Why do we Civil Defence folks always go on about storing water? Well, to answer that question it might help to have the background: The water that comes out of our taps comes from big water tanks up on the tops of our hills. The water that fills up these reservoirs mostly comes from Te Marua (Upper Hutt), Wainuiomata and Petone.
Since our main water supply pipes coming out from the Hutt cross the Wellington fault, they will probably break in a large earthquake, which will take a while to fix. As well as this, some of the pipes from the local reservoir to your house might break due to slips etc. Most of the reservoirs are fitted with valves that turn off the water if there is a big earthquake, to stop leaks draining all the water.
So, all things considered it could easily be several weeks after an earthquake before you start seeing water coming out of your taps again.
There probably aren’t many people who can store several weeks water at home (it is possible though if you buy a big enough tank) but you do need enough water to last until we can organise community supply points. Three days is a bare minimum – 7 days is more realistic. Allowing 3 litres per person per day will give you enough for survival but if you want enough for washing and food preparation then you will need more than that.
Large plastic soft drink & juice bottles (but not milk bottles) are good for storing water or you can buy plastic water containers. Make sure you wash them out well before filling them up and put the date on them so you know when to refill them next year. It is a good idea to have at least one water container that is easy to carry, for collecting water from a community supply point.
If you have any questions then go ahead and ask us! Either comment on this post or use our contact form.
David
Tags: Be Prepared, water
