Poor Water Quality in Boston and Nashville Becomes Dangerous

6 May, 2010

I'm sure you've seen the news stories by now about the water main that burst near the Metropolitan Boston area. Not only were millions of residents without water while the broken main was fixed, but when it came back on it was deemed undrinkable for nearly two days. How about all the heavy rains that led to river flooding in Nashville? Residents there, as in Boston, have suffered from the same problem. Boiling water just to have make it drinkable gets tiresome very quickly, and bottled water quickly becomes a scarce and an expensive commodity in these situations.

In addition to home security and family safety in our security tips section, we have addressed issues of emergency preparedness. Some residents in Boston and Nashville were prepared for these incredible and unforeseen disruptions in their water supplies, but the vast majority of residents in these two cities have learned a very hard lesson this week.

The month of May is a turbulent month. The snowcap is melting rapidly around the country, which raises water levels in rivers and streams, and also results in a lot of additional moisture in the air due to evaporation, which leads to additional rainfall. These are ripe conditions for flooding as riverbanks swell and overflow, and water tables rise. Flash flooding, as we've seen in Nashville, can lead to the displacement of millions of residents, and in some instances and devastate an entire city as we saw with hurricane Katrina.

Also, May is the height of hurricane season across the southern plain states, and in recent weeks we've seen torrential rainfall and very high winds through Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. It was the torrential rainfall that caused the heavy flooding in Nashville, which has left their downtown area a virtual disaster area.

Being told about the advantages of being prepared for these types of situations is nothing new to any of us, but it does beg the question, "Why weren't you prepared?", if you weren't. A well planned emergency preparedness kit can save you and your family from the agony of a natural disaster like in Nashville, or even just pure bad luck like in Boston.

Bottled water, in this instance, is inexpensive. Every city has multiple outlets – generally at a local grocery store – where bulk water can be purchased for pennies a gallon. This method is cheaper than individual bottles of water, but even those should be included in your emergency preparedness kit compared to no water at all. Ten gallons of water per adult and older child, and five gallons per younger child should be in your home storage for just these occasions.

Home security systems and ADT monitoring are a big part of home security and emergency preparedness, but they're not the entire equation. Include drinkable water, flashlights with fresh batteries, and a battery-operated radio as part of a complete home security plan.