We are now into our fourth week of a water boil advisory which started December 11th after our huge rainstorm event that caused flooding and a State of Emergency in early December(see this article for explanation as to why). This is how we deal with it. Every other day or so we boil a big pot of water, funnel it into these 2 litre(*British spelling - of which Canadians use) empty pop bottles and keep it on the counter to remind us that we need to be drinking this. The hardest part is that we normally drink filtered water and ice through our fridge - it just tastes better. The boiling takes care of any bacteria.
There is nothing we or our towns of Comox or Courtenay can do but continue on boiling and hope the lake will settle. In October due to another storm event we had a boil water advisory that lasted about a week - where we came up with this system after buying one flat of water thinking it would be over in a day or two.
We have lived here 2.5 years and before this fall - this simply was not an issue. Any town's water supply can be jeopardized - fortunately, all we have to do is boil the water and it is safe to use and drink. When all this is over I am keeping at least 6 two litre bottles of water on hand at any time in case of catastrophe - this is in addition to the emergency distilled 12 litres I already have in a cupboard.
Do you have any emergency plans in place if your water source was jeopardized?
That's such a hassle. We've never had a situation like that. Obviously travel in India means weeks of bottled water (15p a litre in Goa). I've toyed with the idea of a Platypus not becuase of the price of botled water but because the enviromental implications worry me. Might be worth thinking about if your situation continues. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/platypus/filtration/category
ReplyDeleteI like this idea - definitely an option if this continues on. Fortunately, there are no major chemical issues with our water nor does it smell bad or is dirty so really doesn't effect anything else. I wondered what you did in Goa. I buy water everywhere we travel for the same reason - they say the bugs in the water you are used to at home will likely get you elsewhere. And everywhere has bacteria of some kind in their water. Have fun in Goa!!
DeleteLast year we ended up melting ice and snow for toilet flushing so we could keep fresh water for drinking..We have fresh drinking water in bottles in reserve, but we really need to store more...you never know.
ReplyDeleteJane x
When I lived on an acreage as a kid in the interior of BC we had wells freeze up a couple of times and had to do the same. Even had to heat water on the top of our wood stove for baths. I find this more of a minor inconvenience but it sure makes you think about your water supply.
DeleteWe don't have a plan but probably should. We get our water from the Niagara River and Lake Erie and they aren't particularly vulnerable, but we have an old system and if there is one entity I don't trust, it is the water authority!
ReplyDeleteIf things got serious, I might have my husband look into get a commercial grade purifier.
We have a filter on our fridge but it just isn't good enough for the bacteria apparently. Ours was pretty good up till now. Hopefully it will get sorted soon.
DeleteWow, that sucks! I couldn't imagine. We live in a hurricane zone so we are supposed to stock pile all sorts of stuff. We don't. boo on us. But truth is, if a hurricane comes around, we would have prior warning, so we would drive inland. We have personally endured 5 hurricanes already. We are pretty lousy about being prepared.
ReplyDeleteHurricanes scare me but we live in an earthquake zone which is extremely likely at some point. We have lots of 4-5 on the Richter scale quakes just off the island - so our water source could easily be jeopardized again if plumbing pipes were effected. They talk a ton about earthquake and tsunami emergency preparedness here.
DeleteWe keep about 5 gal on hand. My concern the type of plastic is stored in. Personal I wouldn't want to drink out of it.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
As these were pop containers they are non bpa - but - I only intend on short term storage for these ones :)
DeleteWe have never had a problem like that before. In these parts(northern IL) we have rare power outages. Those are the things that cause a lot of problems oh and the floods. Never boiling water though.
ReplyDeleteLuckily as soon as it settles down things will go back to normal - but I am really tired of it :)
DeleteIt's just another chore to add to the list. I can see how you are burned out.
DeleteI'm so over this! I work at the hospital and we have take the temperature of the boiled water in the coffee urns before serving, every time!!! Safety first, of course, but at home I boil a big pot of water every day and then do the same as you do. I've lived here since '88 and never had to boil this long.
ReplyDeleteLike you need extra work at the hospital - but apparently it would cost 70 million for a better filtration system - which isn't going to happen in our economy so I guess we have to suck it up.
DeleteI didn't realize you were still boiling water, oh my! Our water comes from Lake Huron and I've lived in this area 58 years without a boil water advisory thankfully. However I do have an emergency kit in the basement because we once were without power for 3 days. Shakeable flashlights, 24 hour candles, matches, blankets, crank radio but where's the cases of water??? Oh yeah, we used them!! Time to replenish as we're having a nasty snow storm right now!!
ReplyDeleteI have a zillion candles (bit of a candle hoarder really but I use them) and all the other stuff - long term power outages are a reality on Vancouver Island as well but fortunately it has not gone out for more than an hour or two since we moved here. When Mom lived mid-island they had a 4 day outage in a bad snowstorm which meant she couldn't go anywhere either.
DeleteWe boil water at the cabin all the time. I keep two coffee percolator pots on the stove filled with boiled water at all times for drinking. If I am cooking or making coffee, I boil the water first before adding any food items. This year because of the extreme runoff, our lake has so much suspended particles that the water looks green like a Florida bayou. - Margy
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense and if I lived where you do there I would too - the town certainly is not willing to cough up 70 million for a filtration system so I think it is likely this will happen again. Still, as it is drinkable - a first world problem.
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