Attention Rainwater Harvesters plan ahead for Volcanic Activity

​HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY UPDATE
Monday, January 31, 2022, 8:38 AM HST 

KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)
19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary: Eruption of lava from the west vent within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, resumed at approximately 9:30 p.m. HST yesterday, January 30, 2022. All recent lava activity has been confined to the crater, and there are no indications of activity migrating elsewhere on Kīlauea.

Kilauea volcano and ​the impact to Rainwater Harvesters
​

​Do not panic, all recent lava activity has been confined to the crater. 
​This message is designed to educate and be prepared when/if the volcano changes.
​

​DURING VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

In the event, ash, laze, and Pele's Hair have been found to contain carious metal and are hazardous to ingest,
​catchment users should avoid accumulating it in their catchment tanks.​

• Temporarily disconnect your catchment system from the roof until rain has flushed your roof and any ash deposits. Don't reconnect the system until the deposits are washed off the roof and out of your gutters.
• Check your gutters, especially if they do not slope, as ash may collect in them. Clean out any ash deposits in the gutters to keep water from mixing with the ash and leaching metals into the catchment water.
• Use a free-standing or self-supporting canopy to cover mesh tank covers so less debris will get in.
• If you do not have a first-flush device, disconnect your downspout from the tank until the roof has had a chance to wash off, then reconnect to catch the cleaner rain.
• Dissolve baking soda in water and add it to your tank to raise the pH of the water, and/or add Uncle Tilo's Acid Rain Mineral Pack. This assists in the prevention of copper and lead from leaching from pipes and fixtures into your water. You can also purchase filters to remove lead and copper.

• Check all water filters regularly to make sure that they can still filter out debris. Keep extra sediment filters on hand for heavy ash fall.

• Pre-tank filters help keep out larger insoluble debris. you might secure a nylon stocking to the end of the downspout (where it goes into the tank) to collect debris. Be sure the stocking is very secure because the weight of the debris and the force of the water will knock off a stocking that is merely tied on. Check on it when doing monthly maintenance.

These measures will help your water stay cleaner, which keeps you in better health.
​For more information or questions, please call us at 808.965.1026.  Email us at [email protected]

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​In addition to the above special precautions, remember to routinely perform the three
​ P’s for residential rainwater catchment systems:  Prevent, Protect & Prove.
​

​​PREVENT CONTAMINATION OF YOUR WATER THROUGH
​FREQUENT AND PROPER MAINTENANCE

• Remove any dirt, debris, or other litter from your roof, gutters, or inside your water tank
• Trim or remove any plants or trees that overhang your home
• Make sure that your water tank cover and vent screens are secure and not broken or cracked
• Frequently change your sediment and carbon filters, clean the filter housing before inserting new filter
​• Use nonmetal plumbing materials and fixtures that are ANSI/NSF Standard 61 certified to reduce the levels of metals that can be leached out by acidic catchment water. Brass fitting can leach lead into the water if water is not treated with minerals. 
• Use first flush diverters to help reduce the amount of debris entering the tank
• Install a floating intake line
• Add a bag to overflow pipe and intake line
​

​​PROTECT YOURSELF FROM HARMFUL CONTAMINANTS
​BY TREATING YOUR WATER

Carefully read and follow the water treatment device manufacturer’s instructions or operating manual for correct installation, operation, and maintenance.

Disinfection is strongly recommended for catchment water supplies. A suggested starting point would be to add 2 ounces of unscented household bleach per 1,000 gallons of water in the tank, mix thoroughly, measure free chlorine residual, and repeat the dosing/mixing/measuring process until there is about 1 ppm of free chlorine in the tank. Perform as often as needed to maintain that level.

​Minerals, add baking soda by dissolving and mixing into tank or Uncle Tilo's Acid Rain Mineral Pack with pool float.

If you have a Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system, a Class A system for household use and consumption, regularly wipe down the light bulb to remove any mineral buildup. Check the light bulb to make sure that it is working properly and replace bulbs as recommended by the manufacturer. 

Prove the effectiveness of your prevention and protection
​efforts through yearly testing

Testing is the only way to verify if your catchment treatment and maintenance is working. Bacteria test kits for E coli and Coliform and pH test strips are simple to use and readily available at Uncle Tilo's Clean Water. This helps those who regularly disinfect with unscented chlorine bleach.  This also helps those who try to adjust the pH and alkalinity of acidic rain by adding baking soda or Uncle Tilo's Acid Rain Mineral Pack. 

CAUTION: Test kits do not replace testing by a laboratory certified for testing specific drinking water contaminants. Kits for lead and other contaminants can be found in local hardware stores and can be used as a screening tool to determine if a larger problem may exist requiring more accurate testing by a certified lab. 

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