Emergency Water Treatment During Crisis Situations
In the wake of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina which pummeled New Orleans in 2005, the most important need of the residents who are still living there is fresh, clean water. Sad but true, natural disasters can wipe out municipal water treatment facilities and contaminate water supplies with everything from bacteria to industrial waste rendering it unusable for human consumption. Even though cities are required to have emergency water treatment plans set up for just such occurrences, it’s still a good idea to prepare your own emergency water treatment plan just in case the unforeseen should occur.
You need to start by knowing exactly what you could be up against. Contaminated water can contain three separate types of pathogens (disease-causing organisms) as well as unsafe chemicals. The pathogen category can be broken down into protozoan parasites, toxic bacteria, and harmful viruses. Waterborne pathogens are generated from animal and human waste which is carried down into drinking water sources. Poisons can come from industrial or storage situations as well as from chemicals used to destroy pests and weeds. Emergency situations merely exacerbate conditions that are present all the time.
Bigger contaminants can be excised from water as easily as by running the water through a paper towel or coffee filter into a clean pitcher. Bacteria and viruses, however, are much too small to be successfully taken out of water using this method. Emergency water treatment plans, therefore, must include some kind of disinfectant that can kill these microorganisms. Iodine is quite an effective disinfectant for water, much more efficient than the chlorine commonly used in swimming pools. Protozoa, on the other hand, do not respond well to iodine. Instead, you will require some kind of effective filtering system to eradicate these pathogens. Although boiling is the most effective method for eliminating protozoa from drinking water, if there are power outages boiling may not be an option.
Poisonous chemicals don’t have to cause the immediate health risks that pathogens do, but they can still damage healthy cells in your body and lower your immunity so that you are more prone to disease. If the water is murky and looks like its been contaminated, you must not drink it until it has been treated. Water is vital to the human body, though, so it’s important that you can obtain or come up with a source of fresh water quickly following a natural disaster. You can live for several weeks if you don’t have food, but you’ll only make it a few days if you don’t have water. Therefore, it’s essential that you have an emergency water treatment plan so that you’re ready in case something happens.