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Originally published April 30 2015

Utah city orders citizens to avoid drinking water after chemical contamination; what will you do in a water emergency?

by Daniel Barker

(NaturalNews) Water emergencies appear to be occurring more often these days, leaving citizens scrambling to find safe drinking water when public supplies become contaminated.

The latest case is still ongoing and concerns the public water supplies of Nibley City, Utah. On April 23, occupants of the small town were ordered not to drink the water after residents had noticed it had a foul odor and contacted the city.

It was suspected that the contamination came from a recent diesel spill near a spring that supplies the city with its drinking water. Tests over the next few days confirmed the presence of diesel fuel in the water, and the system has been repeatedly flushed since then.

However, as of April 27, the city remains under a "Do-not-Drink" order.

Nibley City only has around 5,000 citizens, but local stores and supermarkets have already run out of bottled water. Residents have been forced to drive to nearby towns to obtain safe drinking water.

The water crisis in Nibley City seems to be nearly over, but it should serve as a reminder to all of us that we should never take our water resources for granted. Nibley City is one of three cities in the U.S. that has faced a water emergency within the past year, and it's an example that proves it can happen in small communities as well as large urban areas, such as Toledo, Ohio, where water contamination affected 400,000 people in 2014.

Water emergencies can be caused by a number of factors, including chemical spills, flooding from storms, drought conditions and breakages in water mains. Many of these causes are difficult - if not impossible - to predict or prevent, so it is important for everyone to have a backup supply of clean water in case such a scenario occurs. It's also highly recommended that you have methods of purifying water available in the case of a long-term shortage.

Daisy Luther, from The Organic, points out:

"Many people worry about the unstable electrical grid, and the effects that this would have on life as we know it. However, what will cause death and illness even faster is a threat to the water supply. If you do not have a well, a nearby spring or fresh water source, and ways to purify the water you acquire, you could be in big trouble - life-threatening trouble - in a matter of days."

To be on the safe side, you should stockpile at least a one-month supply of drinking water in your home. Each full-grown person needs at least a gallon of water per day, so a family of four will need to store 120 gallons or more to last 30 days.

If a long-term disaster were to occur, would you have the means to purify water after your stockpile is depleted? Boiling water is effective for killing germs, but you should also have other methods on hand in case of an emergency. Water purification tablets are inexpensive and easy to carry if you find yourself on the move. Inexpensive and portable water purification filters are also available; these are ideal for a bug-out situation.

It is always a good idea to have a larger water filtration system in your home so that you can easily purify any water that you might be able to find or collect from streams, lakes, rivers or other sources. Keep in mind that filters aren't enough on their own, but a combination of filtering along with boiling or treating water chemically will greatly improve the taste while removing solids and other particles.

As Daisy Luther reminds us:


