Published 1/06/2017
Are you a water hero?
Have you thought about what you’d do for water after a major earthquake if the water network isn’t working? Have you got enough emergency water stored for your family for seven days? And what about a plan for your ones and twos?
These questions are at the heart of a new water and wastewater resilience awareness campaign recently launched by Wellington Water and WREMO.
Mark Kinvig, Wellington Water’s Group Manager Network Strategy & Planning said “We all know that we live in an area with the potential for a major earthquake. If the big one happens, our water and wastewater networks are likely to be severely damaged.
“While we’d be working hard to get the water services back to normal, it will take some time for this to happen.”
Bruce Pepperell, WREMO’s Regional Manager said “We need people to do their bit in getting prepared. We’re calling for people to step up and be a water hero and get their water storage sorted now for their families or flatmates.
“You’ll need to think about how much water your family would need for seven days. Activities like drinking, cooking, first aid and washing hands all need water. And just as important, making sure that you’ve got a plan for your wastewater.
“Getting sorted doesn’t have to be expensive, you can store water in old juice or soft drink bottles or you can buy a 200L storage tank from your local city council for $105. And you can get rid of your wastewater by putting it in a hole in your garden.”
Wellington Water is also working on other initiatives to improve the resilience of our water and wastewater networks. This includes establishing a network of large water bladders that can be used to distribute water to communities after an earthquake, drilling bores to look for emergency water sources in Wellington and Porirua, and they are about to start drilling an exploratory bore to see if there is drinking water under the Wellington Harbour.
For information on how to get your water and wastewater sorted visit www.getprepared.org.nz/water