Do you get tap water during a hurricane? (house, water heater)

[tar21]

During a hurricane do you get tap water or does it shut off? And if it shuts off how long is it usually off for? Also do you ever have sewage water come out from the tap during a hurricane?

[spbbound]

Water service is no different than any other utility; it will be provided for as long as possible and if some type of damage occurs that causes service to be interrupted, you are without service until whatever was damaged can be repaired. The more common issue during a natural disaster is boil orders.

Potable water is not served from sewage lines so it's impossible to have sewage come out of the tap if you have public water service. If your neighborhood were to be flooded, then it's possible for sewage to back up into a house via the sewer lines.

[jambo101]

Water at some point in its travels to your tap is going to require electricity for the pumps Hurricanes have an annoying habit of shutting down electricity.

[North Beach Person]

You may lose water service temporarily during a hurricane due to power outages but most smart water authorities have taken advantage of grant funding from FEMA and Homeland Security to purchase generators (big ones) for their water and sewer systems.

It's more likely you'll have sewer problems than water, though. Flooding overwhelms the sewage collection systems and pretty much shuts them down. That's why you really shouldn't walk around in flood waters if you can avoid it. You don't know what kind of interesting bugs are in it, not to mention that hydraulic pressure blows the manhole covers off the system and you can step into the opening. That is not a good thing to have happen.

[LKJ1988]

We never get canes so who knows.

[arleigh]

For the sake of having water during an event that it could be shut off ,I took rejected water heater tanks repaired them and made them part of my reserve water .
To keep it fresh , I use a check valve to be sure it can't be syphoned out on the city side ,water is plumbed to them in series and than run to the washing machine, so that each time the washing machine is used the water is being exchanged.
With a valve I can shut of the water to the city, and reroute the tanks to the house plumbing, and with a small engine driven air compressor pressurize the rig and the house has water again as usual .
I have 2 cistern tanks , one feeds the chickens, and the other is for fire fighting if necessary, with water pump and all .
Other water stored in the house is in smaller containers that can be carried out if necessary .
Not that water has ever in the past has ever been shut off to that the power has been shut off in this particular area , that fact is it's more possible now than before with economic decline, and amongst other things, the current drought .

[CSRSJim]

Remember, in most areas public water is stored in towers that gravity feed the drinking water system. So they don' t need electricity to have pressure until the water in the tower is depleted. Then pumps are needed to fill the tower. That being said, if the power grid is down for a week then the public back up generators will be needed to run the pumps.

So, tap water is usually available. Under prolonged power outages, the water purification plant may not be functioning so even with back up pumps to fill the tower(s), a boil water order can happen.

I do like having my own well. As long as I can fuel my back up genertor, I can have drinking water. But everyone should have some bottled water on hand.

[CSRSJim]

Originally Posted by arleigh

For the sake of having water during an event that it could be shut off ,I took rejected water heater tanks repaired them and made them part of my reserve water ..
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I have 2 cistern tanks , one feeds the chickens, and the other is for fire fighting if necessary, with water pump and all .
Other water stored in the house is in smaller containers that can be carried out if necessary .

You have an amazing water prepardness system(s).

[rezfreak]

or just fill your bathtub with water when you see one is coming.

[Stewabby]

You will have warning so if you decide not to evacuate you have a little time to prepare. Always have a large supply of bottled water on hand ahead of time because if you want to buy some because of a coming storm, everyone will want to buy some. The shelves will be empty.

Fill up your bathtubs and sinks in preparation. We also have something similar to these to fill up in preparation. Amazon.com : Collapsible Water Container 2.5 Gallons : Camping Water Storage : Sports & Outdoors