Polluted Floodwaters Represent Yet Another Restoration Risk

Emergency crews should be cognizant of how to deal with polluted floodwaters in order to preserve their health and safety.  This is just one of many challenges that crews must be aware of following a disaster, a long list that includes everything from falling trees and branches to mudslides to aggressive malcontents.  However, not much has been written about this risk, which has prompted me to write this brief post.

How to Deal with Polluted Floodwaters

The primary risk of polluted floodwaters is the presence of infection-causing bacteria caused by the infiltration into the water system of pollutants like dead animals, human or animal feces, oil, medications, rotten foodstuffs, sediment, and other undesirables.  The bacteria could get into your bloodstream through an open cut or from compromised water splashing or dripping into your eyes, and it could cause illness or in rare circumstances, death.  The bacteria could also seep into drinking water wells, presenting yet another way that these nasty little buggers can enter your system.

Obviously, not wading through floodwaters is the best way to avoid the risk, but the problem is that the pollutants can linger for weeks, and crews could eventually get complacent and let their guard down during an unusually long outage restoration.  Really, the only way to mitigate the problem is avoidance, or if exposed, washing with soap and water or hydrogen peroxide within one hour.

The bottom line – although the risk associated with polluted floodwaters is relatively small compared to other risk factors, it should still be incorporated into emergency training documentation and protocols.  I recommend reviewing your documentation as soon as possible to identify any gaps in this regard, and if one or more gaps exist, fix the problem.