Over the past two years, hurricanes have certainly left their mark on the US and surrounding territories. From 2017’s Harvey and Maria to 2018’s Florence and Michael, storms have really been destructive and have left many without clean water. There are several ways hurricanes can impact people’s access to clean water, and we will discuss those here.
Water is often contaminated after hurricanes for a few reasons. First, the rainwater in hurricanes is different than that of your regular rain shower. Hurricanes churn up salt water from the ocean and gather pollutants from the air making hurricane rain more like acid rain. The heavy rain that hurricanes create can cause flooding and runoff. Flooding and runoff often contain chemicals and contaminants that are eventually pushed into the water supply, thus affecting people’s access to clean water.
Another way hurricanes can create poor water supply is through physical damage. Uprooted trees and other damage can directly impact the pipes that carry clean water. This can leave the whole system to be exposed to contaminated water. Additionally, damage caused by water surges to sewage treatment plants can increase bacterial growth in the systems. This makes it harder for water to be cleaned, and often times leaves the water to completely bypass these systems.
If you have been impacted by a hurricane, and regular tap water is not safe to drink, we suggest using a downflow filtration system like Instapure’s patented design. This will help you access clean water for cooking and drinking.
Recently, we teamed up with HelpMeDonate.org to provide clean water to victims of Hurricane Michael. There are still plenty of people in need and you can make a donation here.