Power outages can pose health hazards | 911

As if snow, ice, rain, road closures, and power outages aren't enough to deal with, now the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is advising folks of several health hazards to think about following the storm.

Health officials gave us this list of things to remember, especially if the power is out:

Drinking Water and Wells

If your water supply is from a small water system and your power to the well system is out, your well or water system can become contaminated. Because of pressure loss in the system, contaminants can enter the drinking water supply. Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department recommends that when the power is restored, you run your water and check to see if the water has any discoloration, smell or cloudiness. If you observe any of these changes this could indicate a potential problem. Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department recommends that you test your water for the presence of bacteria and use a certified laboratory to determine if the water is safe for consumption

Septic Systems

If the septic system serving your house uses electricity to power a pump, and the power is out, use of the septic system should be curtailed. Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department recommends that you reduce your water usage to a minimum until the power is restored. Your pump tank should have an emergency reserve capacity of about 300 gallons before it fills up. This capacity will not be enough for dish washing, laundry, or many showers. If the power is out for more than a day, you may want to operate the pump using the manual on/off switch when the power is restored. Turn the pump on for about 3 minutes every 3 hours until the water level in the pump tank returns to normal. This will prevent the pump from discharging the entire reserve amount of effluent into the drain field at one time.
 
Food Safety after Power Outages
            
Refrigerated foods will be safe as long as power is not out for longer than four hours.  Keep the refrigerator door shut to prevent warming up the stored food.  Discard all potentially hazardous foods, such as meat, poultry, seafood, soft cheeses, milk, and cream that warms above 41 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two hours.  This includes cooked foods as well as raw.  If in doubt, throw it out!  Discard food into your garbage can.  Frozen foods that have partially or completely thawed can be re-frozen if they contain ice crystals or are below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. 

More information and health safety tips during power outages can be found online.