Sept 2014 - A preparedness tip - Water, water everywhere . . .

Did you know that according to American Water Works Association Research the average American family uses 300 gallons of water a day.  For most about 70% of that water is used indoors, here in the west where we rely heavily on irrigation the outside use is much higher.  DON'T stop reading this isn't a rant on how we need to conserve water.  It's just help us realize how much we do use, and why it is SOOOO important to store water and to know how to find and/or purify water if the need arises.

BePrepared.com recently published a post about Finding Water in the Wild, it had so much interesting information about finding water, I learned a few ways to find water that I'd never even thought of.

• Insects: A large swarm of insects is a good indicator that a water source is nearby. According to the SAS Survival Handbook, “Ants are dependent upon water. A column of ants marching up a tree is going to a small reservoir of water.” Bees are also good indicators that water is nearby. - 
• Use Condensation from Trees and Branches-- Look for a leafy bush or tree branch that is healthy with vegetation. Tie a plastic bag around the branch using paracord or rope. The evaporation from the plant will create condensation in the bag.

   

I know some people in the area have built backyard water filters, I would love to post your experience, if anyone would like to share.

June - Preparedness Tip - Water Purification

June:  Preparedness Tip

Water has been on my mind a lot lately.  This is the time of the year when it rains and floods (at least where I live the clay soil lets water pool up all over the lawn).  In a month of so the grass will be dying and our sprinklers will be running but for now we have water.

While water for our lawns is nice water for our bodies is sooo much more than just nice.  I love the new commercials on the radio about that miracle drug "AQUA".  Love it we can't live without water - literally.  (please smile now, I'd hate to think my wittiness is being wasted).

Last week our stake hosted a sanitation class and I understand it was really good, what you don't know is there were a lot more handouts than you saw.  In another post I attached all of those documents but will be occasionally be sharing one in its very own post.

First some info from the red cross about water purification.

Water Treatment - American Red Cross

In addition to having a bad odor and taste, water from questionable sources may be contaminated by a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria and parasites that cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. All water of uncertain purity should be treated before use.

To treat water for consumption and/or hygiene, follow these steps:

• Filter the water using a piece of cloth or coffee filter to remove solid particles.
• Bring it to a rolling boil for about one full minute.
• Let it cool at least 30 minutes. Water must be cool or the chlorine treatment described below will be useless.
• Add 16 drops of liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water, or 8 drops per 2-liter bottle of water. Stir to mix. Sodium hypochlorite of the concentration of 5.25% to 6% should be the only active ingredient in the bleach. There should not be any added soap or fragrances. A major bleach manufacturer has also added Sodium Hydroxide as an active ingredient, which they state does not pose a health risk for water treatment.
• Let stand 30 minutes.
• If it smells of chlorine. You can use it. If it does not smell of chlorine, add 16 more drops of chlorine bleach per gallon of water (or 8 drops per 2-liter bottle of water), let stand 30 minutes, and smell it again. If it smells of chlorine, you can use it. If it does not smell of chlorine, discard it and find another source of water.

And the handout from Lana Richardson, which has a little bit more information.

Dehydration - A Re-hydration Formula

More from Sister Richardson, Aren't you excited to hear her speak?

What is Dehydration?

Most of us can be dehydrated on a daily basis. We just don’t drink enough water….and the Diet Coke doesn't count! Water is essential to good health. Dehydration can occur when the total fluid loss is just 5%!

Signs of Dehydration

Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause:

• Dry sticky mouth
• Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual
• Thirst
• Decreased urine output — fewer than six wet diapers a day for infants and eight hours or more without urination for older children and teens
• Few or no tears when crying
• Muscle weakness
• Headache
• Dizziness or lightheadedness

Severe dehydration, a medical emergency, can cause:

• Extreme thirst
• Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults
• Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes
• Lack of sweating
• Little or no urination — any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber
• Sunken eyes
• Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn't "bounce back" when pinched into a fold
• In infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots on the top of a baby's head
• Low blood pressure
• Rapid heartbeat
• Fever
• In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness.

Unfortunately, thirst isn't always a reliable gauge of the body's need for water, especially in children and older adults. A better barometer is the color of your urine: Clear or light-colored urine means you're well hydrated, whereas a dark yellow or amber color usually signals dehydration.MayoClinic

What to do if someone is showing symptoms:

Immediately start getting fluids down the person. In hospitals they use solutions to replace lost fluids. You can use a formula that is similar for reducing the severity of dehydration by having present in a solution the salts that are lost during a sickness which include a fever, diarrhea or vomiting which would deplete the body of necessary fluids to keep hydrated. It is dangerous to be dehydrated to the point of symptoms occurring, especially in children.

Prevention is the best way to handle dehydration!

It would be wise to have the formulas put together, (or at least have the supplies) on hand and use it during the illness, especially if no help is available. Just getting small sips down the person to PREVENT dehydration would be better than trying to fix it. These usually have salt in them to replace salts lost and balance electrolytes. The salts in the solution allow the cells to more readily absorb fluids.

If someone has two or more of the signs of dehydration, it is important to restore fluids as soon as possible. A simple oral dehydration solution can be made by mixing the following ingredients and putting in separate bags them in a first aid kit for immediate use when needed.

REHYDRATION FORMULA

• ¼ tsp real salt
• ¼ tsp no salt (potassium chloride)
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 2 ½ tsp sugar

Mix into 4 cups of water. Give the person small sips of the solution every five minutes, even if he vomits, until he begins to urinate normally. The drink can be given with fruit juices as a flavoring.

The person may also drink thin vegetable soup, or the water in which rice or barley has been cooked.

(Lana said that we need to use all four items in this rehydration formula to balance our electrolytes. She got this formula from a nurse at the LDS hospital.)

-Taken from “Emergencies! And How to Prepare for Them” by Lana Richardson, pp. 19-22

Water - SODIS

In 2010 National Geographic Magazine created a special edition entitled Water Our Thirsty World.  I was reading in this morning and stumbled across an article about SODIS "Solar Water Disinfection".  It's an interesting concept that I hadn't heard of and so I thought I'd share it here in case someone else might be interested.

 Picture from Loughborough University  where they have even more interesting  information  on the subject of water.

The concept is simple you take a clear PET plastic water bottle remove the label and lay in on a piece of metal in the sun, 6 hours later you have disinfected water. 

According to a SODIS website the UV-A rays in sunlight kill germs such as viruses, bacteria and parasites (giardia and cryptosporidia).

This method has been recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, and the Red Cross.

For more information on how it works please see
SODIS:  How does it work?

Things to consider:
1. Size and shape of the bottle  (wash it out with soap first)

•  clear or light blue
• not too scratched
• not more than 3 liters

2.  Turbidity (how cloudy the water is)

• You should be able to read a newspaper headline through the bottle, if not the water needs to be filtered.

3. Weather

• Cloudiness
• If less than half of the sky is clouded over, 6 hours will be enough to completely disinfect the water.
• If more than half of the sky is covered with clouds, the bottle must be placed in the sun for 2 consecutive days.
• Rain -
• not effective during lengthy periods of rain, but on day like this you could collect rain water

4.  Re- contamination

• drink directly from the bottle or right after pouring it into a cup 

Storing Water

Store one gallon of water per person per day for 14 days. If you have a family of four, you need to have 56 gallons of water in storage. Or for our family of eight we would need 112, just for two weeks.

Interestingly enough the new guidelines (from the pamphlet All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage published by the LDS church) don't mention a specific amount of water to store, but two weeks is probably not a bad goal to start with.

Liahona message about the new guidelines

1. Gradually build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet until it is sufficient for three months.
   
2. Store drinking water.
   
3. Establish a financial reserve by setting aside a little money each week, and gradually increase it to a reasonable amount.
   
4. Once families have achieved the first three objectives, they are counseled to expand their efforts, as circumstances allow, into a supply of long-term basic foods such as grains, legumes, and other staples.
   

Here are some hints about water storage that I've kept in my Preparedness files at home.

• Pre-bottled water should be kept in the sealed bottle and used or discarded by the expiration date. I don't think I'd go for the discard option you could always use it for washing.
• Water can be stored in commercial water containers.
• Clean all containers before use. Do not reuse milk cartons for water (the will start to leak after a few years – it's NOT fun). Soda pop bottle are OK.
• Change water every six months if you have filled the containers yourself.
• Treated water from your faucet does not need drops of bleach added to purify it.**
• If you are using well water, add non-scented bleach. Eight drops of water per gallon or ½ teaspoon of bleach to 5 gallons of water.
• If you are storing water on a concrete floor, put blocks of wood or cardboard under your containers.
  
  

  UPDATE  6/21/12 - because it's time to change out my water and I couldn't remember what to do!

  
  

  This site was helpful too...  http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm/emergwatersuppl.html and another reason not to use milk containers is the cleanliness factor - you don't want little bits of milk residue growing in your water supply. 

  
  

  **According to this website: http://www.nationalterroralert.com/safewater/  you might still want to add the bleach - I think I will - better safe than sorry!

  
  

  Once you properly clean containers, fill them with potable, or safe, drinking water. All public water supplies are already treated and should be free of harmful bacteria. However, as an additional precaution, it is recommended that you add 5-7 drops, about 1/8 teaspoon, of chlorine bleach per gallon of water stored. This precaution protects you against any lingering organisms in storage containers that may have been inadvertently missed during the cleaning process.