One of our most basic needs is for clean, pure water. We cannot function without it and remain healthy. We need it for drinking, bathing, cleaning and cooking. Communities need to have a source of clean, safe water for their citizens at all times. When the safety of this source is compromised, as has happened in West Virginia due to the seepage of chemicals from a nearby plant, everyone is at risk.
Having clean water is so vital that this is where you should begin when starting to prepare for an emergency. People tend to keep only small quantities of bottled water on hand as they just assume they can always get more whenever they need it. Even after Katrina and Sandy caused huge water shortages, people still didn’t learn. We have this situation in West Virginia where 300,000 – 500,000 people are now faced with unsafe water that cannot be used for anything but flushing the toilet. They’re trucking in bottled water, but there is still no indication when their tap water will be safe again.
Freedom Industries admits to accidentally leaking a foaming agent containing the chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol in the Elk River. Just how much of the chemical leaked into the river is not yet known.
Officials and experts said the chemical, even in its most concentrated form, isn’t deadly. However, people across nine counties were told not to so much as wash their clothes in water affected, as the compound can cause symptoms ranging from skin irritation and rashes to vomiting and diarrhea.
No more than six people have been brought into emergency rooms with symptoms that may stem from the chemical, and none were in serious or critical condition, said State Department of Health & Human Resources Secretary Karen L. Bowling.
The spill brought West Virginia’s most populous city and nearby areas to a virtual standstill, closing schools and offices and even forcing the Legislature to cancel its business for the day. Officials focused on getting water to people who needed it, particularly the elderly and disabled.” [source]
After seeing the news reports no one in the area can use their tap water for anything and no one knows how long this situation will last. This has impacted individuals and businesses alike. Restaurants cannot even operate when they can’t wash dishes or cook with clean, safe water. Even when the citizens of West Virginia are given the “all clear” who will trust that the water is safe and things are back to normal?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency also planned to deliver more than a million liters of water from nearby Maryland. Several companies were sending bottled water and other supplies, including Pepsi and the Coca-Cola Co.”, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said.
“However, it appeared that some level of panic already had set in to some degree. At the Kroger grocery store in the shadow of a DuPont plant along the Kanawha River, people scrambled in the aisles to find bottled water, only to learn the store had been out since early Friday.”
“Robert Stiver was unable to find water at that store after trying at least a dozen others in the area, worried about how he’d make sure his cats had drinkable water. The water at his home had a blue tint and smelled like licorice, he said.”
“’I’m lucky. I can get out and look for water but what about the elderly? They can’t get out. They need someone to help them,’ he said.” [source]
I give props to all the private companies who are helping as well as everyone else. They are putting people before profits and adjusting their operations in order to help. This is how private enterprise should work. Maybe Freedom Industries should take note. Why are they, the ones who caused this disaster, not trucking in millions of gallons of free water for these people? As for FEMA, we will have to wait and see if and when their truckloads of water ever arrive. And don’t forget, people have been warned that “Law enforcement will be at the distribution sites to regulate how much people can take from each of the water sites.”
“West Virginia American Water held a press conference Friday morning saying a water use ban will remain in effect indefinitely in parts of 9 counties after a chemical leak in Charleston.”
“West Virginia American Water President Jeffrey McIntyre says at this point, they can’t say the water is unsafe to drink, but they also can’t say the water is safe.”
And then after the above was published the Kanawha County Sheriff in a press release, said, “Please do not rush out to your local grocery store or convenience store to purchase water.” [source]
So let me get this straight . . . . You place an indefinite ban on using water and then you tell people not to go out and buy water!! How do I even write about the statement above, the order not to go out and buy water? What could I possibly say other than this is completely absurd.
Will you be one of the people staring clueless at an empty store shelf after driving hours to purchase water for your family? Or are you prepared for such an event?
In addition to storing bottled water you might want to look into some popular water filtration products that are frequently used by preppers:
- LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
- LifeStraw Family 1.0 Water Purifier
- Berkey Water Systems
- Katadyn Water Systems
Let us know about your water stockpile below and any advice you have for others.
