Enjoy Clean Drinking Water During Power Outage
by Dr. Jonathan Doyle - Updated September 06, 2021
The importance of electricity in our lives cannot be overemphasized. It is one resource that finds multiple vital applications in our everyday life, including cooling, heating, lighting, refrigeration, and running all electrical appliances. Over 3.8 trillion kWh of electricity was used in the United States only in 2020 – 13x more than the consumption rates of the 1950s.
You will agree that life without electricity will never be the same. But the truth is the more we cannot do without electricity, the more vulnerable we are to problems that come with blackouts, including water scarcity.
Climate, Weather, and Power Supply
Have you ever imagined how these three relate? Here is the link. The climate may sometimes trigger severe weather conditions, and this, in turn, impairs the smooth running of power plants. The transmission of electricity stops when there is heavy rainfall, consistent heatwaves, or intense lightning. This ultimately results in power outages.
Power distribution is threatened by heavy rainfall and wind. For example, when strong winds knock own billboards and trees onto the path of power distribution lines or heavy rainfall forces soaked heavy tree branches to tamper distribution wires, the result is a blackout.
For example, we saw the effects of the Texas storm on electricity earlier this year. Almost all Texas businesses and homes shut down because of the massive winter blast that ‘killed’ the electrical grid.
Unfortunately, the harsh weather condition was not as telling as the water scarcity that ensued after the power outage, leaving everyone in the city stranded in discomfort.
Preparing for Power Outage
While we cannot completely avoid power outages, we can adequately prepare for the situation. Here are some helpful tips on that:
Have an emergency kit in place.
Purchase the right emergency kit for you and your family, and ensure it contains vital items like lighters, knives, candles, flashlights, and others.
Reserve non-perishable food and water.
Perhaps you just learned about an impending big storm coming your way on the news? That is the best time to stock up sufficient bottled water and non-perishable foods. This is why you must watch out for forecasts and act quickly on weather news.
Get a portable generator.
You will forever be grateful to yourself for buying a portable generator. People living in areas prone to hurricanes must get a backup power source to keep their electronics running during a power outage.
There are several options to choose from, depending on your budget and functionality needs. Fortunately, these devices are lighter and are less noisy. Therefore, you can use them for outdoor gatherings like camping.
Your portable generator will always come in handy during extended blackout periods.
How do you get drinking water during blackouts?
A power outage comes with scarcity or complete unavailability of clean drinking water. Once the water plant cannot work due to a power outage, residents are stranded in their homes with dirty and contaminated water coming out of their faucets. Such water contains dangerous contaminants like bacteria, dirt, rust, heavy metals, and others. Drinking such water will leave you with serious health problems.
So, what do you do? We have identified a few ways to get clean water during power outages below:
Buy bottled water and keep.
Buy and store up sufficient bottled water, depending on average daily water consumption. But the only downside here is the plastic pollution associated with storing bottled water for too long. This is why the Department of Homeland Security advises residents to change their water source in their disaster prevention kit twice a year. While the content of bottled water remains clean, the plastic housing may leach chemicals into the water, conferring a strange taste on the water.
What’s more, when you recognized that it’s time to go to supermarket and store up bottled water, it’s usually too late. The food and water supplies have already been looted and what you will see is only empty shelves.
Boil water and store up.
Boiling water is another way to keep it pure. Most of the contaminants present are evaporated when you boil water, including viruses, protozoa, and pathogenic bacteria. However, the boiled water may be cloudy. In that case, allow it to settle before filtering it through a clean cloth, a coffee filter, or a paper-boiling water towel.
The right way to boil water is to allow it to boil at 100 degrees for at least a minute. If you are in altitudes above 1,000 meters or 5,000 feet, the boiling time is three minutes. Leave the boiled water to cool before transferring it into sanitized containers with covers for storage.
It is important to note that boiling sufficient water for storage will take time. Asides from boiling for at least two minutes, you have to wait for several minutes for the water to cool.
Use an ultrafiltration water filter system.
One of the best water filter systems you can consider is the Waterdrop ultrafiltration water filter system. The multifaceted smart water purification system is equipped with a 0.01-micron UF membrane that reduces chlorine in water, alongside lead, chlorine, heavy metals, VOCs, fluoride, and other impurities.
Despite removing all of these contaminants, the system retains the beneficial minerals in the water, including magnesium, sodium, calcium, and potassium. Furthermore, you get up to 24 months of optimal filtration, helping you save considerably on constant replacement and maintenance costs.
Unlike normal water filters, the filtration process of the Waterdrop ultrafiltration water purification system is advanced. Additionally, it is designed to work without electricity – all you need is just 3x AA batteries, and you can enjoy pure and healthy drinking water whenever and wherever.
So, when next you are preparing for a power outage, get this ultrafiltration water filter system to purify non-sterilized water and enjoy pure water directly from your faucets for as long as you need to before normalcy is restored.