An amazing response and recovery

If you've been following the news from Alamosa, Colorado, they are making significant progress on cleaning the water system. Somehow - and we may never know exactly how - the water distribution in this San Luis Valley town was contaminated with salmonella.

The water emergency has had an enormous impact on this small community. Nearly 10,000 people are served by the municipal water system in and around Alamosa. As a result of the response needs, the city welcomed 749 volunteers from all over the state, and many from out of state as well.

Some of the volunteers trudged through town, door to door, talking to people about how to stay safe or leaving notices on doors. Others from far more complex water districts around Colorado used their expertise to flush the water system with a very strong concentration of chlorine. And still more made sure that everyone could understand the safety instructions - no matter what language worked best.

The people who live in Alamosa have not been able to turn on the water without thinking about their health for two weeks now. It has been a huge inconvenience to buy or pick up drinking water, and many even visited a very gracious hotel on its own water system to take a shower for a few days. Through it all, the residents have been optimistic and patient.

If you have ever thought about helping out in an emergency such as this, consider the public health and medical volunteer system today. It includes Medical Reserve Corps units all over the state, staffed by medical volunteers who are willing to step up during an emergency. But your skills might be useful even if you aren't a health professional. The Colorado Volunteer Mobilizer (CVM) is a way to register as a volunteer before something urgent occurs, and to get the training you might need before helping out.

Visit http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/epr/volunteer.html today for more information about the Colorado Volunteer Mobilizer.