Flooding from hurricanes has repeatedly knocked out power and contaminated private wells across the Southeast.
Close to 1 million private wells are at risk of contamination every major flood season, according to the National Ground Water Association.
Hurricane Helene knocked out electricity to all 42,000 meters served by French Broad Electric Membership Corporation in western North Carolina. More than 10,000 of those homes, most in Mitchell and Yancey counties, were still without power past the eleventh day.
One family outside Burnsville didn't get theirs back for four months.
The same failure has played out in other storms too. Nearly 90% of Dixie Electric Membership Corporation's members in Louisiana lost power at some point during Hurricane Ida, with restoration in hard-hit areas taking two to four weeks. Sam Houston Electric Cooperative in Texas saw more than 76,000 of its roughly 85,000 members lose power during Hurricane Beryl, with full restoration taking just over a week.
For homes on private wells, an outage like that means no electricity to the pump.
No water at all, for as long as it lasts.
And once power does return, state health officials warn it still isn't safe to assume the water coming out of the tap is clean.
Downed power lines in Gulfport, Mississippi, after Hurricane Isaac in 2012, a storm that knocked out power to more than 1 million people across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
A peer-reviewed study by UNC epidemiologist Arbor Quist found an 85% rise in emergency room visits for bacterial gastrointestinal illness after Hurricane Florence's flooding. Private wells, she said, are "poorly regulated and rarely tested for the kinds of pathogens that make people sick."
Similar findings have turned up after other storms, in other states:
- NORTH CAROLINA — Hurricane Florence. State health officials tested 776 wells across the eastern part of the state and found nearly 45% contaminated, with over 13% carrying E. coli.
- FLORIDA — Hurricane Irma. Researchers screening flood-impacted wells found 38% positive for coliform bacteria.
- LOUISIANA — 2016 flood. Wells already treated with bleach still tested positive for bacteria nearly a third of the time.
- FLORIDA — Hurricane Ian. 22% of tested wells in Seminole County came back contaminated.
Bacteria such as E. coli can enter a well through floodwater and remain in the water supply well after power is restored.
State health officials say bacterial contamination in a well can't be detected by sight, taste, or smell. Dr. Monty Dozier, a Texas A&M disaster recovery director, tells families returning home after a storm not to trust the tap without official clearance. "Wait until officials say your water is safe to drink," he says.
For well owners with no other water source, that wait can take weeks.
Dozier's advice still means boiling first. But boiling only kills bacteria, it doesn't touch the sediment and debris raw water carries. Most basic filter straws and filter pitchers don't remove bacteria either, they're built for already-treated tap water, not a pond or a well. The ReadyLine Lifeline Straw is built to handle both.
The six-week window from mid-August to mid-October carries the large majority of major Atlantic hurricanes, according to NOAA. No one knows where the next one lands, or if well owners will be ready for the days without water that follow.
Everything included in the ReadyLine Lifeline Kit: ReadyLine Lifeline Straw, lanyard, syringe, extension tube, 2 carabiners, water pouch, and user manual.
ReadyLine Lifeline Straw
Its 0.1 micron membrane physically blocks E. coli and other bacteria, the same kind of contamination found in wells after nearly every major hurricane. An activated carbon stage removes any remaining taste or odor.
The filter has no expiration date and requires no batteries or chemicals to operate. One purchased now works the same whether it's used next week or five years from now.
- Filters 99.9999% of bacteria and parasites, the number the EPA sets as its highest safety benchmark
- Filters water from ponds, creeks, or other untested sources when the well isn't an option
- 400-gallon capacity equals more than 3,000 bottles of water, without having to store over 100 cases of water at home
- Free shipping. The price you see is the price you pay
- 60-day money-back guarantee. Try it for 60 days, and if it isn't right for you, send it back. Plus, a lifetime warranty on the filter body
For well owners, a hurricane leaves two separate problems. One is a pump that needs power restored. The other is water that carries a high risk of being unsafe to use. The first ends, eventually, when the lights come back on. When does the second end? It doesn't.
