Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous line 'water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink' becomes ironically true during the flood situations. Every year flood occurs in different regions of Bangladesh during the monsoon seasons. Besides this, shortages of pure drinking water can occur during earthquakes or other emergency conditions. One of the crucial aspects of being ready for an emergency is ensuring that you have a way to get clean water. Let’s discuss some water purification methods during floods, emergencies, or disaster situations.

Water Purification Methods during Flood, Disaster, Emergency Situations

If a natural calamity happens all of a sudden, and you no longer have access to uncontaminated water, then what will you drink? How would you make sure that you and your family can get enough pure water to survive? Here are a few ways:

Boiling

When it comes to preparing water for consumption, this is almost certainly the approach that is the most widely used and reliable. The majority of germs may be eliminated by the use of boiling, which is also a simple method. The water should be boiled for at least one minute before being allowed to cool in a covered or sheltered setting. Drinking water that is excessively hot might cause you to lose even more moisture from your body.

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Filtration

It may come as a surprise, but one of the simplest methods to purify water is to take advantage of the sand and silt that make up the surface of the Earth all around us. It is a well-established fact that water that is extracted from the ground using a pump is often devoid of pollutants. This is due to the fact that the water has been naturally filtered via the pores of sands and silts. 

You will need the following things in order to construct a fundamental bio-sand filter: 1) a lengthy container, 2) a hose or drain tube, and 3) a number of different types of clean sands, silts, and gravels. To begin, make a hole in the side of the container so that the hose may be attached to the bottom of the container. The next step is to begin by filling the container with a few inches' worths of gravel, followed by a few more inches' worths of sand.

Next, using very fine sand and silt mixture, fill two-thirds of the remaining space in the container. Last but not least, the remaining space in the container should be stuffed with normal sand and gravel. In addition, a layer of charcoal may be found on the interior of some bio-sand filters. In the event that you have any available, it would be best to incorporate them into the design of your filter.

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Pour the contaminated water into the container that comes with your new bio-sand filter, and then let the water gently filter through the container and into the hose so that you may start using it.

Solar Distillation

You can also erect a solar still in order to harness the power of the sun and produce water that is free of any harmful bacteria or pathogens. To get a useful quantity of water using this approach needs a significant investment of both time and daylight. The water that is produced using this approach will not include any minerals and will not have any taste. This is another disadvantage of using this method. In order to assist with this matter, the water that has been cleansed might be salted and aerated.

SODIS

The SODIS technique is one of the most straightforward approaches to purifying water that you can take. As a matter of fact, it is so simple that a large number of organizations are trying to educate those who are at risk of contracting water-borne diseases on how to use this approach. The sun, a clear PET plastic container, and around six hours of your time are all you really need to purify your water using this approach.

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Chemical Treatments

Although the phrase "chemical" water treatment might be a little misleading, the aforementioned procedures are among the most typical ways that polluted water is cleaned up.

For instance, you may purchase water treatment pills or drops to put into unclean water in order to eliminate germs, parasites, and viruses. These items can be found in most pharmacies.

The fact that there are only so many pills available is the most significant drawback associated with water treatment tablets. One tablet is often only capable of treating one litre of water, in contrast to certain water filters that may be used for hundreds of gallons of water.

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Charcoal Filtering

Charcoal is an excellent cleansing ingredient due to its exceptional capacity to absorb sediments as well as pollutants, and it also has the added benefit of boosting flavor. Charcoal may also be easily acquired since it is produced naturally anytime wood is burned.

The method of filtering water with charcoal is one that may easily be accomplished by anybody. You need just need charcoal, something heavy to smash it with, and a container to retain your water and filter it into. That is all you will need.

Using Chlorine

Raw water may be made more suitable for human consumption by adding about 8 drops of unscented chlorine bleach to each gallon of untreated water. In order to properly prepare the water, you will need to use a varied quantity of bleach if the chlorine content of the bleach varies from product to product. Use about 40 drops per gallon of water for a bleach solution that is 1 percent concentrated.

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Use about four drops per gallon of bleach that has an 8 percent concentration. After the bleach has been added, give the mixture a good stir, and then set the container aside for at least half an hour. Bleach will destroy some of the germs that cause illnesses, but it will not eliminate all of them. It is possible that you will need to aerate the water in order to get rid of the strong chlorine smell that will remain once the process is complete.

Conclusion

During or after the flood situations, it is possible that floodwater and the debris that was left behind are tainted with sewage. It is important to minimize contact with floodwater in order to reduce the risk of sickness. At least until three days have passed after the last significant rainfall, you should refrain from swimming in rivers, lagoons, and estuaries. 

There are many water filtration systems, and numerous water disinfection products are available on the market. Not all of them would be suitable for you. So far we have discussed some simple methods to disinfect water in inexpensive ways. In the event of an emergency, these measures to purify water will help you. Considering your current circumstances and dangers adopt the most suited water purifying process. 

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