Mr. Rawles and Mr. Latimer,
As you may have seen in the news, the city of Corpus Christi has, yet again, been the subject of contaminated water [1]. Over the last ~18 months, Corpus Christi has had a series of problems (five or six water boil notices, no drink advisory, et cetera) with the municipal water supply related to E.coli, low chlorine, high chlorine, and most recently chemical contamination Indulin AA-86 Asphalt Emulsion.
I began reading/following the SurvivalBlog several years ago and at a minimum keep a “go box” action packer for hurricane evacuations, et cetera. I have a small amount of supplies (rain barrel, Berkey water filters, WaterBOB, bottled water, MREs, et cetera). Thanks to being prepared, the previous water issues were a non-issue for my family, but this most recent water advisory is a reminder that being prepared is a constant, ongoing process. You must have primary and alternate/redundant systems/preps. A Berkey is a great water filter, but it can’t filter unknown chemicals from water, and while I was in much better shape than most standing in line at the supermarket there is always room for improvement.
Thanks for the advice and information from How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It [2] and the SurvivalBlog. – Guido in Corpus Christi, TX
o o o
HJL,
I just wanted to pass on this observation. The city of Corpus Christi, Texas reported an “event” with the municipal water system. According to the city mayor [3], there was a failure of an “anti siphon” device (check valve) near the “industrial” area of the city. The mayor called it an “over pressure” event; everyone else (news media) called it a “back flow”. It seems that some type of oily substance was injected into the water main.
It shut down water to the entire city of 300,000. You can’t drink, cook, wash, or bathe AT ALL. I said all that to say this; I live 50 miles away from Corpus Christi, and by 6:45 AM this morning the entire supply of water had been cleaned out to a 50-mile radius of the city. They were in my town buying up water 50 miles away.
Folks, if this is not a wake up call to plan ahead for your water needs, I don’t know what would be. – W.A.