Public Health Officer Advises on Water Safety Post-Hurricane Lisa

John Bodden

Even though Hurricane Lisa is history, after-effects from the storm can still impact us negatively, as in the water we drink. So today, we spoke with the Ministry of Health’s Principal Public Health Inspector, John Bodden to find out how best to treat the water we are suspicious about.

John Bodden, Principal Public Health Inspector

“After an event, your water system might have been exposed to contaminants and so we advise people that if you see water that is discoloured or has an off-taste, if there’s an alternate source that you could get water then do not use that water but if you do have to use that water then we advise you to either treat it by two means. The first is to boil it and let it come to a rolling boil and then you could just let it sit a little while for cooling before drinking. In terms of another form of treatment, if you’re not able to boil it then of course you can actually add bleach to it and its one tablespoon of the bleach to five gallons of water. Of course you want to ensure that that bleach that you do use does not contain any kind of other ingredients. It has to be the plain bleach that you use. You apply that to the water and let it stand for thirty minutes before you drink it.”