Flood water clean up, and water borne diseases why not drink flood water? Find out why here.

  The news feed is so intense during Hurricane Harvey, today is September 2, 2017, just over a week since the beginning of this terrible catastrophic event. I don't know about you but I am always astonished, although I shouldn't be, at the role fires play in almost every natural disaster. Four feet of flood water and there is a video of a house on fire, wow, amazing. As I was listening to one of the major news reports, I've found the weather channel is a good one to watch, a representative at a hospital made a statement that of course started the gears in my brain to start turning. The lady's statement, I realize there is a lot of distress involved, she said to the effect, "We expected the electricity to be out, but the water, who would expect that we would lose our water supply?" This is not a direct quote, it's a part of what I can recall, I'm not passing judgment on her at all, I will use it to explain why it was lost and why it cannot be reclaimed for consumption. Flood facts.

This is a FEMA poster, they really do a good job in disasters
when it's all taken into perspective, they are housing ten's of
thousands of displaced people right now, it's a huge undertaking.

  1)  What's in the flood water? E. Coli, Salmonella, Shigella, the virus Hepatitis A as well as paratyphoid and tetanus. These diseases caused by floods are just the tip of the iceberg, as the temperatures rise, mold forms and the water warms up a toxic pool of water borne diseases is created. The symptoms of the illnesses are the most miserable diarrhea, abdominal cramps, high fever and muscle cramps.  Tetanus is caused when contaminated water enters the body through a cut or other opening in the skin, Lock Jaw is also one of the diseases caused by floods. The good news is that in developed country's (USA) after a flooding disaster diseases such as cholera or typhoid are rare. Most diseases that occur after the event were present prior to the natural disaster, however, that does not translate into environmental pollution not being an issue after a flood.
  The viruses and diseases present in the flood water can be eliminated through boiling for at least 1/2 hour, following water purification procedures as outlined here. There is more in the water than bugs, don't drink the water yet, if ever.
  2)  Why won't boiling alone make the flood water safe? Lead may be one of the less dangerous compounds in flood water, think of the chemicals each of us use at our homes. Weed killer, fertilizers, pesticides, oils, fuels and all sorts or glues, paints and sealers, just in our homes. Think of all of the cleaning supplies in each home, and possible asbestos. Farms, parks, golf courses and industrial plants all use an amazing assortment of chemicals, paints and special manufacturing compounds. Some we know what their active ingredients are, others we don't really know, especially while they are being manufactured which may include more chemicals that dissipate during the manufacturing process but remain intact in flood water. Arsenic is very common in water supplies, it was used at one time (it's my understanding the practice has stopped) in pressure treated wood. The wood is treated in some states as a "toxic" material and can not be placed in regular garbage or sent to a dump. Arsenic is very difficult to remove from water, in fact, some facilities adhere to the "dilution is the solution" to this particular contaminate. More on flood water purification.
 

Every town has at least one Water Treatment Plant, ours is just
across the river from my house.

How can we be sure the water is pure if we don't know what is in it? It's impossible to know what's in flood water without extensive testing, even after testing there is a number of unknowns. It is impossible to remove all of the contaminants from the water making flood water cleanup all the more difficult. To compound the problem, the land from Houston to the Sea is on a slope of 1 foot down for each mile forward, flat. That slope is so flat it's a wonder how the water can flow as far as it has to go, causing another issue to occur. Ground water pollution.
  3)  Ground water pollution, the longer water lays on the surface the more time it has to percolate into the water table. As it penetrates the soil I have a tendency to think the sand and organic material Purify's it. That is true to a point, at issue is some of the chemicals are not shed in the sand, instead they are carried through to the reservoir below it, blame gravity.
       Well water, raw flood water will contaminate any well, the water should not be used until after extensive testing is performed, that well must be treated as if it is toxic because it is. Boil well water and treat it with unscented bleach prior to using it for hygienic purposes. DDT, dioxins (agent orange) and some polymers can not be filtered out of the water, there is no way to know without testing if any of these compounds are in the water. After a flood the U.S. Department of Health sets up a system to track disease outbreaks, making response rapid.
        We are able to make water appear clean, crystal clear, that does not mean it is potable, it merely means nothing is floating in it. Boiling removes some disease bacteria and virus's, purification tablets take out some more, neither will remove chemicals. Reverse Osmosis removes more compounds and "bugs", but not all, Dioxins and Arsenic plus others remain. How to purify water, click here.
  4)  Ground water cleanup is impossible, the only way to even partially clean up the water table is when it is piped to the community, either in the processing plant or in the case of a private well the use of a "whole house filter". At the facility there is normally huge "settling ponds", pools holding water to enable the solid to sink to the bottom, skimming off the clearer water on top. After the heavy solids are removed the typical plant sends the water to a series of screens and filters, filtering the water down to 10 microns, very small. That removes all of the "stuff" that earned the Mississippi the nickname "Old Muddy", the water is clear, but not clean, yet. After the filtering, it is tested for contaminants and all of the time, every time in normal conditions the water is safe to drink. Yes some municipalities add chemicals and additives which are deemed "safe" for consumption, we mostly assume our water supply is indeed "safe". Now the water is in our homes and we are Happy, we are fortunate in our country to have reliable, clean and efficient water systems. Then disaster strikes, the bad of the bad, a flood.

It's nice to see a diagram of the water table and how it works, there are two
layers of clay in the Central Valley, depending on where it is one is at about
8 feet the second below it at about 15-20.  It's referred to as "hard pan".

  5)The reason our water gets interrupted is: Due to the holding ponds having to be at ground level, I imagine somewhere there is one built above the flood plain while supplying it water, but most are prone to be affected by flooding. Four feet of water was the average level the water achieved during Hurricane Harvey, over an area larger than the state of New Jersey, on a flood plain which is basically flat. The contaminated flood water will penetrate every square inch of the processing plant rendering it completely contaminated, ending processing. The flood water is toxic and has just caused huge damage to the plant. All of the electric motors, control boxes, circuit breakers, control panels everything that was submerged must be replaced. All of the processing piping must be cleaned out, inside, filters, vessels, and tanks must be cleaned or replaced. All of the supply piping to the community must be flushed out with clean water after the plant is back in operation, the flood water contamination includes the infrastructure. Just to get the plant "up and running" is a major undertaking, 24 hour days are not uncommon for the workers, that is just the beginning in many ways. The community has limited water in the beginning while the processing plant continues to deal with the effects of the flood, it will continue for most likely a year at least.
  "We didn't think we'd lose our water supply." Flooding is an equal opportunity disaster, it affects everything in its path, our water comes from below us, as long as gravity dominates we are at its mercy. I guess we could say then the problem isn't the flood its gravity. Click flood info is here
  I am extremely distressed over this tragedy, the human suffering that we are witnessing is saddening, to say the least. Some have been in water up to their hips for over 7 days, I can only imagine the foot and skin problems they are enduring. The wild critters in their homes, the snakes, snapping turtles and alligators are just a few. The kids, pets, grandparents, mothers and dads, it is so tragically sad I have no more words.
Thanks for reading, I'd like to hear your comments.
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com