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Hurricane Ida made landfall Sunday (August 29) near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of residents across the state. Some utility companies have already advised customers to limit their water usage to decrease the risk of sewage backups, especially as several pump stations have reported power outages during the storm.
As many people prepare for potential flooding inside their homes, residents are encouraged to protect their water supply in the event of longterm outages.
To protect the water you do have, SouthWest Water Company has provided some tips:
- Turn off your hot water heater. For electrical heaters, turn off the circuit breakers, and for gas heaters, turn off the pilot light and shut off the gas.
- If possible, shut your water meter off at the cutoff valve or at the meter to help minimize the damage if a pipe bursts in your home.
- If you have a pool, turn off the pumps, remove the hoses and protect them. Floodwaters could cause a pool to float and lift out of the ground.
- Fill your bathtub with water, only using it for bathing, not drinking.
- Place frozen bottles of water inside your refrigerator, turning both it and the freezer to its coldest settings. This should help keep temperatures down in the event electricity goes out.
- Piles of tree limbs and debris should be kept away from water meters, fire hydrants and other utility access points as they could damage pipes.
- Minimize use of water to prevent wastewater backup. This includes limited toilet flushing, not doing laundry or running the dishwasher, and not running water continuously for bathing or washing dishes.
If you are informed of a boil water notice, you will need to bring water to a rolling boil for a full minutes before use in the following circumstances:
- Drinking
- Preparing food or baby formula
- Washing produce
- Making ice, coffee or other drinks
- Brushing your teeth
- Giving water to any pets
Water for washing your hands or doing laundry does not need to be boiled as long as it doesn't get on your face or in your eyes or mouth, per SouthWest. Once a boil water advisory is lifted, you will need to flush your plumbing by running all cold-water faucets connected to the water line for at least five minutes.