When Hurricane Season Strikes, Your Water Safety Depends on Being Prepared: Emergency Treatment Solutions Every Florida Homeowner Needs
Florida’s hurricane season, which runs from June 1st through November 30th, brings more than just wind and rain—it can completely disrupt your home’s water supply and safety. Following the impact of a hurricane, residents may lose access to basic services, such as power and water, and be subject to limited or no access to essentials like food, drinking water and medicine. Households are encouraged to have enough essential supplies to last every member of the family, including pets, at least seven days. Understanding emergency water treatment solutions before disaster strikes can mean the difference between staying safe at home and facing a dangerous water crisis.
Why Hurricane Season Threatens Your Water Supply
When hurricanes make landfall in Florida, they create multiple threats to your home’s water system. Public water systems may experience a total loss of water pressure, increases in turbidity, or there may be evidence of isolated water main breaks or areas where there is a loss of pressure from detached service connections. During a hurricane most community public water systems are able to utilize an auxiliary power source to maintain water pressure when significant power interruptions occur. However, even with backup power, water quality can become compromised.
During a hurricane or tropical storm, water service may be interrupted when uprooted trees break water pipes or electrical power to a treatment plant is interrupted. Additionally, overwhelmed treatment plants and damaged sewer pipes can release raw sewage into streets, yards, or bodies of water. If you notice sewage spills or suspect sewage contamination in your area: Avoid contact with any standing water, as it may be contaminated.
Understanding Boil Water Advisories
One of the most common water safety measures during and after hurricanes is the precautionary boil water notice. A precautionary boil water notice shall be issued in cases where pressure in any part of the water distribution system has been reduced to zero, or a negative pressure, unless the zero pressure is due to an isolated water main break and the public water system can demonstrate that the integrity of the water system has been maintained.
When a boil water advisory is issued, boil water for at least 1 minute before using it for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute. If there is a power outage, and boiling water is not an option, customers may disinfect tap water by adding eight drops (approximately 1/8 teaspoon) of regular unscented household bleach (four to six percent strength) per gallon of water. Mix the solution and let it stand for 30 minutes.
Emergency Water Treatment Solutions for Your Home
While boiling water is effective for immediate needs, Florida homeowners should consider more comprehensive emergency water treatment solutions. Portable water filtration systems are essential in any emergency prep kit. These compact, often lightweight devices let you convert questionable water into clean, drinkable H2O—anytime, anywhere.
Modern emergency filtration systems offer several advantages over traditional methods. The Outback Ready emergency system is designed to filter up to 24 gallons of water per day during times of emergency. It is durable, requires no electricity, transports easily and can treat water from a variety of sources. These gravity-fed systems are particularly valuable because gravity water filter systems are ideal for emergencies as they require no power or complex setup and can produce large quantities of clean drinking water from natural sources.
Advanced portable systems can handle multiple contamination threats. High-Performance Nano Membranes: Removes 70-90% of contaminants, including salts, nitrates, sulfates, tannins, fluoride, hard water, bacteria, viruses, chlorine, pesticides, and herbicides—all without added chemicals or salts. This comprehensive filtration capability is crucial when dealing with hurricane-related water contamination.
Preparing Your Home’s Water System
Beyond emergency filtration, Florida homeowners should take proactive steps to protect their water systems. Professional water treatment companies like quality safe water of florida emphasize the importance of having reliable, permanent water treatment solutions in place before hurricane season begins. Quality Safe Water of Florida is dedicated to ensuring every Florida family has access to clean, safe, and purified water. We are committed to providing the highest quality, efficient, and affordable water treatment solutions, prioritizing the health and well-being of our customers.
Whole-house water treatment systems provide an additional layer of protection during emergencies. Our Whole House Purelight System is an ultraviolet light that kills and eliminates water borne organisms and bacteria. These systems continue to function even when municipal water quality becomes compromised, provided your home maintains water pressure and electrical power.
Essential Hurricane Water Preparedness Steps
Florida emergency management officials recommend specific water preparedness measures. Creating an emergency water supply for you and your family is an essential part of emergency preparations. When a hurricane warning is announced you can fill clean, sanitized containers with Miami-Dade County tap water rather than buying bottled water.
Your emergency water kit should include multiple backup options. Adding a bottle of purification tablets to your kit is like carrying a spare tire. You might never need them—but if you do, you’ll be really glad they’re there. They don’t replace a high-quality water filter, but they complement it perfectly.
Post-Hurricane Water Safety
After a hurricane passes, water safety concerns continue. To ensure safety, boil all drinking water for at least one minute to kill harmful bacteria and pathogens, or use bottled water for cooking, drinking, and personal hygiene until local officials confirm the water is safe. Additionally, The Florida Department of Health recommends allowing the water to run for five minutes at each tap to flush the lines with safe water.
Be aware that most home filters are designed to improve the taste and/or odor of your water, not remove bacteria. If there is ever any doubt, as a precaution, you should boil your water or use commercially bottled water even if you have a filtering system.
The Investment in Water Security
Preparing for hurricane season water emergencies requires both immediate supplies and long-term solutions. Preparation is key for municipal leaders and emergency preparedness managers. Humans can survive about a month without food; average survival time drops significantly when it comes to our essential need for water. This reality underscores why Florida homeowners must take water security seriously.
Our unwavering commitment to quality and customer satisfaction sets us apart. We take pride in offering the highest quality, safe, and reliable water treatment systems. By combining professional water treatment systems with emergency filtration equipment, Florida families can maintain access to safe water throughout hurricane season and beyond.
Don’t wait until a hurricane warning is issued to think about your water safety. The time to prepare is now, before the next storm threatens your community’s water supply.