Chemical Spill Brings W.Va. Capital To Standstill

Approved water storage containers

A reminder to EVERYONE to store extra drinking water in our homes.  It doesn't have to be a big earthquake that renders our city drinking water useless.

FEMA advises:  

"You should store at least one gallon of water per person per day" and to Keep at least a three-day supply of water per person."  "A normally active person needs at least one gallon of water daily just for drinking however individual needs vary, depending on age, physical condition, activity, diet and climate." http://www.ready.gov/water

However, I would suggest it is more advisable to store at least:

3 gallons of water per person per day 

and to keep at least: 

5 day supply of water per person 

This will better account for drinking, sanitation, and possible medical emergencies.

I have re-posted portions of the article from the AP, posted at KSL.com below, along with some pics.  Click on the article title below for the complete post from KSL.com.

Chemical spill brings 

W.Va. capital to standstill

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A chemical spill left the water for 300,000 people in and around West Virginia's capital city stained blue-green and smelling like licorice, with officials saying Friday it was unclear when it might be safe again to even take showers and do laundry.

...For now, there is no way to treat the tainted water aside from flushing the system until it's in low-enough concentrations to be safe, a process that could take days.

...People across nine counties were told they shouldn't even wash their clothes in affected water, as the compound can cause symptoms ranging from skin irritation and rashes to vomiting and diarrhea.

...The spill brought West Virginia's most populous city and nearby areas to a virtual standstill, closing schools and offices and even forcing the Legislature to cancel its business for the day. Officials focused on getting water to people who needed it, particularly the elderly and disabled.

Tanaz Rahin of the South Hills region of Charleston. W.Va. drove across town to South Charleston to find water following a chemical spill on the Elk River that compromised the public water supply of eight counties on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Tyler Evert)

Jim Cole of Exeter, N.H., got the last few bottles of water at the Kroger in South Charleston W.Va. following a chemical spill on the Elk River that compromised the public water supply to eight counties of Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Tyler Evert)

Charleston resident Niru Parikshak loads up the back of her car with bottled water Thursday Jan. 9, 2014 in Charleston, W.Va. . Sam's Club and every retailer for a twenty mile radius sold out of bottled water after a chemical leak Thursday morning up river from the WV American Plant on the Elk River forced the water plant to shut down. (AP Photo/Charleston Daily Mail, Bob Wojcieszak)

City officials help direct traffic through a water distribution site set up at the South Charleston Recreation Center in South Charleston, W.Va., Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, after at least 100,000 customers in nine West Virginia counties were told not to drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes using their tap water because of a chemical spill into the Elk River in Charleston, with Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declaring a state of emergency Thursday for all those areas. The site opened before 9 a.m. with bottled water and a tanker truck, but was expected to run out of water about 90 minutes later. (AP Photo/The Daily Mail, Marcus Constantino)

Homer Larch of Pinch W.Va. waits to get safe water at the Kmart in Elkview W.Va., Friday, Jan. 10, 2014. Emergency crews have brought in water at many locations around the state following a chemical spill Thursday on the Elk River that compromised the public water supply to nine counties. (AP Photo/Tyler Evert)

West Virginia State Troopers fill water jugs at the Kmart in Elkview, W.Va., Friday, Jan. 10, 2014. Emergency crews are setting up water depots at many locations around the state following a chemical spill Thursday on the Elk River that compromised the public water supply to nine counties. (AP Photo/Tyler Evert)