Everyday Blog

In the wake of natural catastrophes, such as Hurricane Katrina which destroyed New Orleans in 2005, the biggest need of the people who live there is fresh, clean water. Sad but true, natural disasters can destroy municipal water treatment facilities and infiltrate water supplies with everything from bacteria to industrial waste rendering it inappropriate for human consumption. Although cities are required to have emergency water treatment plans set up for just such occurrences, it’s still a good idea to have your own emergency water treatment plan just in case the unthinkable should occur.

You should start by knowing exactly what you could be up against. Contaminated water can be full of three distinct types of pathogens (disease-causing organisms) as well as toxic chemicals. The pathogen category can be broken down into protozoan parasites, toxic bacteria, and harmful viruses. Waterborne pathogens are derived from animal and human waste which is carried down into drinking water sources. Chemicals can come from industrial or storage situations as well as from chemicals used to destroy pests and weeds. Emergency situations merely increase conditions that are there all the time.

Bigger contaminants can be removed from water as easily as by funneling the water through a paper towel or coffee filter into a debris-free pitcher. Bacteria and viruses, however, are too tiny to be totally filtered from water using these methods. Emergency water treatment plans, therefore, must include some variety of disinfectant that can eliminate these microorganisms. Iodine is quite an effective disinfectant for water, much more efficient than the chlorine used in swimming pools. Protozoa, on the other hand, don’t respond well to iodine. Therefore, you will require some type of effective filtering system to eradicate these pathogens. Despite the fact that boiling is the recommended method for eliminating protozoa from drinking water, if there are power outages boiling may not be possible.

Poisonous chemicals don’t have to cause the immediate health risks that pathogens do, but they can still destroy healthy cells in your body and lower your immunity so that you are more readily-susceptible to disease. If the water is cloudy and seems to have been contaminated, you shouldn’t drink it until it has been detoxified. Water is critical to the human body, though, so it’s important that you be able to get or develop a source of fresh water right after a natural disaster. You can live for several weeks if you have no food, but you’ll only make it a few days if you don’t have water. Therefore, it’s important that you have an emergency water treatment plan so that you’re ready for whatever may happen.