Almost all shuttered up . What a PITA ! & it is 92 deg. Cat 5 w/ pressure at 916 . Not good . Will be making some extra precautions . The grocery stores were in a frenzy w/ no H20 available .Price gouging hot line #is recorded . Mandatory evacs in the Keys . Some water side people said we are staying . WHAT !!! River rose 4 ' w/ Matthew .
When Jim Cantore shows up in your area w/ a helmet on you are pretty much effed . Will keep FTE posted as long as possible. Texas says "We had the baddest storm ever " Floridians say " Hold my beer "

 

One thing has me curious. Bottled water is OK to have, but is the tapwater unsafe to drink??

Maybe it is, I dunno. If it is, then I'd think everybody would have pallets of bottled water on hand anyway. I don't get it. If not, then it sure as hell makes sense to fill containers ahead of time. Water heaters should hold at least 40 to 50 gallons or more, of potable water. Shut the water main off at the service entrance before flooding, to prevent any possible back contamination. Bathtubs can be lined with visqueen to hold water. Freezers can be stocked with milk jugs filled with water, frozen, and will provide ice for food preservation and drinkable water for several days. In short there's a lot of things people can do to prepare without spending money on bottled water, or at least depending on something that by all accounts, won't be there if needed. The portion of the state I live in has huge aquifiers, but I still have some 5 gallon containers on hand, just because. Why not?

 

Crossing my fingers for ya! I've got a lot of family and friends down there. Mom's in Vero. Sis lost her home to Andrew and we don't need any more of that.

 

Water heater water is NOT potable water. You aren't supposed to drink it or cook with it, unless you maintain it at > 140 deg F. (which conflicts with gov't energy requirements). Less than 140 and they are breeding grounds for legionella and other bugs. Better than nothing if you're really hurting, but it's a risk.

"Water from a hot water heater is not considered 'potable'. It should not be used for cooking or drinking.

The reason is this. The danger zone for most bacteria is 40 degrees F to 140 degrees F. There are several harmful bacteria that can live in your water heater, including legionella, if the temperature is maintained below 140 degrees F.

The danger increases with less frequent use of the heater, meaning that freshly treated water is not being introduced regularly to kill or knock down these bacterial populations."

But you're correct, no reason not to store (cold) tap water in clean jugs. Especially for bathing.

 

Well OK, but it's relatively clean water - suitable for bathing, and after chemical treatment - or filtering, or boiling - would be OK for drinking. Much better to start with, than flood water.

 

Sooo, by that logic, virtually all tap water is suspect regardless of whether or not it came from the water heater.

 

He brought up a good point though - water heaters can harbor some nasties. But it's a source of water people might overlook.

Only cold water from the tap is supposed to be used for cooking and drinking. In an emergency a few drops of fresh Clorox bleach per quart of water can render suspect or "raw" water safe to drink, bacteriologically anyway. Wait 20 minutes. Unscented bleach. Bringing water to a boil will also kill most critters as well. Water borne illnesses are nasty, and can take a while to show up.

 

The biggest problem with water during these situations is that many times, like just happened in Houston, the water treatment plants get flooded and down or the water can get contaminated at the source, or in many cases the plant just shuts down.

My youngest son lives in Puerto Rico, we were fortunate enough to get him on a flight out last night. He'll be waiting out the storm in Buffalo, hoping that he has anything left when he returns.

 

Absolutely, that's my point. This thing is still a week away, or was anyway. The water treatment plants always go down, and the sewage treatment.

So last week and this week was the time to be filling containers and storing it for the inevitable, not wigging out and descending like crows on the bottled water at stores. I just don't understand the mentality of waiting till the very last minute. I'm really good at procrastination, but a flood simply cannot be ignored.

 

Joe- at least he is safe - the rest can be replaced at a cost but still better than your son getting hurt. Hope all is OK for his home when he gets back.

 

I agree 100%. I lived my whole life in Louisiana so you get used to it. I keep a kit ready and have a list, such as water bottles, gas fill up, etc. as soon as it is a chance to head my way, better to get it early. hoping the best for Florida and the islands

 

It's going to be a sh^*ty weekend .

 

Stay safe Denny

if you need a place to hole up my place is open. Bring the 52 stocker and we will study clips and bolt finishes!

JB

 

JB, thanks for the concern & invite but would have needed to begin the trek yesterday . Getting ready w/ all the shutters is a day long + process . The roads are already clogged up . My buddy tried to leave for Francis Took 22 hrs. to get to Atlanta . Another person made it to Orlando ( 110 mi.) in 11 hrs. )
will post some pics of house Irma ready thur. or fri. This could be bad w/ loss of possessions & other .

 

As of about 2 hours ago, I've been re-assigned with American Medical Response's Disaster Response Team, from Texas to Florida.
Please, do not take this lightly !