Surviving a Disaster: The Critical Need for Water
Beyond ALL other factors, water is the most precious and important resource to have during a disaster or conflict. Nothing is more important to human survival than to have clean, safe, and sufficient quantities of water.
Under extreme conditions, humans can exist from 30-70 days without food! Without water, some people will begin to die in only 4 to 5 days. If you can stay adequately hydrated, you can live without food for a much longer period of time than if there are shortages of food and water together. Hence, finding and maintaining an adequate water supply is a primary objective during a disaster or emergency. It must be sought after above all other needs until a clean and adequate supply is established.
You Lose Water Daily!
Your body loses water through normal body processes (sweating, urinating, and defecating). During average daily exertion when the atmospheric temperature is 20 degrees Celsius (C) (68 F), the average adult loses, and therefore requires, 2 to 3 liters of water to replace what is lost daily. Other factors, such as heat exposure, cold exposure, intense activity, high altitude, burns, or illness, can cause your body to lose more water. You MUST replace this water loss!
Signs of Dehydration- Critical to Recognize!
Dehydration results from inadequate replacement of lost body fluids. It decreases your efficiency and, if injured, increases your susceptibility to severe shock.
Consider the following results when one looses body fluid:
• A 5 percent loss of body fluids results in thirst, irritability, nausea, and weakness.
• A 10 percent loss results in dizziness, headache, inability to walk, and a tingling sensation in the limbs.
• A 15 percent loss results in dim vision, painful urination, swollen tongue, deafness, and a numb feeling in the skin.
• A loss greater than 15 percent of body fluids may result in death.
The most common signs and symptoms of dehydration include dark urine with a very strong odor, low urine output, dark/sunken eyes, fatigue, emotional instability, loss of skin elasticity, delayed capillary refill in fingernail beds, trench line down center of tongue, and thirst. Thirst is last on the list, because by the time you crave fluids and feel thirsty, you are already 2% dehydrated!
How Much Water Is Needed?
Many factors influence how much water a person needs from day to day during disasters or emergencies. Key factors include:
• As a standard rule, 4 Liters (1 gallon) Per Person Per Day is recommended.
• Sick and nursing mothers need more water
• Hot temperatures require more water
• Physical activity requires more water
• Medical emergencies require more water
Contamination of Water
Water can be contaminated in one or more of three (3) ways; namely, particulate contamination, microbial contamination, and/or chemical contamination. The following methods are suggested treatments to deal with each of these contaminators:
| Particulate | Microbial | Chemical |
| Cloth Strainers | Boiling | Distillation- through boiling and catching vapors |
| Water filters- sand, ceramic, charcoal, special design | Water filters- .5 micron for bacterial, .2 micron for viral | Specialty filters rated for specific chemical |
| "Settling" out particulates | Treatment- chlorine, bleach, iodine, other | |
| Ultraviolet Light- electric UV, direct sunlight |
Sources of Water in Emergencies
Available water sources might include:
• Home hot water heater- typically 50 gallons(190 liters) or more
• Water drained from pipes, Ice cubes
• Canned goods or commercially bottled water
• Other water sources ONLY if water purification/treatment can be insured
Sources of water NOT recommended or dangerous:
• Vehicle or home radiators- may container poisonous antifreeze
• Hot water boilers- contaminates and may contain poisonous chemicals
• Water beds (may contain fungicides and/or chemicals from vinyl)
• Toilet bowl or flush tank
• Swimming pools and spas (use for hygiene washing only)
Containers MUST be clean! Milk and juice leave microscopic organic particles that bond to plastic. Milk protein and fruit sugars cannot be adequately removed from these containers and provide an environment for bacterial growth when water is stored in them. These particles can quickly contaminate clean water and cause the growth of mold and other harmful micro organisms.
Storing Water Ahead of Time
Commercially bottled water is always a good water source. Keep bottled water in its original container and do not open it until you need to use it. Observe the expiration or “use by” date.
If you are preparing your own containers of water:
• It is recommended you purchase food-grade water storage containers from surplus or camping supplies stores to use for water storage.
• Before filling with water, thoroughly clean the containers with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap.
• If necessary, sanitize the containers or bottles by the methods listed below.
If storing water in plastic soda bottles, follow these steps:
• Choose two-liter plastic “PET” soft drink bottles – not plastic jugs or cardboard containers that have had milk or fruit juice in them. Cardboard containers also leak easily and are not designed for long-term storage of liquids.
• Do not use glass containers, because they can break and are heavy.
• Follow these steps to safely store water in plastic soda bottles:
o Thoroughly clean the bottles with dishwashing soap and water, and rinse completely so there is no residual soap.
o Sanitize the bottles by adding a solution of 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to one quart of water. Swish the sanitizing solution in the bottle so that it touches all surfaces.
o After sanitizing the bottle, thoroughly rinse out the sanitizing solution with clean water.
o Fill the bottle to the top with regular tap water. If the tap water has been commercially treated from a water utility with chlorine, you do not need to add anything else to the water to keep it clean.
o If the water you are using comes from a well or water source that is not treated with chlorine, add two drops of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to the water.
o Tightly close the container using the original cap. Be careful not to contaminate the cap by touching the inside of it with your ?nger. Place a date on the outside of the container so that you know when you ?lled it. Store in a cool, dark place. Replace the water every six months if not using commercially bottled water
How to Purify Water with Sunlight **
UV-A rays from the sun, (Ultraviolet-A, longwave, 315-400 nm), will terminate harmful bacteria, parasites, and viruses in water, given enough sun exposure.
A clear plastic bottle filled with water, exposed to the sun for 6 hours will make the water safe to drink (see the caveat list). In fact, the effectiveness of terminating harmful bacteria is an amazing 5-Nines, that is, 99.999 percent effective!
List of Germs That Are Terminated from UV-A Sunlight Exposure- 6 Hours
• Bacteria – Escherichia coli
• Bacteria – Vibrio cholera
• Bacteria – Salmonella
• Bacteria – Shigella flexneri
• Bacteria – Campylobacter jejuni
• Bacteria – Yersinia enterocolitica
• Virus – Rotavirus
• Parasites – Giardia
• Parasites – Cryptosporidium (needs 10 hours exposure)
Cautions to Consider with Sunlight Water Purification
• This method kills germs. If the water is already contaminated with chemicals from pollution, the chemicals will remain.
• If the water is cloudy and dirty, it should be filtered first to allow the UV-A rays to effectively penetrate into the water.
• The plastic water bottle should be no bigger than 3 liters. UV-A will lose 50 percent effectiveness at a depth of 10 mm in moderately cloudy water, whereas UV-A will only lose 25 percent effectiveness at a depth of 10 mm in clear water. Just use a typical size soda bottle or water bottle.
Steps to Purify Water with Sunlight
• The recommended bottle to use is a “PET” bottle. It is very common and is typically used for soda or other soft drinks.
• Look for PET, PolyEthylene Terephthalate, Recycle code #1 on bottom of bottle.
• The bottle must not be colored. It must be a clear bottle. Again, it must be a clear plastic bottle. Not glass (glass blocks too much of the UV-A for this purpose).
• The bottle must be clean. Common Sense! See above for cleaning procedures.
• Fill the bottle with water. If the water is very cloudy, it must be filtered by first pouring through a cloth or such material to capture sediment.
• Lay the bottle down in the sun. Do not stand them up. Ideally the bottles would by placed so that they face the same angle up to the sun to maximize the UV-A penetration.
• Even better would be to lay the bottles on a reflective surface to increase the UV-A exposure using direct and reflected sunlight. This is not necessary, however it would shorten the required time and ensure optimum UV-A exposure.
• If the sky is partly cloudy with only a few clouds, then 6 hours sunlight exposure will be enough time. If the sky is half filled with clouds, or more, then 2 days will be required.
• Note that the outdoor temperature does not matter, so long as the UV-A sunlight exposure has been 6 hours. It is true that the hotter the water temperature inside the bottle, the faster the process, however there is no need to be concerned about temperature provided the water has been exposed to good sunlight for 6 hours.
** Excerpts taken from www.modernsurvivalblog.com
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