Sunday Bulletin, July 18, 2010

Lesson #14 - Priesthood Organization, taught by Chrissy Ladd

Announcements & Dates to Remember
July 19-22 - TREK
Aug 3 - Relief Society Monthly Meeting
Aug 16-20 - Education Week


July Newsletter - Emergency Preparedness & Provident Living
Many of us in the Lindon Stake were reminded last month that the unexpected does happen. The area above 1200 east was put on alert to boil our tap water for a few days. In some homes the water looked like it had just been bucketed out of a dirty ditch. The City repaired the spring runoff problem quickly but we could not use the public water supply for about 2 days.

For those in the affected area that were prepared, this event was just a mild inconvenience and a chance to practice using our preparedness supplies. If you were boiling water or running to the grocery store for bottled water you were unprepared. Consider the scenario if this had been a bigger emergency like a large scale earthquake. The grocery stores still open would be emptied of bottled water and food in a few hours. Power and natural gas service would likely be out and you would not able to boil water on the cook top. With this recent Lindon City water problem as a reminder we want to review some plans for – Emergency Water Storage

The most recent message from the First Presidency says, “Store drinking water for circumstances in which the water supply may be polluted or disrupted.” The minimum recommendation in the past has been to store 1 gallon per person per day for 14 days. This is just enough water to survive but not enough for things like washing dishes, sanitation, showering, laundry, pets, etc. The average American uses more that 50 gallons of water a day. We have put together a list of some ideas we have tried and some suggestions from water treatment experts.

1. The first thing you will probably need is an easy and simple source of clean drinking water. Cases of bottled water from the grocery store are our first suggestion. Rotate and use them so that they are not more than a year old.

2. Large barrels made of thick polyethylene plastic approved for water storage are readily available. We use 55 and 30 gallon barrels for most of our water storage. We use 5 gallon jugs that are easy to move around for cooking and hand washing. The siphon tubes work better than the hand pumps for removing water from 55 gallon barrels. Remember to use white RV hoses and not garden hoses that may be contaminated for filling the barrels. Store water in a cool, dark and dry location. Plastic water containers placed on concrete may take on a concrete taste over time. Place your water on wood and away from substances like kerosene and pesticides.

3. Supplies of paper plates, cups, utensils, napkins and garbage bags will save a lot of water and will simplify meals in an emergency.

4. Your home has other sources of water – water heater, water lines, toilet tanks (not bowls) beverages, canned fruits in water or juice, and ice. Swimming pools can be used for hygiene purposes but may have chemicals in the water that could be harmful for drinking.

Emergency Water Treatment
When the home water supply is interrupted by a disaster there are several possible dangers in the water.

Protozoa are the largest pathogens in drinking water. The two most common are Giardia lambria (Giardia) and Cryptosporidium (Crypto). They range in size from 2-15 microns but can squeeze through smaller openings. Filters with an absolute pore size of 1 micron should be used.

Medium sized Bacteria are responsible for many diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery. Pathogenic bacteria range in size form 0.2 to 0.6 microns. A 0.2 micron filter is necessary to prevent transmission.

Viruses are the smallest pathogens and range in size from 0.02 to 0.03 microns and are too small to be filtered out by a mechanical filter.

Chemicals like heavy metals, salts, fuels, and other pollutants can also be a danger in the water.

1. Clarify or filter dirty water to remove floating or suspended particles before disinfecting. Filter by pouring water through coffee filters, paper towels, or cloth. Filter bags or socks are available that will filter down to 1 micron. These bags will filter thousands of gallons of water.

2. Boiling is recognized as the safest method to purify and disinfect water of all pathogens. Most experts feel that if the water reaches a rolling boil it is safe. Some still hold out for maintaining the boiling for some length of time, 1- 10 minutes. Boiling does not remove contaminates such as heavy metals, salts, and most chemicals.

3. Chlorine Bleach such as ordinary household bleach (Clorox) must have 5.25% or 6% sodium hypochlorite and contain no soap, scents, colorings, or phosphates. Bleach is unstable and starts to diminish in strength after 6 months and can lose half of its strength after one year. Normal dosage is 8 drops (0.4ml) per gallon in clear water and 16 drops per gallon in cloudy water. Stir and allow the treated water to sit for 30 minutes, if there isn’t a slight chlorine smell, retreat.

4. Iodine emerged as a water purifier after WWII. Iodine was found to be in many ways superior to chlorine in treating small batches of water. Long term exposure to low levels of iodine has been proven safe. Nevertheless, experts are reluctant to recommend iodine for long term use. Iodine is normally used in doses of 8 ppm to treat clear water for a 10 minute contact time. Cloudy water needs twice as much iodine or twice as much contact time. If no instructions are provided on the container, use 12 drops per gallon of water. Mix well and allow the water to stand 30minutes. Water treated with iodine can have a bad taste removed by treating the water with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) after the water has stood for the correct treatment time.

5. Mechanical filters - Small portable camping filters like the Katadyn or MSR only screen out particles down to a certain size. Larger gravity filter devices like the Big Berkey or Aqua Rain use carbon filters. Know the limitations of the individual filter. These might need to be combined with a chlorine treatment to kill the small viruses.

6. Distillation, pasteurization, chlorine crystals, Polar Pure, solar/UV light, and stabilized oxygen are a few other less common ways to treat water.

We will be sending out an additional email with information on purchasing water barrels, siphon hoses, filter socks and other water treatment supplies.