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Water Safety during a Water Shortage or Flood in the UK

See also Shopping List during a Water Shortage.

A water shortage may be caused by drought or, ironically, flooding, notably if the pumping station or filtering station machinery becomes flooded.

During a water shortage, such as low tap water pressure, mains water pollution or a total mains water cut, you should label the different types of water available to you, and learn the different safe uses to which these types are suitable and unsuitable. These guidelines were written from a British domestic common-sense point of view, and have not been checked by a health professional nor scientist.

Babies, the elderly and invalids are particularly prone to dehydration. Ensure they get frequent opportunities to drink. Use cooled boiled clear water if no drinking water is available.

Flood water is sewerage:

• It will have risen through the sewers or across fields where animal dung is present
• It will contain faeces, urine, insects and bacteria which will carry disease
• Other people and other animals will have been to the toilet in it, even if your family has not
• Do not allow skin to come into extended contact with flood water
• Do not allow cuts or sores to be exposed to flood water even for a moment
• Clean your hands after touching flood water, especially before eating
• Do not allow children to play in flood water, other than splashing in small puddles with wellingtons
• Flood water may be deeper than you anticipate, may have washed away the ground or road surface beneath, may rise, advance or receed suddenly and may have dangerous undercurrents.

This document splits emergency water supplies into three types: Drinking Water, Clear Water and Waste Water. These are not official classifications.

Label your water containers and ensure all your family members understand what these categories mean. Simplify the labelling for younger children - for instance, tell younger children that they can only drink out of their own special bottle that has their name on it, and that they must come to you to get their bottle refilled.

"Drinking Water"

This is water that:

• Came directly from a tap that the government has stated is safe to drink from, or
• Comes from a previously sealed mineral/spring water bottle that was first opened less than two days ago, or
• Was taken from a water bowser (government approved sterile tanker) less than two days ago using a known clean container (such as a recently emptied mineral water bottle, or a new plastic bucket that you have scrubbed clean with disinfectant)

Note that you will probably still be advised to boil bowser water before drinking. This is because the government cannot guarantee that the container you are using is clean, nor can they guarantee that someone hasn't vandalised or polluted the tank. Bowser water is safe to drink when it arrives in the tank. If you have a clean container and don't have hoardes of local chavs vandalising everything they can lay their hands on, you can drink bowser water without boiling it first.

You SHOULD use drinking water for:

• Drinking
• Making up baby milk formula, after it has been boiled and cooled
• Brushing your teeth, wetting and rinsing your toothbrush
• Washing your mouth, eyes, genitals, cuts and sores
• Wetting cloths to clean an invalid's or a baby's bottom, or cloths used in first aid
• Washing your hands before dealing with food, drink or first aid, only if you have no antibacterial hand gel available
• Washing your skin after contact with flood water or sewerage, only if you have no antibacterial hand gel available
• Rehydrating food (eg. pot noodle) - although you should try to get food that can be eaten without extra water, such as tins of soup or beans

• Washing your body, unless you have cuts or sores there
• Washing up cutlery or crockery (such as plates, bowls, cups, knives, forks and spoons and other items you eat with) unless you have no "clear water"
• Washing up pots and pans
• Flushing the toilet
• Washing cars or clothes or other large jobs
• Refilling your car's water coolant or windscreen wash tank.

"Clear Water"

This is water that:

• Came from a tap that you have been advised to boil water before use from, or
• Fell as rain when there was no air pollution and was collected in a clean container such as a new plastic paddling pool (NOT dirty guttering), or
• Was "drinking water" that was opened or collected more than two days ago

You SHOULD use clear water for:

• Washing your body
• Washing up cutlery, crockery, pots and pans (wash glasses and cups first, crockery second, cutlery third, pots and pans last)
• Washing underwear, if you are desperate to have clean underwear
• Hand washing cloths which you later intend to use to wash your body with
• Hand washing small quantities of bedlinen for babies or invalids
• Giving to your pets to drink
• Refilling your car's water coolant tank

• Boiling it and then using it as "drinking water", if you are desperate and there is no other "drinking water" available

You should NOT use clear water for:

• Drinking without boiling first
• Washing your mouth, eyes, genitals or toothbrush without boiling first
• Flushing the toilet
• Washing cars, clothes (other than underwear or small quantities or baby/invalid bedlinen) or other large jobs
• Refilling your car's windscreen washer tank

"Waste Water"

This is water that:

• Has previously been "drinking water" or "clear water" and was used for washing something - for example, a basin of dirty water after washing your body or washing up cutlery and crockery - or,
• Fell as rain and ran over, or collected in, an unclean container such as guttering or a garden pond, or
• Is river, lake, puddle or flood water

You SHOULD use waste water for:

• Flushing the toilet after "number twos" (faeces)- either pour it back into the cistern, or throw it in using a bucket- if possible, wait up to half a day until everyone in the household has had a "number two"
• Watering your favourite plants on hot dry days
• Refilling your car's windscreen washer tank

You may need to filter your waste water to remove chunks of dirt, leaves and other gunk. If you don't have a collander or sieve, use old clothing. Do not use the same collander or sieve for food again.

You should NOT use waste water for:

• Flushing the toilet after a "number one" (urine), unless the toilet has gone more than a day without flushing
• Drinking under any circumstances
• Coming into contact with your mouth, eyes, genitals, cuts or sores - if this happens, rinse with "drinking water" or boiled "clear water" as soon as possible, then clean again with antiseptic (eg. Detol or TCP)
• Washing cutlery, crockery, pots and pans
• Refilling your car's water coolant tank
• Allowing your children to get on their skin or soaked into their clothes

General water use

During a water shortage, you should NOT use water at all for:

• Washing your car
• Washing pets
• Washing clothes other than underwear
• Washing bedlinen, other than small quantities for babies or invalids
• A washing machine, condensing tumble drier or dishwasher- instead, wash by hand and dry by towel, on a line or on a draining board
• Baths or swimming pools
• Hot mains water (hot tap) or hot showers if the shortage is so bad that mains water has been either shut off or is at very low pressure (if a water boiler tries to heat an insufficient flow of water, it may overheat, rupturing its seal and causing permanent damage). In most cases it will be safe to use central heating radiators, as these have seperate sealed water system which is re-used over and over again.

Driving through Floods

Do not attempt to drive through floodwater unless: