How Bad Can It Get?
Remember Hurricane Sandy? After making initial landfall in Cuba, the 2012 super storm proceeded to wreak havoc through the Caribbean and along the eastern seaboard of the US until it ultimately made landfall again in New Jersey and wrought devastation in and around New York City. Continuing effects from Sandy were felt in Cape Cod, in the Appalachians and Michigan. In Canada, high winds and power outages triggered by the remains of Sandy affected provinces as far as north as Ontario and Quebec.
In New York, the destruction caused by Sandy destroyed critical infrastructure, leaving millions of customers without power. Breaks in gas lines caused widespread fires and explosions. Residents were unable to locate gas and diesel due to flooding damage in crucial terminals and harbors. The fuel shortage meant first responders were delayed and many portable generators could not be operated. Telecommunications, including cell service were heavily disrupted; public transportation was shut down; stormwater management and wastewater treatment utilities were overwhelmed with flooding, while water utility companies were inoperable due to lack of power. Local utility customers and even homes that relied on well water were potentially exposed to water contaminated by raw and partially treated sewage.
The damage and disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy was widespread and devastating. It took months for some communities to return to some semblance of normality. It’s increasingly apparent that there is a realistic threat of significant disruption from disasters even in the most developed nations in the world. Fundamental infrastructure, access to critical resources, and the ability of civil and government agencies to respond to the disaster can all be severely impaired.
Rather than relying on vulnerable services and the hope for caretaking from government services that may be equally crippled, developing a robust emergency plan and making deliberate preparations is your best strategy for survival and a quick recovery.
Your specific emergency plan will be highly customized according to your location and available resources. There’s plenty of resources available to help you create a solid emergency plan, so let’s focus on what kinds of preparations you can make ahead of time.
Supplying Clean Water
During disasters, natural or manmade, access to safe and clean water is not guaranteed. Utilities may not be able to deliver water, that water could be directly contaminated by raw sewage or even other toxic waste. It’s not a good idea to rely on water from lakes, streams or even natural springs without the ability to test for toxins and impurities. It’s an inescapable fact that most freshwater sources, including groundwater, are vulnerable to spills and seepage from factories, farms, wastewater treatment facilities, and impoundments for various kinds of hazardous waste. It’s fine to boil your water, keep a supply of iodine tablets or chlorine, or use a water filter, but those methods are extremely limited in their ability to remove certain heavy metals, toxins, viruses and protozoans. In a pinch, a portable water purifier is a better choice, but storing a plentiful supply of drinking water before disaster occurs is more practical for meeting all the critical needs of daily living (drinking, bathing, cooking, washing, etc.)
In an urban area, your ability to store a significant amount of water may be severely limited. An effective strategy may be to store water in food grade containers (1 - 5 gallon bottles are relatively easy to move), then keep a supply of collapsible containers on hand. If a potential emergency seems likely, go ahead and start filling those containers before the stuff hits the fan. If you escape disaster unscathed, you can always use that water for watering your plants, washing dishes, cooking, etc. so it doesn’t go to waste.
Containers for storing drinking water should be:
- Sealable to prevent outside contamination
- Food grade (to prevent hazardous compounds from leaching into your water over time)
- Transportable (a 55-gallon water barrel weighs over 400lbs, which can be impractical for moving almost anywhere, even just down the hall.)
Other possibilities for access to water may include setting up one or more rain barrels. Water collected from rainfall won’t be suitable for drinking (especially in the case of wildfire or even destructive winds, since there’s likely to be high levels of airborne pollutants that will be brought down with the rain). Rain barrels can be effective for hygiene uses, however, especially if it’s filtered, and this will significantly reduce the pressure on your potable water stores.
If you’re in a suitable location, it may be a great idea to set up a private cistern now. Cisterns can be relatively small (500 gallons) to quite large (12,000 gallons). You’ll need to decide ahead of time whether the cistern will be used for drinking water and how you’ll ensure it remains pure enough to drink. If your cistern is elevated, you’ll have a certain amount of water pressure to help move it to a spigot. When an emergency isn’t imminent, consider using your water supply to keep your greenhouse and garden irrigated.
