Emergency Preparedness Tips

At the November 2006 session of the South Orange County Community Emergency Preparedness Academy, SMWD Director of Operations Dave Seymour spoke about the District’s emergency response plan.  The safety tips that Seymour shared at the workshop provide valuable pointers for residents who want to be prepared for an emergency.

Seymour’s tips are focused primarily on water.  Your emergency preparedness plan should also cover first aid, supplies and other considerations.  Visit www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/ or http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/ for more information on these aspects of your emergency preparedness program.  

Before emergencies strike:

• Stock up on emergency supplies. Generally, you need enough food, water and other supplies to last for three days. Take into consideration the following items:
  • Plan on having one gallon of clean water per person per day. If you have pets, plan on at least one gallon of water per pet per day as well.
  • What are you and your family’s individual water needs based on age, physical condition, activity, diet, and climate? Children, nursing mothers, and ill people need more water.
  • Store extra water for unexpected conditions, such as very hot temperatures or medical emergencies.
• Purchase and store commercially bottled water for emergency use
• If you must store tap water for emergencies:
  • Use sanitized two-liter soda bottles. Do not use milk or fruit juice containers.
  • Thoroughly clean the bottles with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap.
  • Sanitize the bottles by adding a solution of 1 teaspoon of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to a quart of water.
  • Rinse out the sanitizing solution thoroughly using clean water.
  • Mark the bottle with the date you filled it.  
  • Store in a cool, dark place and replace every six months
• Stabilize your water heater with strong straps bolted securely into the wall.
• Keep a tool for shutting off water and gas meters in a handy and accessible place.

After Emergencies Strike

Following an emergency or natural disaster, take the following steps to ensure that you and your family’s water supply remains safe:

• Check inside and outside your home for obvious water leaks.
• If you smell gas or suspect a gas leak, turn off your main gas valve.
• Immediately shut off your house’s main water valve.  This will keep the water in your water heater from becoming contaminated.
• Check your water tap.  If you have water pressure, fill up your bathtub or sink.  This water can be used for cleaning, washing, etc.
• Use your emergency water supply sparingly.
• If water is contaminated, purify water before drinking by bringing it to a boil for at least five minutes.
• Turn the water heater thermostat to the “vacation” setting so you can draw room-temperature water from it.
• To disinfect water in an emergency:
  • First, filter cloudy water through a clean towel, coffee filters, pillow cases, etc., to remove any large solid materials.
  • Boil water at a rolling boil for 5 minutes.
  • Let it cool and store it in a clean, covered container.

OR

• Disinfect water using only regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented bleaches, color safe bleaches or bleaches with added cleaners
• Add plain bleach to water with an eyedropper. Recommended amounts are in the table below. If you don’t know the strength, use 10 drops per quart.
  
  

  Available Chlorine	Drops per Quart/Gallon of Clear Water	Drops per Liter of Clear Water
  1%	10 per quart - 40 per gallon (let’s get a tsp or Tsp here)	10 per liter
  4-6%	2 per quart - 8 per gallon (1/8 teaspoon)	2 per liter
  7-10%	1 per quart - 4 per gallon	1 per liter

Thoroughly stir the treated water and allow it to stand for 30 minutes before using. A slight chlorine odor should be detectable in the water. If it is not, repeat the dosage and let it stand another 15 minutes before using. Treated water may have a slight chlorine taste, but this is additional evidence of safety.

Since liquid chlorine bleach loses strength over time, only fresh bleach should be used for water disinfection. For bleach that is 1 to 2 years old, the dosage should be doubled. Bleach older than two years should not be used unless absolutely necessary because of uncertainty as to how much the active ingredients may have deteriorated. bleach loses strength over time, only fresh bleach should be used for water disinfection.