How Climate-Fueled Storms & Floods Affect Drinking Water
You’re not imagining things—the planet really is getting hotter. In fact, scientists say global temperatures are warming fast, with no signs of cooling anytime soon. But as the earth heats up, something else is also advancing: the frequency and intensity of extreme weather.
We’re witnessing stronger storms, more relentless rainfall, and more ferocious floods now than ever before. These intensifying disasters threaten everything from our homes and infrastructure to our precious drinking water supplies. And as they become increasingly common, more communities face growing concerns about their water safety, which raises one crucial question: How exactly can our water supplies become unsafe to drink during climate-related weather conditions?
In this article, we’ll explore the link between climate-driven extreme weather and its possible impacts on drinking water quality. We’ll also explain how you can safeguard your home’s water supply, no matter what crazy weather comes your way.
What exactly is climate change, and how are humans involved?
The term “climate change” gets thrown around a lot, but many people aren’t sure what it is. Climate change refers to “long-term shifts in global weather patterns and average temperatures,” the United Nations explains. While these shifts can stem from natural causes like volcanic eruptions, solar radiation, and tectonic shifts, humans are mainly responsible for the current climate change crisis.
The Human Factor in Climate Change
As NASA points out, humans have influenced climate change and the resulting weather extremes, primarily due to our greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, burning fossil fuels to produce heat, keep the lights (and the Netflix) on, power transportation, and so forth produces greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.
The problem is that these gases are released into the atmosphere, accumulating and forming a “blanket” that traps heat. As more of these gases are released, the planet gets warmer. Oceans absorb the excess heat, land ice begins melting, and weather patterns shift—all these changes set the stage for more frequent and intense weather conditions.
Over the past century, massive increases in greenhouse gases have caused the earth’s temperature to rise significantly, fueling climate-related weather disasters like those highlighted in the following sections.
Is the planet really getting hotter?
The short answer is yes—and there’s a wealth of climate data and observations to back that up.
Climate.gov says global temperatures have risen by approximately 2°F (1.1°C) since 1850. But it’s gotten hotter faster in recent decades, with the period since 1982 warming more than three times as fast as the long-term average: 0.36°F (0.20°C) per decade compared to 0.11°F (0.06°C) per decade since 1850. While this may not sound like much, it’s enough to cause significant changes to our planet, as discussed below.
Fast-forward to 2023, and we experienced the warmest year since global records began in 1850, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports. In 2023, global temperatures were more than 1.0°C (1.8°F) above the long-term average for three consecutive months (July, August, and September) for the first time in NOAA’s records. Current climate data shows that the ten warmest years in the historical record have all occurred in just the past decade, from 2014 to 2023.
So again, it’s not all in your head—the planet is getting hotter and at an alarming rate.
How Climate Change Fuels More Intense Storms and Floods (with Real-Life Events)
The climate crisis has altered weather patterns so much that once-a-decade storms and flooding have become almost annual recurrences.
Let’s examine a few recent weather events where climate change was found to be involved.
Stronger, Wetter Hurricanes and Storms
Around 8 AM EDT on September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene was a category two storm approaching the Florida Panhandle. However, by 6:20 PM, it had intensified into a category four system, with winds increasing from 100 miles (155 km) per hour to 130 miles (215 km) per hour in fewer than 10 hours.
As it turns out, warmer temperatures cause storms to gather more water as they strengthen over the ocean, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) explains. And the warmer the water they pick up, the more powerful the storms become.
This is crucial because, according to the World Weather Attribution, “Hurricane Helene formed in the Gulf of Mexico above record-hot sea surface temperatures (SSTs).” It’s also reported that Helene’s rainfall totals were 10% higher, and windspeeds intensified by 11% because of climate change.
As the earth’s climate warms, more and more storms will undergo this kind of rapid intensification, suggests Kerry A. Emanuel, a meteorologist and hurricane expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
What’s more, wetter storms seem to be the new normal, as the IPCC reports that future hurricanes are expected to be as much as 37 percent wetter near their centers and about 20 percent wetter as much as 60 miles away.
Increased Rainfall and Flooding
The hotter the earth gets, the more rainfall certain parts of the world are likely to experience, according to research by the Columbia Climate School. The reason? Warmer air can hold more moisture, meaning more water vapor is in the atmosphere. When storms roll in, they have all that extra moisture to sweep up and turn into rain and other precipitation, potentially leading to widespread flooding.
For instance, the monstrous flash floods in Spain on October 9, 2024, wrecked infrastructure, gutted buildings, and submerged towns and fields. An initial analysis by the World Weather Attribution suggests that human-caused climate change made the country’s extreme downpours 12% heavier and doubled the chances of a powerful storm.
Unfortunately, it’s a challenge many Americans and others worldwide could face as flood damage increases due to climate change.
How Climate-Driven Storms and Floods Affect Drinking Water Quality
Even when a powerful storm or flood no longer poses an immediate threat, residents could still be left without clean drinking water due to contamination.
Following a heavy downpour, the filthy floodwaters gushing across or settled on streets, farms, and industrial areas pick up everything in its path—debris, animal waste, raw sewage, pesticides, and other nasty pollutants that could endanger our health.
Storms also put stress on water treatment systems that clean our water before it reaches our faucets and treat wastewater before it’s discharged back into waterways. Sometimes, the water is too dirty to treat effectively, causing contaminants to escape into the treated supply. In some cases, storms may knock the power out, disrupting service, or grinding operations to a halt.
Even if treatment plants are working fine, the pipes that carry water to our homes can take a beating during floods. For example, uprooted trees can damage water lines and allow contaminants and impurities to enter the treated water.
Flooding can be especially troubling for folks who rely on private wells since there’s nothing between the flood water and their drinking water supply.
Recent Examples of Water Contamination Following a Storm or Flood
A report published on October 14, 2024, reveals that weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated large parts of the U.S. Southeast, residents in Asheville, North Carolina, still lack clean drinking water. It further states that “State and federal officials are trying to treat the North Fork Reservoir directly; usually clean several feet below the surface, the reservoir remains murky brown from sediment.”
Another incident worth highlighting is the Pearl River sewage overflow. In 2020, record rainfall caused massive sewage overflows in Jackson, Mississippi, leaking nearly half a billion gallons of untreated sewage into the Pearl River that supplies much of the city’s drinking water.
Is It Safe to Drink Water After a Flood?
We’ve already covered this topic in a previous article, so we’ll make our answer short and sweet: no, we don’t advise drinking tap water following a flood if there’s an active boiled water advisory for your area. The same goes for those without a water filter to remove any contaminants. Even if the water appears crystal clear, drinking or using it might be unsafe.
Floodwaters are a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses, and even if they get into your drinking water supply, you can’t see them with the naked eye. That’s why you’ll often hear officials issuing boil water advisories after floods. Furthermore, floodwaters may also introduce toxic chemicals into your water supply, such as PFAS, pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial pollutants. The EPA says that approximately 30 percent of pollutants in our waters result from stormwater runoff.
Consuming tap water tainted with bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other toxic microbes can lead to gastrointestinal illnesses (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea, painful stomachaches, etc.) and waterborne diseases, including cryptosporidiosis, typhoid, hepatitis A, and cholera. Infants, children, older people, and people with low immunity are particularly vulnerable to these health conditions.
With these types of bacteria and diseases in the water, we recommend our UV purification.
Related: Cryptosporidium in Drinking Water: Why Municipalities Still Struggle with Removal
How to Know If Your Drinking Water is Safe to Drink
If you live in states like Florida, where storms are frequent and tap water quality already isn’t great, it’s essential to check your water quality before drinking, especially after a flooding event. Since you can’t taste, smell, or see most waterborne contaminants, the only way to know if your water is safe is to have it tested—particularly by a trusted laboratory in your zip code.
Generally, advanced laboratory testing requires you to purchase a water testing kit, take a water sample from your tap, and send the sample to the laboratory for analysis. Depending on the testing facility, the type(s) of testing, and other factors, you might receive the results within a few business days to a week or two.
Learn more: 10 Common Problems a Water Test Can Detect in Tap Water
My Drinking Water is Contaminated, Now What?
So, your water tested positive for one or more contaminants, or you want to proactively stop pollutants from invading your water supply during or after a flood. No problem.
The best way to achieve that is to invest in a water filtration system for your home. These systems are designed to combat waterborne contaminants that could otherwise jeopardize your health, ruin your meals and beverages, or hinder your daily showers. Fortunately, Springwell offers a range of water treatment solutions to help prevent these outcomes.
For clean, contaminant-free water at every outlet, our Whole-House Water Filtration System treats all the water entering your home.
If you only want filtered water from your kitchen faucet, the Moen Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System is your best choice. It’s a point-of-use system commonly installed under your sink, where it filters the water you drink and cook with.
Final Thoughts
Storms and floods have always been a part of life, but they’ve become stronger and more frequent due to climate change and now pose an even more significant threat to one of our most vital resources: drinking water. Thankfully, we’re not helpless in this situation. There are practical steps we can take to ensure a safer and healthier water supply, such as taking individual action to reduce climate change, staying on top of local water quality alerts, and investing in reliable home filtration systems. Simple indeed, but these measures will prove worthwhile in due time.