How Flood Water Becomes Black Water

6/18/2021 (Permalink)

Heavy storms can lead to severe flooding damage.

In the confusion after a flood, deciding what type of water is contaminating your business is difficult. To keep your customers and employees safe, you need to consider any flood water as dangerous. There are three basic types that you need to worry about.

1. White water - clean water flooding
   
2. Grey water - contaminated water without fecal or other dangerous matter
   
3. Black water - highly contaminated water with fecal matter or other harsh bacteria-producing chemicals. This is the most common type of commercial storm damage.
   
   

Each type of water requires different a different type of cleaning. Floodwaters usually are classified as black. This is the most dangerous type and needs to be cleaned as soon as possible. In this case, it is best to hire a professional remediation company in Bountiful, UT, to avoid the risks associated with flooding.

Black Water Is The Most Dangerous

It Contains Outside Materials

Flood water from a storm almost always contains things that make it hazardous. This is particularly true if your business is on septic or there are septic fields in your area.
Flooding occurs when a body of water inundates the ground and surface to the point of peak saturation. Once this point is reached, the water seeps above the ground, causing the flood.
When the ground is saturated, it also pushes contaminates up from the soil. This means fecal matter, bacteria, and other contaminants come up from the ground, regardless of whether your business is on septic or city water. These can enter your location and damage porous surfaces causing mold, mildew and infections.

It Can Cause Sewer Failure

Even if you do not have a septic system, your city sewers can fail when it suffers storm damage. This often causes pipes to break and sewage to come to the surface. Sewage can cause mold and bacterial contamination.
When a sewer system fails, you may be required to boil your water. This is because it may contain the dangerous bacteria associated with black water.

It May Sit For Long Periods

Any water that sits for any length of time can go from clean water to contaminated water very quickly, particularly if you live in a warm climate.

Any time you have flood water, you should automatically consider it contaminated. This means treating it like it is hazardous.