Preparing For When The Water Supply Is Reconnected

Mercenary

I don't know if all this information is absolutely gospel, but it couldn't hurt:

Once your water has gone off, or, if possible, preferably just before it does and you still have a small amount of water pressure in the pipe, turn off your water at the main stop tap and leave that tap switched firmly off for the duration.
Why?
Because by now the sewage has thoroughly mixed with the flood water and the water mains, which we all know are as full of holes as a Swiss cheese are passing through the ground which is sodden with this dilute sewage. The only thing keeping the sewage out of the drinking water is the positive pressure of the water leaking out of the pipes. Same principle that a biological clean room uses.
Once the water is off, pressure goes, dilute sewage is forced into the pipes.
When the water finally comes back on Severn Trent will dowse the new supply entering the pipes with chlorine like there's no tomorrow.
BUT, the water already in those pipes is now contaminated. The only way to get it out is to flush it through.

I strongly suggest you don't want to be the one flushing all the pipes in your estate.
So, once the water does come back on, wait a couple of hours before opening your stop tap. After all, after 10-14 days what's two more hours.
Then, try to flush your pipe work through by opening the nearest tap to the stop tap that is NOT the kitchen drinking tap. If you have a garden tap that would be ideal. Flush that for at least 10 minutes followed by all The other taps, toilets in your house making sure that the kitchen tap is
the LAST one you do.

If you have a water filter, remove it during this flushing process otherwise it will just become overloaded with contaminates and slowly leak them back into your system over the coming days.
For belts and braces, if you have a cold water tank in your loft,obtain some sterilising tablets and treat that water with them before thoroughly flushing it out again.
If you can prevent the tank from filling while you are flushing all of the other pipe work by turning off the feed to the tank or tying up the ball valve then do so.

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lil_me

This is what I was told a while back by a friend who worked for the waterboard, makes sense really.

savvy

Some good advice that may help some people out, therefore I'll make it a sticky.
savvy