Emergency Preparedness Committee

Living in St. George is just like living in Montana - in reverse. Instead of being in your heated house, getting in your heated car, and going to heated stores, we are in our air-conditioned house, getting in our air-conditioned cars, and going to air-conditioned stores. Summer is coming. While living in St. George is not like living in Phoenix, Arizona (add an extra 10 degrees), it can get a bit warm here.

Even with the amenities and comfort that we have, it is important that we stay hydrated. The general rule of thumb is that in the summertime, we should drink between one-half and one gallon of water daily. If a person is exercising, the need is increased by up to double that amount. Certainly, all the members of the Hiking Club know they need to take plenty of water on their hikes.

However, what would we do if one day we turned on the tap and nothing happened? No water! In St. George, we are one problem away from a water emergency. Happily, we have not had one in the recent past. That is not to say we can’t have a problem. For this reason, various government agencies encourage every household to have an emergency supply of water. At least a two-week supply is suggested.

Recognizing that the suggested one-half to one gallon of water is for drinking only, we should probably have twice that when you add cooking and sanitation. Bottled water is a possible option. Some people store water in commercially available water barrels or jugs. Don’t forget the water in your water heater can be used as an emergency water supply if you have turned the supply valve off so it does not become contaminated. Next time you go to the tap to get a drink of water, think of what you would do if water did not come out of the spout.