Food and water safety after a flood

Food and water safety are important after a flood or power outage due to a storm. Follow these guidelines to protect yourself and your family:

• If your well has been flooded, it could have been contaminated.  Until you can get your well water tested, boil your water rapidly for at least one minute before use, or use bottled water for drinking, making infant formula, juices, cooking, making ice, washing fruits and vegetables or brushing teeth.You can also disinfect small amounts of well water by adding 5 to 8 drops of household bleach to one gallon of water, stirring and letting it stand for 15 minutes. Click here for complete instructions on how to disinfect a well.
• Food items that have come into contact with floodwaters should be thrown out, with the exception of sealed canned goods. However, the outside of sealed canned goods must be thoroughly washed and disinfected.
• A refrigerator will keep foods cool for 4-6 hours without power. Dispose of all foods which have been above 4 C (40 F) for more than 2 hours.  Including:
  -fish, poultry and meats, including cold cuts
  -eggs, milk and cheese and other dairy products
  -soups, stews, casseroles
  -any food that may have come in contact with meat juices.
• If your chest freezer is full, foods inside should remain safely frozen for up to 48 hours after a power failure. If your freezer is half full, foods inside should remain safely frozen for 24 hours after a power failure. Any foods that are thawed should be thrown out, and if in doubt throw it out!