that will LAST for the tines when the jugs may become empty, and not able to be filled… Your emails are very APPRECIATED!! 🧓👍
Reg
thanks extremely great survivor information
Marilyn
Thanks, great article.
Lourdes
Greta article! It had never occurred to me to can water for an emergency as I also live in a water rich area. Do you have any recommendations or advice on portable water filtration systems?
Ashley Adamant
The life straw is pretty easy to use.
Janet Stull
Can you reuse seals and lids?
Administrator
If you are using a two-piece lid and ring, you can reuse the rings but it is not recommended to reuse the lids. There are reusable lids on the market though if this is something that you are interested in.
Marlene
I don’t have a canner, but I have a very large stewpot, can I do this water canning technique in just a large metal pan?
Administrator
You sure can.
Carol L
You mention”pure” water….I have a well, is that ok? I know there are minerals in my water, but it is drinkable…..Should I filter with my Berkey first? or is the water direct from the well ok? I usually don’t filter it to drink now…
Ashley Adamant
By pure water, I mean potable water without anything added. Well water is totally fine, and I’m using water from my well. By “pure” I mean don’t try to create an electrolyte solution or anything like that, but canning well water is totally fine provided it’s pure/clean enough to drink. You can run it through a Berkey first if you want, but you don’t have to.
I’ve read that if you have a lot of minerals in the water then some of those may precipitate out during canning and create a layer on the inside bottom of the canning jar. Some sources suggest first boiling the water to get that to precipitate out, then pouring off the water above leaving some of the minerals behind. That’s not for safety, but more for taste and so you don’t have a mineral film at the bottom of your jars. Also optional.
Enjoy!
Debbie Davis
I have more of a question than a comment. I canned water using the tap water in my home. After about a week there was brown stuff at the bottom of the jars. To me it looked like rust. I dud the 10 minute boiling process on the stove, before putting it in jars. Then I did the Hot WB for another 10 min. I was reading an article that someone stated you should add a tad of bleach to the water. NOW I’M REALLY CONFUSED. What did I do wrong in the process of canning my water?.
Administrator
Are you on city water or does it come from a well?
Debbie Davis
City water
Administrator
I am not sure. I have never heard of that happening. Perhaps it is due to excess mineral content in the water.
Jamie
I am new to canning my, and my question is bound to show it, but….
Could I just vigorously boil the water in the canner itself for 5 minutes and then use it to fill the jars?
Ashley Adamant
I think I understand your question there. You mean just use one really big pot, bring it to a boil, fill the jars, and then place them in the remaining water.
That honestly isn’t a bad idea, and I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t work. My initial reaction was you’d need a really big pot because you’re removing water as you fill the jars…but then the jars are going back in taking up the same amount of space. Some is lost to evaporation of course, but the jars themselves also take up space.
It should work?
Just be sure that the lids of the jars are covered by at least 1 inch of water during the canning process, and that they’re not in their boiling in a half-full canner.
Good luck! Let me know how it goes?
Dave
Can bottled water be used to can?
Administrator
You can use any kind of water as long as it is clean, potable water without any added ingredients.
Pat
We collect rain water and filter with a berkey. Recently, I opened a jar of canned water, (I add a jar to fill canner at 15lb) and it tasted odd. Should the water be refiltered or stirred to incorporate oxygen before drinking?
Administrator
I have not had that experience personally. I like those ideas though. I think I would try stirring first to incorporate some oxygen and if that doesn’t help then maybe try filtering. Be sure to check back and let us know the results.
Cathy Corfield
I used to work in a hospital and we sterilized water but it was only good for so long. Essentially an autoclaves is a big pressure cooker and it has to be used once opened or it grows bugs as microscopic ones.
Christy
I used bottled water from Walmart and pressure canned it just like you stated to a T
When the water cooled I noticed that there was a sort of sludge in the water
It was all round the top of the jar on the inside and floating in it
I have never seen anything like it
And I prepped 4 jars but canned only 3
The 4 th was still clear after cooling down
The other three were not
Do you have any reason why ?
Sharon Omernick
We have softener system on r well water, can I use it to can?
Administrator
As long as it is clean and potable without any added ingredients it should be fine to can.
Bubba
Would reverse osmosis water be a good clean source for this?
Ashley Adamant
Sounds perfect to me!
Sabrina
I use a waterbath canner with tap water to can tomatoes and jam. There is always a white dustiness on the jars that may be calcium and other minerals. It is also very chalky/dusty inside and out when I tried canning water. I’m OK with this if it is safe, and my tap water is safe to drink. What do you think?
Administrator
It definitely sounds like calcium and other minerals and should be fine.
Sabrina
Thanks so much! I just found your website about a week ago and it has already helped me plan ahead! Have a great day!
Ashley Adamant
Wonderful! So glad it’s helpful to you!
Maggie
Put a little vinegar in the canner water with the jars and that should stpo happening.
Josh Stevenson
Utah State University sits at 4,500 feet above sea level, and most of their canning guides are tuned to this higher altitude. Not that it’s really too big of a deal to add time, but I don’t think I would assume their instructions are for below 1,000 feet.
Dana
I came here to say this also. The lowest elevation in the whole state is a little over 2000 feet above sea level. There will be locations over 6000 feet also like Park City.
Bobbi
Have you seen small floaties in your water. I have city water.
Administrator
The particles are most likely some kind of mineral from your water.
Barbara
I canned quarts of water this week. I filter my city tap water through a Berkey. I boiled the water then pressure canned. Several of the jars have white particles floating, Now I am concerned about the water I canned. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Thank you.
Administrator
This is most likely just minerals from the water that solidified during the canning process. It’s pretty common.
Kathleen
I purchased water jugs from WM. I wondered if you could use that to boil
and then pressure can. Thank you so much for all your help! I love
this site.
Ashley Adamant
Regular glass usually isn’t heat safe, I’d suggest using only canning jars to prevent breakage.
Kathleen Hallford
I realize that I was not clear when I wrote. I want to know if I can take the water out of the WM jugs
and pressure can them in quart mason jars with two piece lids. I also have a Berkey canister water
filter. Should I run it through that first or will the pressure canning process take care of it.
Administrator
Any water can be canned as long as it is clean and potable and it’s just plain water without anything added.
Amanda
I loved your article and all the research you put into it. THank you! My question is…what are your thoughts on PRESSURE canning in the half-gallon size jar? If I upped the pressure and time to 15 pounds for 15 minutes, would that be logical? Thank you for your time.
Administrator
As far as I am aware, there are only tested processing times for quarts and pints so I would not recommend using half-gallon jars.
Kathy
I have just called my first batch of water. I am using potable well water. The final product is a bit cloudy. Could it be from calcium in the water? I think it is good, I have no worries about quality, just wondering what might cause cloudiness.
Administrator
Yes, the cloudiness can often come from calcium or other minerals in the water.
JewJew
I have well water and we started buying spring water for making ice or tea or coffee. if you boil my well water it will leave a film of lime. there is lots of lime in my water. We were less than half mile from my mom’s and you could boil her water without any problems. when you make ice and put it in a glass of water little floaters make me think it is nasty.. Is spring water ok to can.
Administrator
Any drinkable water can be canned as long as it doesn’t have any additives in it.
Jake
Hi,
I read a lot about thermal shock when canning water. Why would you not put your clean jars into potable water and then turn the heat on? This way the jars and the water will come up to temperature at the same time and sterilize both too.
Administrator
If the jars are warm and the water is boiling when it goes into the jars then thermal shock isn’t an issue. The processing time described here is based on the water going into the canner after it has been boiled. There are lots of methods out there for canning water so as long as you follow a tested method, you should be good to go.
Jake
So is that a thumbs up or not for my suggestion?
Thanks
Administrator
I can’t really give a suggestion on that. If you can find a source that shows this as a tested method then you’re good to go.
F. Teague
On the pressure canning method, how much water do you put in the pressure cooker before you put the jars in and seal the lid?
Administrator
The standard is 2 to 3 inches of water but each canner is different so you should follow the instructions that came with your canner.
Brenda
Re: comments about sludge/brown matter in the water–I agree that it’s most likely minerals. I would think distilling the water before canning would solve that problem.
Sandy Patterson
You wouldn’t want to rely on distilled water for drinking in an emergency. The distilling process removes everything from the water except pure H2O. It sounds ideal, but your body requires some minerals to function, and long term drinking of distilled water will deplete the minerals in your body. If you do can distilled water I would recommend that you put a bottle of multi-vitamins in the flat with the jars.
Meredith
Hi thanks for all this research! I wonder if salt counts as an “added ingredient”? I want to make saline solution for soaking minor injuries or piercings. I’m tired of running out of the saline spray they sell at piercing shops. It also comes in small quantities and is kind of overpriced. Most people in the piercing world say not to make your own saline at home because it isn’t properly sterile just by boiling water in a pot but I feel like theoretically canning it (assuming you do it properly) should be able to achieve that. Do you think salt would be dangerous in the way sugar might? I’m leaning toward no because most water has some minerals in it already.
Ashley Adamant
Adding (or removing) salt is always fine in canning recipes, so that should be perfectly fine. And yes, there’s always various amounts of dissolved salts in water anyway. You just can’t add sugar (or anything a microbe could use as a food source). I could go into the details for the reasons behind this, but it’s not strictly relevant here other than to say salt water is fine (just no sugar).
As to whether it’s “medically sterile” for topical use, I can’t answer that as I don’t know. For extra safety, you might want to pressure can it, as that kills a lot more stuff than plain water bath canning. Whether that’s strictly necessary I can’t say, but in operating rooms, everything is put through an autoclave at pressure canner temperatures (rather than just boiled).
Linda Brusehaver
Love yr directions..just found you..i water bathed 8 qt.of well water today n added 1/8 tsp. Pickling salt to each qt. As hhad read that it improves flavor of canned water. Water bathed it 20 min..as above 1000 ft..i have cloudy white sediment in bottom of jars..we have very hard water..r they ok to store this way
Administrator
I would say that the cloudiness is most likely a result of the minerals from the hard water.
CHRISTINA PALMER
I only drink distilled water that I distill at my home. Can this water be added straight into the Jars without boiling again? Before Putting in Water Bath.
Administrator
I think the biggest concern with not boiling the water would be thermal shock. The water has already been distilled and then everything is sterilized during the canning process but you might risk thermal shock if you’re just using room temperature water. Is the water pretty hot when it comes through distillation process?
Paula Bischoff
Could this canned water be used in a CPAP machine once processed?
Administrator
I honestly don’t know anything about the water used in a CPAP machine so I really can’t say.
bubba
what are used in a CPAP machine is distilled water
CHRISTINA PALMER
During the distilling process the water is brought up to 239℉/115℃ but as it drips into the water bottle is is room temperature. all the impurities are boiled out during the distilling.
Esther
Can one put 1/8tsp of vinegar in each quart of water to keep it preserved?
Ashley Adamant
Adding 1/8 tsp of vinegar really wouldn’t change anything in terms of preservation, but you can add it if you want, that won’t impact canning safety.
Jeanne Simmons
I save all glass jars and am wondering if I can use these to can. The jars and lids have been through the sanitize cycle on my dishwasher. Thank you.
Administrator
It’s not normally recommended to reuse lids once they have been processed unless they are lids that are specifically designed for reuse. I typically use these types of jars for dry storage.
Gina Roman
I just purchased a steam canner.. Was wondering if I could use it to preserve emergency water.
Administrator
Yes, typically you can use a steam canner for anything that you can use a water bath canner for.
Jennifer
I love this idea, we have lots of iron in our well water. We run the water through a Berkey water filter system. Works great at getting the iron out. Would this water be ok to can?
Administrator
Yes, as long as it is plain water it’s totally ok to can.