With the number of natural disasters happening currently and in the past year, have you thought about how prepared you are if your access to drinking water was cut off or contaminated? Here are some key points to consider for being prepared ahead of time, during and after the natural disaster.
1. A three day supply of one gallon per person per day should be stored for drinking and sanitation. Because individual needs vary depending on age, health, physical condition, activity, diet and climate, you might consider storing more than the recommended one gallon per person per day.
2. Buy commercially bottled water and store it in its original container in a cool, dark place. If you need to bottle your own, use food grade water storage containers, clean with dishwashing soap and sanitize with a solution of 1 teaspoon of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to a quart of water. Water not commercially bottled should be replaced every six months.
3. Never ration drinking water unless ordered to do so by authorities. Drink the amount of water you feel you need. Reducing the amount of activity and staying as cool as possible, will minimize the amount of water your body needs.
4. Drink the water that you know is not contaminated first. Cloudy water from regular faucets or from streams or ponds, can be used if treated. If you do not have a way to treat the water, put off drinking suspicious water as long as possible, but do not become dehydrated.
5. Treating water may be necessary if your stored water has been used up. Treat all water that is questionable before using for drinking, food washing or preparation, washing dishes, brushing teeth or making ice. There are multiple ways to treat water. Before treating, let any suspended particles settle to the bottom or strain them through coffee filters or layers of clean cloth.
a. Boiling is the safest method of treating water. Bring water to a rolling boil for one minute and then let the water cool before drinking. Boiled water tastes better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring the water back and forth between two containers. This also improves the taste of stored water.
b. Chlorination—use regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 or 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite. Scented bleaches, color safe bleaches or bleaches with added cleaners cannot be used. Add 1/8 teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, then repeat the dosage and let stand another fifteen minutes. If it still does not smell of chlorine, discard and find another source of water. Other chemicals, such as iodine or water treatment products sold in camping or surplus stores that do not contain 5.25 or 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite as the only active ingredient should not be used.
c. Distillation – While boiling and chlorination will kill most microbes in water, distillation will remove germs that resist these methods, as well as heaving metals, salts and most other chemicals. Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses. To distill, fill a pot halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle of the pot’s lid so the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is placed upside-down (cup should not be dangling into the water) on the pan and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled.
This information was taken from http://www.ready.gov/water. The http://www.ready.gov site includes much more information for being prepared when natural disasters hit.
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Additional information is available by contacting Janell at the Chouteau County Extension Office at 622-3036, janellb@montana.edu or in the Chouteau County Courthouse at 1308 Franklin St in Fort Benton.
