With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.
Would you feel confident that your drinking water is safe during an emergency? While uncommon in Canada, it is possible for floods, hurricanes and even a broken water main to interrupt your regular water service. Generally, during an emergency, authorities recommend drinking sterilized or bottled water to avoid being harmed by disease causing microorganisms or pollutants that could be in the water. Since there may be a rush for bottled water at the store, it is crucial to know how to sterilise your water to ensure that you and your family are protected.
Don’t Rely on How Your Water Looks
Although cloudy water is an obvious sign that there is a water quality issue, you need to remember that not all contaminants will affect how your water looks. In an emergency, your water may still appear clear, but it could be harbouring potentially harmful contaminants. Some of the most dangerous water contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, and heavy metals are undetectable to the naked eye. So, if an emergency alert has been issued or your home has been affected by flooding, storms or a hurricane, you can’t assume that your water is safe and need to take action. Fortunately, there are some effective ways to ensure that your water is safe to drink and use around the home.
Sterilisation Methods
There are a number of ways to sterilise the water you have available to make it safe for drinking, cooking, preparing meals, brushing your teeth and cleaning. You only need a small amount of contaminated water to make you sick, so you need to ensure proper sterilisation methods. The most effective sterilisation methods are:
Boiling: Boiling is a highly effective way to sterilise water if you have power. You’ll need to allow cloudy water to settle and run it through a paper towel or coffee filter to remove any sediment. You can then bring your water to a rolling boil for approximately three minutes. While lower altitudes can have sterilised water by boiling for a minute or two, it is best to err on the side of caution. Boiling can leave water tasting a little flat, but this can be remedied by adding a pinch of salt, preferably mineral rich pink salt.
Household Bleach: If it is not possible to boil your water, you can still sterilise it using regular chlorine bleach. You should only use a food grade, unscented regular type of bleach to ensure safety. As with boiling, you can remove any sediment by allowing cloudy water to settle and filter using a paper towel or coffee filter. Next, use a clean medicine dropper to add six drops of your bleach for every gallon of water. If your water is very cold or cloudy, you should double the bleach. Stir your water and allow it to stand for at least thirty minutes. Your water will have a slight chlorine smell, and if this is not detectable, repeat this process and allow it to stand again. If your water has a strong or unpalatable chlorine smell or taste, pour it into a fresh container and let it stand for at least an hour.
There are also several types of water treatment system that can be beneficial during an emergency situation. UV water disinfection, RO systems, and gravity water filtration systems can ensure that your water is safe for consumption.
Be Wary of Other Contaminants
Unfortunately, disinfection and boiling may be sufficient for some contaminants, but it will not destroy some others. Salts, heavy metals and many chemicals will not be affected by these two methods, and in fact, concentrations may actually increase due to evaporation during boiling. Since you need to have properly cleaned water for cooking, preparing drinks, washing dishes, brushing teeth and in some cases of water contamination, bathing, you will need a more effective form of water treatment. Fortunately, as mentioned above, there are a number of domestic water treatment systems that can protect your water supply in the event of an emergency. This includes:
RO Systems: Reverse Osmosis uses a semi permeable membrane to trap contaminants and allow clean water to pass through. RO systems can remove 99.9 percent of water contaminants including heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, and common chemical contaminants.
Filtration: There are a number of filtration systems that can provide clean water in an emergency. Domestic systems can be created with a series of filters and pre-treatment stages to remove sediment, chemicals, and other harmful contaminants.
You also need to consider whether a point of use system or whole house system would provide the best option for your home. Point of use systems can be helpful in a kitchen where you prepare drinks and make meals. Unfortunately, some contaminants affecting water supplies in an emergency may not only be a problem for ingestion. Some contaminants can be hazardous due to skin exposure. This means that when you bathe or wash your clothing, you will come into contact with potentially hazardous chemicals or compounds. Since the skin is the largest organ of the body, exposure due to bathing in contaminated water could have serious health consequences. There are also health issues posed by chemical inhalation, so you will suffer exposure from the running water in your shower. In these types of scenario, a whole house system will offer complete protection. A whole house system treats water as it enters your home, so clean water is supplied to all of your taps and fixtures.
Preparing for an emergency water situation can provide reassurance that you and your family will be able to cope if adverse weather or even a broken water main effects your water supply. Water is vital for every aspect of life, and you need to know that you have a safe supply in an emergency situation. An experienced water treatment technician can not only assess your current water quality, but also guide you through the treatment options that will improve your water quality and provide protection in the event of an emergency.