How Dependable is Your Water Supply?

Copyright © 2011 GetReadyGear.com





Without question, readily available water and electricity are the two utilities most people are not prepared to do without. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink."





An emergency water supply is the most critical element of a disaster plan that most folks just forget about. Sure we all know you need 1 gallon per person per day of stored water for an emergency, but what about having more than 3 days worth of water supply? Look around at how fragile our water supplies really are. Flooding, aging water systems and terrorism provide the most incentive to plan your emergency water supply now. Consider the following:





1. Local vandals opened two fire hydrants and drained Hamlet, Indiana's water tower of over 300,000 gallons of water resulting in a boil water order.


2. Local flooding due to a water main break in Miami-Dade County, Florida resulted in a boil water order and the power being shut off to a neighborhood for 2 days.


3. May 2010, a major pipe bringing water to the Boston area sprung a "catastrophic" leak and forced over 2 million people to boil water for 3 days.


4. The Association of State Dam Safety Officials has found that the number of dams in the United States that could fail has grown 134% since 1999 to 3,346.


5. More than a third of all dam failures or near failures since 1874 happened in just the last decade.


6. The amount of rain falling in the heaviest downpours has increased approximately 20 percent on average in the past century.1





Flooding:





Generally speaking, floods are the result of levee failures, dam failures or excessive rain fall or snow melt. When flooding occurs it can easily inundate local water treatment plants leaving them unable to keep untreated water out of the system or it forces the shutdown of the plant. Let’s take a closer look at each of the main causes of flooding.





Levees – While there is no definitive record of the number of levees in the United States it is estimated that more than 30,000 miles of levees exist. They exist in every state. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that levees are found in approximately 22% of the nation’s 3,147 counties. Forty-three percent of the U.S. population lives in counties with levees.





Many of these levees were designed decades ago to protect agricultural and rural areas, not the homes and businesses that are now located behind them. While some are multimillion-dollar concrete systems. Many are nothing more than piles of sand and dirt created by farmers as barricades against rising rivers that cyclically destroyed their crops.





In February 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the locations of levees determined to have unacceptable maintenance inspection ratings. Levees in more than 80 cities and townships in 27 states were identified as having one or more deficient conditions, including animal burrows, erosion, tree growth, floodwall movement or faulty culverts, any of which could prevent the structure from functioning as designed.2





Dams – The National Inventory of Dams, which is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shows that the number of dams in the U.S. has increased to more than 85,000, but the federal government owns or regulates only 11% of those dams.3,4 Responsibility for ensuring the safety of the rest of the nation’s dams falls to state dam safety programs. Many state dam safety programs do not have sufficient resources, funding, or staff to conduct dam safety inspections, to take appropriate enforcement actions, or to ensure proper construction by reviewing plans and performing construction inspections. For example, Texas has only 7 engineers and an annual budget of $435,000 to regulate more than 7,400 dams.3 That means each inspector is responsible for more than 1,050 dams. Worse still, Alabama does not have a dam safety program despite the fact that there are more than 2,000 dams in the state. And in some states many dams are specifically exempted from inspection by state law. In Missouri there are 740 high hazard potential dams that are exempted because they are less than 35 feet in height.





Many dams are determined to be deficient as a result of aging, deterioration, and a lack of maintenance. Often dams are deemed unsafe or deficient as a result of increased scientific and engineering knowledge about large flood events and earthquakes, and the ability to predict a dam’s structural response to such extreme events, which pose a significant safety threat. Many dams were constructed 30 or 40 years ago using the best science and engineering at the time. But as a result of the additional 40 years of historical records and greater abilities to predict increases in loads on dams and the dams’ responses to those events, more dams are being identified as unsafe or deficient.1





While the total number of dams is increasing, the number of high hazard potential dams is also increasing at an alarming rate, now totaling 15,237 3. That represents an increase of more than 3,300 new high hazard potential dams since 2007. This increase is a result of new development below dams, which is dramatically increasing the consequences of failure and resulting in the reclassification of dams. This change in classification requires that significantly greater safety standards be met given the greater consequences of dam failure.





Rainfall/Snowmelt – In just 2010, FEMA issued 90 Emergency and Major Disaster Declarations in the United States. Of these, 60% (or 54 declarations) involved flooding due to severe storms or unseasonably warm weather. Ten years earlier in 2000, there were 50 combined Emergency and Major Disaster Declarations in the United States. Of these, 38% (or 19 declarations) involved flooding.





Floods and droughts are likely to become more common and more intense as regional and seasonal precipitation patterns change, and rainfall becomes more concentrated into heavy events (with longer, hotter dry periods in between). While it sounds counterintuitive, a warmer world produces both wetter and drier conditions. Even though total global precipitation increases, the regional and seasonal distribution of precipitation changes, and more precipitation comes in heavier rains (which can cause flooding) rather than light events. In the past century, averaged over the United States, total precipitation has increased by about 7 percent, while the heaviest 1 percent of rain events increased by nearly 20 percent. This has been especially noteworthy in the Northeast, where the annual number of days with very heavy precipitation has increased most in the past 50 years.1





Flooding often occurs when heavy precipitation persists for weeks to months in large river basins. Such extended periods of heavy precipitation have also been increasing over the past century, most notably in the past two to three decades in the United States. For the future, precipitation intensity is projected to increase everywhere, with the largest increases occurring in areas in which average precipitation increases the most. For example, the Midwest and Northeast, where total precipitation is expected to increase the most, would also experience the largest increases in heavy precipitation events.1





Weather Channel meteorologist Tom Moore cites urbanization and land-use changes as a cause for what appears to be the increased flooding across the USA. "In the metro areas, flooding just gets worse each decade," he says. "Because we're stripping trees and grasses away, the runoff is quicker and more extreme. These areas are now far more vulnerable to flooding."





Aging Water Systems:





According to the Washington-based Urban Land Institute (ULI). "Most water districts do not charge ratepayers full outlays for constructing and maintaining systems. As a result, businesses and households tend to use water inefficiently and don't conserve, even though per-capita water demand could outstrip future availability in some parts of the country."





ITT Corp. announced the results of its Value of Water Survey, a nationwide poll taken in late 2010 that measured the public’s awareness of the nation’s aging water infrastructure.


Not surprisingly, the survey showed that many of us are concerned about our water system. But Colin Sabol, vice president of marketing and business development in ITT’s Fluid and Motion Control division, says "since we can’t see the underground pipes, they don’t get as much attention as, say, potholes."





According to the report, every day there are 650 water main breaks in the U.S. And according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, leaking pipes lose an estimated seven billion gallons of clean drinking water a day. This is the amount of water that the top 10 cities consume in a year. If you could take all the leaks and feed it into one faucet it would take care of our top 10 cities. And those areas that were developed over 100 years ago—the Northeast and Midwest—tend to have older infrastructure. The EPA estimates that over 240,000 water main breaks occur per year in the U.S. in some 1.8 million miles of water distribution lines.





Terrorism:





The potential for terrorism is not new. Back in 1941, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover wrote, "It has long been recognized that among public utilities, water supply facilities offer a particularly vulnerable point of attack to the foreign agent, due to the strategic position they occupy in keeping the wheels of industry turning and in preserving the health and morale of the American populace." Water infrastructure systems also are highly linked with other infrastructures, especially electric power and transportation, as well as the chemical industry which supplies treatment chemicals, making security of all of them an issue of concern.





The Congressional Research Service reported back in 2003 that "The September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have drawn attention to the security of many institutions, facilities, and systems in the United States, including the nation’s water supply and water quality infrastructure. These systems have long been recognized as being potentially vulnerable to terrorist attacks of various types, including bioterrorism/chemical contamination, physical disruption and cyber attack.





Biological/Chemical Contamination – Many feel that a terrorist attack which places chemicals or even biological agents in the water supply is unlikely to be successful. Contamination of a reservoir with a biological agent would not likely produce a large risk to public health because of the dilution effect. These reservoirs contain hundreds of thousands and in some cases millions of gallons of water. A massive amount of contaminant would be required for a successful terrorist attack at this point. If agents were to be introduced at this point they are likely to be detected and unlikely to survive the chlorination process. Even so, filtration and disinfection of the water may occur down stream mitigating the contamination. However, if the point of contamination is after a treatment facility where filters, chlorination and other preventative measures would no longer be effective, the likelihood of success is much greater. Fortunately, this type of act is still subject to the dilution issue which would lessen the severity of such an attack.5





Physical Disruption – A more effective means of affecting our water supply would be damaging physical water system components (e.g., piping, pumps, holding tanks, etc.). This could restrict the available drinking water supply from reaching households in the water system area. Local businesses would not be able to conduct operations, manufacturing could be stalled, food service stores would close and everyday life depending on fresh water would be in disarray. In some communities the drinking water is also used to supply fire hydrants. Without this water supply, a fire department's ability to fight fires would be impossible.





Cyber Attacks – Cyber-attacks are another potential threat to disrupt our water service. Computer networks and digital monitoring technology play a key role in the management of our nation's water supplies. These systems are referred to as Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. United States law enforcement and intelligence agencies have previously received credible indications that al-Qaida members have sought information on SCADA systems available on multiple SCADA-related Web sites.





Additionally, an FBI bulletin stated that al-Qaida terrorists may have been studying American dams and water-supply systems in preparation for new attacks. The bulletin was sent after U.S. authorities found a computer belonging to a person with indirect ties to Osama bin Laden that contained architectural and engineering software related to dams and other water-retaining structures, according to the FBI. The bulletin was first reported by computer security firm SecurityFocus.com. The bulletin was not made public, but instead was sent by the FBI`s National Infrastructure Protection Center to about 3,000 members of the center’s InfraGard program, an information-sharing partnership between the FBI and private industry, according to SecurityFocus.com.





How Do You Prepare?





It is painfully obvious from the information presented herein that the probability of you losing your water supply is getting higher everyday. How will you and your family cope with the loss of water in your home? When the water faucets quits flowing you won’t have water for:





• Drinking


• Mixing baby formulas


• Cooking


• Bathing, tooth brushing and hand hygiene


• First aid wound care


• Pets/animals drinking


• Rinsing/washing dishes


• Washing clothes


• Hot water heating


• Irrigating plants and gardens


• Ice to cool drinks and food


• Flushing toilets





So, how do you prepare for such inconvenience? Well, start by buying a little extra drinking water every week when you go to the store. For longer term water outages you’ll need much more water. Consider a 55 gallon plastic water storage barrel with siphon pump to easily access your water. You can also buy plastic water bags for additional water storage. You can even buy a water bladder that fits in your bathtub and can be filled with up to 100 gallons of water. However, this is really only practical when you have some advance notice of a potential water outage or shortage due to a hurricane or impending flood.





Now if you don’t get a full water outage, but a breach that potentially contaminates your water, you’ll most likely be issued a "boil water" order from your local authorities (either the water company or health agency). This type of an event will still flow water to your home for flushing your toilets but drinking the water could be hazardous. Learn more about "boil water" orders at http://www.getreadygear.com/purifying-water.aspx.





When water quality is in question you should also consider having some water purification drops or tablets on hand to purify questionable drinking water. Make sure you get a quality tablet that kills viruses, bacteria and protozoa like Katadyn’s MicroPur tablets http://www.getreadygear.com/water-purification-tablets.aspx . If you are at home you may have cooking containers that you can use to purify water with such tablets, otherwise make sure you have some portable plastic water bags specifically for purifying drinking water.





When your water is off, your toilets can’t flush. How will you handle sanitation for 3 days without a water supply? Most folks have a portable toilet that can be used without water for such an emergency. Many home emergency kits that come in 5 gallon plastic containers can be used as a toilet with the included toilet bags. Or you can just buy a bucket toilet or portable toilet for water outage emergencies.





For those individuals who get their water from a well, an electrical outage will also mean no water to your house. Consider contacting and electrician to determine what type of emergency generator you could use to operate your well pump in an emergency. Without a backup electrical source, you will be without water.





Summary





For some reason we never think that calamity will meet our lives. However, our need for water is indisputable and our lives without it can be very unpleasant. While the United States has the smartest minds working on solutions to flooding, our aging water distribution systems and terrorism, the lack of funding is a major concern. It is this same lack of funding that can also limit local government’s ability to support citizens in an emergency with needed supplies. That leaves humanitarian relief organizations to support those in need. Additionally, getting stuck in a flooded area means it is even more difficult for rescuers or aid supplies to reach you.





Make sure you have ample fresh water supplies for your family for at least 3 days and preferably more if you have the storage area. Also, keep a supply of water purification tablets on hand to assist you in purifying additional water if needed. Keep in mind that these purification tablets have a shelf-life, so monitor their "freshness" and replace as needed.





Sources:





1. United States Global Change Research Program, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States",2009.


2. American Society of Civil Engineers, Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, Dams 2009.


3. Association of State Dam Safety Officials. Statistics on Dams and State Safety Regulation (2007).


4. Association of State Dam Safety Officials. News Archives. 21 October 2008.


5. Directions Magazine, "Protecting the Water Supply from Terrorism," Kevin Coleman.








Jim Serre has over 30 years of engineering safety, management consulting and corporate training experience. He has over 7 years of volunteer search & rescue experience and is currently,


• A certified trainer for FEMA’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) curricula


• A certified Disaster Instructor for the American Red Cross


• An American Safety & Health Institute authorized First Responder Instructor





Mr. Serre holds a BSME and an MBA and is currently the President of GetReadyGEAR, Inc., an emergency preparedness supply and consulting company. He regularly provides consultation to schools, businesses and families related to disaster preparedness planning.