by Meredith M. Griffith

Sounder contributor

If disaster strikes Orcas Island, how will that affect islanders’ access to potable water?

“Being on a well, having a generator – you’re not as prepared as you think you are,” warned speaker Paul Kamin at the latest public meeting of Be Ready Orcas, a community disaster preparedness group that is working to improve the island’s resilience to adverse events. And community water systems are also vulnerable to disruptions from natural disasters.

Kamin, the general manager of Eastsound Water Users Association, explained that a recent earthquake left Wasilla, Alaska, without access to potable water for weeks when the quake opened up fissures that allowed silt to contaminate the wells, making once clear waters look more like chocolate milk. About 40 percent of Wasilla homes are on private wells, a similar percentage to Orcas.

At the meeting, Kamin explained how Eastsound Water is building into its system multiple fail-safes and levels of resilience to keep more residents supplied in case of a disaster, and to restore water more quickly in the aftermath.

“We have different sources of water with backup power,” he explained, “so we can shut down lots of water mains in 1,000-foot increments and still get water to most of our members.”

ESWD also has equipment to provide temporary above-ground service capacity, and a 500-gallon water hauling trailer ready to hook up to trucks, in addition to the water filling station outside the Eastsound Water office.

But despite these and other measures, Kamin said one of his biggest concerns is wildland fires, which could choke Eastsound Water’s surface water storage areas with ash so thick that the association’s filters won’t work properly. He added, “When the big one comes, the compromise in water systems will be in the distribution system, pipes in the ground” on which lay between most islanders and the potable water we depend on, regardless of the water system.

Kamin spoke of the four-day 2016 Cascadia Rising Exercise, a regional catastrophic earthquake and tsunami scenario emergency management exercise involving local, state and federal agencies across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, as a sobering failure. Officials concluded that people need to be prepared to survive for two weeks on their own, not the previously advertised three days.

“It was a perfect example to motivate you to frickin’ do something for yourself,” said Kamin emphatically. “You cannot count on OPALCO or your water system. EMS, SJC, [Washington state, National Guard], the feds. … They will be putting their all out there trying to get you back. Do not depend on us. … They do not have the capacity to come to your rescue.”

“Please store at least 30 days of water,” said Kamin, calculating one gallon per person per day. He also spoke about different methods that can be used to make contaminated or surface water potable if necessary, and how to store water in multiple locations for an emergency, rotating your supply every six to 12 months.

“Don’t try to do it all at once,” Kamin urged, “but do something every month. Spend 10 or 20 bucks a month, and add to your resources and preparedness.” Based on his own research, Kamin advocates purchasing a small portable filter like the Sawyer mini personal straw system, which can filter up to 100,000 gallons of water, noting that the average single family home uses about 33,000 gallons per year.

At Kamin’s own home, his well first pumps 2,500 gallons of water to storage tanks, and then a pressure tank pumps water to the house, so that the significant stored supply is also constantly being refreshed.

“An even better idea,” he said, “is to use solar pumping to store the water uphill, then gravity feed down to the house.”

If your tank is 80 feet above your house, that creates 40 pounds per square inch of water pressure, and you won’t need a generator to keep your home supplied with potable water.

An old-school pump can also provide access to wells up to 80 feet deep without the need for power.

For more details on how you can help keep your family supplied with potable water in the event of “the big one,” watch Kamin’s full presentation online at bereadyorcas.org.

Be Ready Orcas is spearheaded by Orcas residents Natalie Menacho and Cory Harrington.

“There have been many attempts to draw attention to island preparedness, but none of them have generated the community interest that these two volunteers have done,” Kamin told attendees. You can also sign up for the Be Ready newsletter at bereadyorcas.org.