300,000 West Virginians Told Not to Drink Water After Coal Chemical Spill, 600+ Sick

[Another_David]

apply this scenario to your prep plans

and if you're on private well water then please post and gloat

http://ecowatch.com/2014/01/10/west-virginia-coal-chemical-spill/

A large spill of a chemicals used to remove impurities from coal occurred Thursday in Charleston, WV, contaminating the Elk River less than a mile upstream of the intake for the state’s largest drinking water treatment plant. As many as 300,000 West Virginia residents in nine counties have been told not to bathe, cook or wash clothes using their tap water, and numerous schools, hospitals and nursing homes, restaurants and other businesses are without water. President Obama and West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency today.

For some, the warnings may have come too late. The Charleston Area Medical Center reported this morning that it had already begun to treat people complaining of contamination-related illnesses. By late Friday, The Guardian reported that 671 people were so ill that they called into the poison control center with reports of vomiting, dizziness, nausea, headaches, diarrhea, reddening skin, itches and rashes.

Around Noon on Thursday, officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection’s air-quality division discovered the foaming agent 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, or MCHM, leaking from a 48,000-gallon storage tank directly into the Elk River. The facility is owned by Freedom Industries a subsidiary of Etowah River Terminal, LLC. The spill had not been reported by the company. It’s still unclear how much of the chemical spilled into the river or how long the advisory will last.

Convenience and grocery stores have sold out of water. After reports that people had begun looting bottled water, armed National Guard troops had to escort and stand guard over a truck carrying clean water to a distribution point set up in the Charleston Civic Center.

“It’s like a zombie apocalypse here,” said Charleston resident Barbara Paxton. “The scary thing is at 10:30 a.m. yesterday, I read online that there was a smell in the area, and they were ‘investigating.’ I did not know until 5 in the evening that I was not supposed to use the water.”

 

[ToddDubya]

I'm sure this is a dupe, but a good topic for this area.

My temporary water supply has been the contents of my water heater. That supply would be ruined by a tainted source, so I'm going to load up on bottled water. Next step is to start a more long term storage system/plan.

I don't know how many more wake-up calls I need before I do something.

 

[P-14]

David: You're a day late and a dollar short.

No worries. The EPA will save us.

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/235692-No-water-you-re-F***ed

 

[Another_David]

David: You're a day late and a dollar short.

No worries. The EPA will save us.

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/235692-No-water-you-re-F***ed

O i c

hard 2 find sh** when peeps type like dis

- - - Updated - - -

David: You're a day late and a dollar short.

No worries. The EPA will save us.

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/235692-No-water-you-re-F***ed

and on the contrary, this chemical is not subject to EPA spill management so we're going to do it your way:

civil action will prevent this in the future

 

[Wadcutter]

I'm sure this is a dupe, but a good topic for this area.

My temporary water supply has been the contents of my water heater. That supply would be ruined by a tainted source, so I'm going to load up on bottled water. Next step is to start a more long term storage system/plan.

I don't know how many more wake-up calls I need before I do something.

I have gallon jugs of water for drinking and a 55 gallon rain barrel. If you have a garden (and you should) the rain barrel is very useful even if the water supply doesn't get screwed up.

 

[Billy2]

Private well here. I also keep about 50 gallons fresh on hand just incase.

 

[Another_David]

favorite photo of the event

looks good to me!

 

[Twigg]

Once it gets into the water table / aquifer having a private well isn't going to help.

 

[coastie]

Once it gets into the water table / aquifer having a private well isn't going to help.

This.. Look at what MBTE has done.

I try to keep about 200 gals stored at all times. 3 barrels and a few 5 and 7 gallon containers.

 

[xtry51]

You can get the 250gal ag containers for under $100 at a lot of places. Buy one, fill it, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of bleach, keep it away from sunlightand it's good for a few years.

Buy a kerosene hand transfer pump and two small lengths of tubing from Lowes and store it with the tank to transfer it out.

DO NOT DIP THINGS INTO THE TANK TO FILL THEM.

 

[CapitalistDog]

Well water gets contaminated pretty regularly. Ask half the province of Alberta how they like their water flammable.

AquaMira tabs and containers are cheap, bleach is fine in a pinch but not effective against everything.

 

[xtry51]

Bleach is great for extending the life of already known potable water for long term storage. I wasn't suggesting it's a cure all.

 

[coastie]

I use a Super Siphon to get the water out of the barrels.

 

[exojam]

You can get the 250gal ag containers for under $100 at a lot of places. Buy one, fill it, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of bleach, keep it away from sunlightand it's good for a few years.

Buy a kerosene hand transfer pump and two small lengths of tubing from Lowes and store it with the tank to transfer it out.

DO NOT DIP THINGS INTO THE TANK TO FILL THEM.

Would covering one of those with a tarp be sufficient for keeping it out of the sunlight (per say)? The only place I would have room for one of them would be under the back deck which does get hit by the sun.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Stupid question. Would filters be effective in this situation? Berkey? Katadyn?

 

[Wadcutter]

Stupid question. Would filters be effective in this situation? Berkey? Katadyn?

I really doubt it. The chemical molecules are probably about the same size as water molecules. No way to filter them out.

 

[xtry51]

Would covering one of those with a tarp be sufficient for keeping it out of the sunlight (per say)? The only place I would have room for one of them would be under the back deck which does get hit by the sun.

It will freeze.

 

[Madball13]

Stupid question. Would filters be effective in this situation? Berkey? Katadyn?

Potentially if the filter has activated carbon in it. The activated carbon will absorb organics and prevent them from getting into the clean water. With a spill like this the chemical will saturate the filter very quickly.

FYI, the size of this molecule is drastically bigger than water.

 

[Emoto]

West Virginia, not Virginia.

 

[exojam]

It will freeze.

xtry51,

Thanks for the reply and now the dumb question. Where is something that size supposed to go than if it cannot be left where it gets direct sunlight and will freeze if covered? Thanks.

 

[xtry51]

It fits through a standard basement bulkhead

 

[exojam]

It fits through a standard basement bulkhead

Damn, I have a walkout basement.

I was looking at it last night wondering if it would fit through the door and really did not think it would.

I will have to look around and see if they make a smaller version.

Thanks for the reply and help.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Damn, I have a walkout basement.

I was looking at it last night wondering if it would fit through the door and really did not think it would.

I will have to look around and see if they make a smaller version.

Thanks for the reply and help.

 

[xtry51]

Damn, I have a walkout basement.

I was looking at it last night wondering if it would fit through the door and really did not think it would.

I will have to look around and see if they make a smaller version.

Thanks for the reply and help.

Go with (4) 55gal drums then.

 

[exojam]

View attachment 91107

And there we go. Thanks Brownstone.

 

[mikem317]

Private well here. I also keep about 50 gallons fresh on hand just incase.

This.

Reminds me that I need to get a larger well pressure tank. The tank that came with the house is pretty small. In fact, a plumber that came to install our whole-house filter setup said that he "wouldn't install that in my camper".

Time to upgrade.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Go with (4) 55gal drums then.

And there we go. Thanks Brownstone.

I haven't done this yet, it's on my list. I want to daisy chain some barrels like that with the outside (garden hose) water. Basically have the spigot feed the barrels, and then the barrels feed the hose. That will ensure that the water gets cycled out frequently.

 

[xtry51]

This.

Reminds me that I need to get a larger well pressure tank. The tank that came with the house is pretty small. In fact, a plumber that came to install our whole-house filter setup said that he "wouldn't install that in my camper".

Time to upgrade.

Go big. We put a 36gal in our CT house and went 10 days without having to dip into reserves. Just shut the toilets off and use dirty water to fill them for flushing. When we build a house up here I'm going to go with at least a 50gal.

 

[xtry51]

I haven't done this yet, it's on my list. I want to daisy chain some barrels like that with the outside (garden hose) water. Basically have the spigot feed the barrels, and then the barrels feed the hose. That will ensure that the water gets cycled out frequently.

If you do this still occasionally add and eye dropper of bleach to each one, especially in the winter when hoses aren't used much. You don't want anything to start growing in the barrels.

 

[ToddDubya]

Go with (4) 55gal drums then.

If you have ones with good lids, you can build a structure to hold a few and stack them vertically. A guy on the You Tubes had three stacked high and it fit pretty easily in his garage. I'm not sure how you get water out of it without dumping the whole thing on the floor, but he didn't touch on that.

They also make cubes that stack/mate so you can have a few hundred gallons in a relatively small footprint. Their smaller/lighter components are nice if you need to move it. I.e. to bring upstairs so you don't have to go to the basement for a drink of water. They're pricey though.