How to avoid drinking contaminated water after a hurricane.
When a hurricane crashes onto shore with destructive winds and deadly storm surge, its threat to clean water supply is a major concern.
Consuming contaminated water can lead to serious health problems, including gastrointestinal illness and reproductive issues, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Lack of pressure in the water system increases the likelihood of dirty storm water leaking into the lines, he said.
In the two months following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the EPA found no occurrences of waterborne illnesses or diseases resulting from contaminated drinking water in some states, including Mississippi.
In the weeks after the hurricane, lack of clean drinking water led to a cholera outbreak, according to the Associated Press.
“If people do actually have water pressure out of their sinks, they’re told to make sure to boil that water before consuming it,” Trygar said.
Consumers should avoid all contact with the water supply if a Do Not Use notice is issued, as boiling will not destroy all contaminants, according to the Water Quality Research Foundation.
For drinking and personal hygiene, FEMA recommends storing at least three days’ worth of water per person in a cool, dark place.
Flooded wells should be tested and disinfected after the water levels go down, according to the FDA.

Brookhaven’s water treatment plant produces about 1.5 to 2 million gallons of water per day, he said.
The Public Water Supply Program ensures safe drinking water to the 2.8 million citizens of Mississippi who utilize the state’s public water supplies by strictly enforcing the requirements of the Federal and State Safe Drinking Water Acts.
City officials attributed the contamination to leaks in water lines earlier in the week that were caused by the freezing temperatures over the weekend.
The state required two days of clear samples before the advisory could be lifted.
But even while on alert, Augimeri said, the city’s water supply was still safe.
Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes.
“It even meets the requirements for some things that aren’t regulated yet.” The EPA asks some areas to test for additional compounds that aren’t required to be regulated yet.
Others, like the test for bacteriologicals are checked monthly.
Mitchell Technical Services checks 10 to 12 sites each month based on a schedule set up and approved through the state Department of Health.
They also check the chlorine to make sure levels are at an adequate level.

The 220 Benton County residents who rely on the Plymouth Water District for drinking water have a big problem.
In the spring, when irrigation systems activate near the community’s well, nitrate levels rise, like clockwork.
This year, they’re on track to exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s 10-parts-per-million standard for drinking water by June, making 2017 the third summer Plymouth has had to turn to bottled water.
In 2016, the Washington state Department of Health issued a “Do Not Drink” order from June to October for the tiny unincorporated community across the Columbia River from Umatilla.
The district spends about $27,000 per summer on bottled water.
Plymouth draws its drinking water from a deep well drilled in 1922 near a railroad track.
The district has secured a low-interest loan from the state health department but even that brings a significant rate hike.
Delgado theorizes the casing has failed due to age and vibration.
In theory, irrigation water from a nearby farm is seeping in through the cracked casing.
It would go into service in November 2018, meaning Plymouth faces at least two more summers of buying bottled water for its customers.

Donate cases of water bottles to help the less fortunate and get deals to two locations!.
Autoplay:Play VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration Time 0:00Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%Stream TypeLIVERemaining Time -0:00Playback Rate1 Chapters Chapters descriptions off, selected Descriptions subtitles off, selected Subtitles captions settings, opens captions settings dialog captions off, selected CaptionsAudio TrackFullscreen This is a modal window.
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Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteTransparencyOpaqueBackgroundColorBlackTransparencyOpaqueWindowColorBlackTransparencyTransparentFont Size50%Text Edge StyleNoneFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifDefaultsDonex Ford Motor Company, Big Surf Waterpark and Valley-based Famous Dave’s are partnering in the 5th Annual "Fill an F150" water drive benefiting The Salvation Army’s Extreme Heat Relief Project.
Quantities for both offers are limited.
In order to get the deals, each person must donate at least one case of water (16 oz or larger, 24 or more bottles) at any Metro Phoenix-area Ford Dealership, Valley Famous Dave’s restaurant, or Big Surf Waterpark.
All 13 Metro Phoenix-area Ford dealerships, four Valley Famous Dave’s restaurants and Big Surf Waterpark are collecting cases of water.
Ford’s goal is to collect 175,000 bottles of water during the two-week drive in support of The Salvation Army’s goal of collecting 200,000 water bottles.
Ford will also jumpstart the drive with a $10,000 grant in support of the water drive and other Salvation Army programs courtesy of Ford’s Operation Better World Arizona program.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, more than 1,500 weather-related deaths from exposure to heat have occurred in Arizona since 2000.

Lead Levels in Flint Water Drop, but Residents Still Can’t Drink It.
But they cautioned that it could be a year or more before it is safe for residents to drink from their faucets, because lead-tainted pipes need to be replaced.
She called the results of water tests “encouraging” but said residents should continue to drink bottled water or use filters.
“We still need help and support from the state and federal government so that all of the estimated 20,000 lead-tainted pipes remaining in the city will be replaced,” Ms. Weaver said.
The lead value of samples taken from those homes was 12 parts per billion, below the federal guideline of 15 parts per billion, the department said.
“The Flint water system is one of the most monitored systems in the country for lead and copper, and we remain committed to continuing work in Flint as the city recovers,” the department’s director, Heidi Grether, said in a statement.
Michael J. Steinberg, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan, said the test results were a good sign, but added that the city and state remained in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“What the Safe Drinking Water Act requires is the minimization of lead and the optimization of corrosion control in the pipes,” he said.
Last month, two managers, Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose, who had been appointed by Gov.
On Tuesday, Governor Snyder, a Republican who has been fiercely criticized for his role in the crisis, welcomed the test results but said in a statement that “there is still more work to do in Flint.” “This is not the end of our work in Flint,” he said, “but it is one more step along the path toward Flint’s future.”

UPDATE: Tyler’s boil water notice lifted.
TYLER – UPDATE: The notice has been lifted
A portion of Northwest Tyler remain under a boil water notice which was issued Friday due to water disinfectant levels below the minimum set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Equality.
According to city officials, the notice includes 400 residential water customers and an unknown number of commercial customers.
"It is safe to use for instances that are not for consumption."
"We’ve had crews out 24 hours per day since Friday flushing the system to get water moving through the system in an attempt to get residuals up above minimum level," she said.
"The chlorine conversion is a city-wide process," said Crossman.
Cases of bottled water are also available in the lobby of the Tyler Police Department, 711 W Ferguson Street.
"We don’t have a firm answer for when the boil notice will be lifted," said Crossman.
"We are partnering with a third party consultant," she said.

So what would a carbon tax really cost?.
While writing my paper on the tragedy of the commons and desalination, I was a little shocked to see that the cost of paying for CO2 permits — or even the much higher social cost of carbon — was actually quite small, i.e., the cost of offsetting carbon emissions at $12/ton would be roughly $3.60 per San Diego resident* — a number that’s a tiny fraction of people’s water costs (let alone their latte budgets).
Increasing the cost to $30/ton CO2e (one estimate of the social cost) would mean that San Diegans could offset the GHG-cost of 100 percent desalinated water for only $9 per year, which is about equal to the price of one hour of downtown parking.
How can that cost be so low and why are people so opposed to it if it is?
The first answer is that a little cost can have a big effect if its spread across enough people.
Wal-mart regularly breaks conservation records by shaving 0.2 percent off its shipping distances or packing weight.
Five cent charges for plastic bags have dropped use by 50 percent or more in many cities.
Second, the people who oppose these moves often face a much higher cost than the average person because they are in the oil selling, pig selling or bottled water selling business.
Too bad politicians seem more interested in listening to fossil-fuel lobbyists than to economists (and others) urging price signals as a cheap way to mitigate carbon emissions and the dangers of climate change.
** This price reflects existing "green taxes," which makes me wonder how much Dutch prices would change — if at all — under a carbon pricing scheme.

by Charissa Luci-Atienza Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita B. Suansing is seeking to exempt bottled water from the value-added tax (VAT) to lower its price and to promote a healthy lifestyle. She said the proposed VAT exemption make bottled water a cheaper and healthier alternative to sugar sweetened beverages (SSB). “If the prices of sugary drinks are cheaper than bottled water, the public will prefer to buy sugar sweetened beverages than water. Basic as it is, this seldom noticed consumer preference for sugar sweetened beverages instead of water is destructive to health and can be avoided by lowering the price…

33 Airway Heights area restaurants asked to keep city water out of food and beverages.
The Spokane Regional Health District contacted 33 retail food businesses west of Hayford Road, said Lisa Breen, the food program technical adviser.
“The onus is put on the operators to be doing what they should be doing,” she said.
Restaurants are able to wash dishes with the contaminated water, Breen said.
Breen said the Health District did not contact wholesale food and beverage production facilities because they do not license them.
Read our coverage of the developing water contamination issues that have caused all residents within the Airway Heights city limits to be advised to avoid drinking and cooking with city tap water amid findings chemical contamination at Fairchild Air Force Base threatened purity of residential wells.
He hopes the City of Airway Heights reimburses him for the cost, so he’s saving the receipts.
The food safety issue is further complicated because the perfluorinated chemicals in question are not regulated by the federal government, meaning there isn’t a clear next step.
The Environmental Protection Agency is considering whether or not to regulate the chemical, Coleman said.
There is some discussion at the state level about whether or not Washington should create its own regulations ahead of the federal government, she said.

Airway Heights residents adapt to using only bottled water.
AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. – People in Airway Heights are still adapting to the fact they do not have clean tap water after Spokane officials found unhealthy levels of contaminants.
Thomas McCreary and his wife, Jocelyn, are some of those people.
The couple said they threw away anything related to the tap water, including food.
“We use tap water in our garden in the back and we noticed that our tomatoes are not flourishing, but actually dying.
The leaves are turning all brown,” said McCreary.
The McCrearys’ neighbor down the street is taking precautions of their own.
Sophie Yaeger said she is especially concerned about her 2-month-old daughter.
The City of Airway Heights released a statement on Tuesday stating skin contact with the contaminated water is considered safe, but Yaeger said she is not taking any chances.
Neighbors said they are looking out for each other and making the best of a bad situation.