Canton on Emergency Management

Has PowerPoint Had Its Day?

 

Download Has PowerPoint Had Its Day

Has PowerPoint Had Its Day?

A Bad Tool or a Misused One?

Solving the Water Storage Problem

More that anything else, disaster survival depends on water. Assuming there are no pre-existing medical issues, the average person can survive for two weeks without food. Lack of water can lead to death in a matter of days.

The minimum amount of water needed per person is around two quarts per day, but this varies based on factors such as temperature and physical exertion. It’s this subjectivity that causes a problem in suggesting how much water a person should store. The oft-quoted recommendation of one gallon per person per day can be inadequate under some conditions and overkill in others.

A major problem is storage. While there are available water supplies in the average house (e.g. water heaters, toilet tanks), most people would prefer a more conventional supply such as bottled water. However, in these days of environmental consciousness, many bottled water containers available in supermarkets are designed to degrade after a period of months. Stored too long, they begin to deteriorate. There are containers designed for long-term storage, but they can be expensive and not all are easy to store. Part of the problem with long term storage of water is the need to periodically replace the stored water, something that many people neglect.

At last years International Association of Emergency Managers conference, a new company called Waterfull introduced a potential solution that is both simple and effective. The system is built around a pressurized 30-gallon water container that is connected in-line with a water source, such as a garden hose. As the water source is used, the water in the container is constantly refreshed. The water is easily accessed via a spigot attached to the container. The price point is roughly around $500, about the same price as a pallet of bottled water.

The concept is not new; I saw something similar offered following the Loma Prieta earthquake. However, Waterfull has put  a lot of thought and engineering into the design and materials used in the container. The container is sealed against contaminants, made from food-grade plastic, and designed to prevent algae growth. It replaces nine cases of bottled water in a much more efficient storage size. It may not completely solve the issue of water storage but is certainly a step in the right direction.

Emergency Management Solutions - December 2019

EM Solutions 12/2019

Can We Really Save Everyone? Rethinking Responsibility for People with Functional Needs

    By Lucien Canton

The 2019 National Preparedness Report, or 'How Are We Measuring Preparedness?'

    by Timothy (Tim) Riecker

Avoiding the Somebody Else's Problem Field

    by Erik Bernstein

Emergency Management Solutions - November 2019

EM Solutions 11/2019

What Do Your Clothes Say About You? Dressing for Success in the EM World

    by Lucien Canton

An Updated Community Lifelines Toolkit and Relationships to Incident Management

    by Timothy (Tim) Riecker

Why Crisis Management Best Practices Matter To You

    by Erik Bernstein