Emergency Preparedness

A consistent supply of clean and pure drinking water is a necessity for all human beings. Although this is a well-known fact, storage of water for emergencies is one of the most overlooked aspects during a time of disaster. We always tend to take the water supply for granted or that the government will come to our rescue. Water shortages, or worse, outages, is often not considered for a disaster response plan. This situation has come up many times over the past decade from natural calamities such as floods, winter storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, or disasters such as fires, virus outbreaks, and so on. This is where emergency water preparedness becomes necessary. At Intec America, we help clients stay well-equipped for such situations by assuring constant access to clean water.

Emergency Water Storage Guidelines

Our experts generally recommend the following when it comes to emergency water storage.

• Analyze Your Daily Needs: Freshwater for drinking is a key necessity because it keeps our body hydrated. We need at least 2 quarts of water per person for drinking every day. Ideally, there should be enough water for meal preparation, sanitation as well as hygiene. In hospitals and healthcare facilities, freshwater may be needed for several medical procedures. In addition to these, food preparation, as well as pet and livestock water needs, must be addressed. At an absolute minimal, a person may require 1 gallon of water every day.
• Duration of Storage: It is optimal to store water for at least 3 days to 2 weeks depending on the usage. For hospitals and commercial facilities, we often recommend water storage for 2 weeks.
• Ensure Safety of Stored Water: Water storage tanks have been around for a long time. Today, you can find water storage tanks in a variety of sizes and materials. Although price and quality are two important considerations, the safety of stored water is equally important. Overtime, the risk of biological contamination will increase. Water must be stored in an area, which is out of reach of the common public and protected from calamities or any other disasters. Many clients who approach us for preparing an emergency water supply plan often discuss their challenges with water storage tanks made of certain materials. You must look into tanks using materials that have NSF or FDA registrations. Otherwise, leaching of manufacturing material may contaminate your stored water. We often recommend our clients to adopt good quality water storage containers made of user-friendly materials.
• Keep Track of Water Usage: Storing water for emergency situations is a wise decision indeed, but that is not enough. Sizing of your water storage tank needs to be considered. Take care to ensure the water is only used for important purposes. It is always recommended to avoid cleaning and washing tasks which may not be important if you are already facing a water shortage due to calamity. For comparison, the average home uses 100 gallons per day per head.  If your plans was to store enough water for a family of four for a two week period, that would require a 5,500 gallon tank which is fairly large.

Tips to Save Water from Contamination

Emergency water storage involves lots of consideration. Our experts are often asked, “How long does water remain fresh”? As known, water is made of hydrogen and oxygen and it remains fresh when stored properly in food-grade containers and is treated regularly. However, water may be affected by different environmental factors such as direct exposure to sunlight, temperature, chemicals, and so on. To avoid this, we recommend our clients use appropriate water treatment techniques.

Generally, water stored in tanks is continuously treated and recirculated; and in most cases, it may be dumped after a certain period and freshwater may be added. However, we recommend users to treat the water using any of the following techniques:

• Filtration: Air injection, ozonation, cartridge, and backwash filters are a few common techniques that assure water filtration. Each technique is unique and possesses specific advantages. However, not all techniques may work for you. This is where our experts will help you choose the right technique for your storage application.
• Reverse Osmosis: In this system, water is made to pass through a semipermeable membrane. The membrane blocks contaminants and allows freshwater to flow through it. We provide whole house and under-the-sink reverse osmosis filters for water treatment.
• Sanitation/Disinfection: We often recommend ultraviolet disinfection for water sanitation in residential applications. These systems use UV radiation for killing waterborne pathogens. It uses UV-C radiation, which remains most effective in the 254nm range.
• Ozonation: For commercial applications using larger storage tanks, recirculation with continuous ozonation keeps the water fresh and biologically free for extended periods of time.
• Softening/Conditioning: At times, we may use water softeners or conditioners that help reduce hard minerals in water that could scale the inside of the storage tanks.
• Rainwater Reclamation Systems: These are turnkey systems that can capture water from a roof which can provide and additional supply/or source water for a home, farm, or business.

Every year, we work with several residential and industrial customers to build custom treatment systems that not only assure them constant access to pure water supply but also helps them maximize optimal use of stored water during emergencies.

Are you looking for an effective emergency preparedness strategy or effective emergency water storage solutions? If yes, our experts will help you make the right decision. All you have to do is get in touch with us today by calling us at 800-896-1759 or mail us at info@intec-america.com.