Regional Homeland Security Response Team conducts training at Sikeston park

SIKESTON — Natural disasters may do more than just physical damage to homes and businesses; they can also cause disruptions in our water supply.

R.S. Matthews Park in Sikeston was the site of a training for the Region E Homeland Security Response Team on Tuesday afternoon, May 30 in Sikeston when 12 emergency agencies learned how to utilize a critical piece of emergency equipment. 

They used the scenario of what would happen if an earthquake occurred in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, disrupting and contaminating local water sources for the training. 

Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director Robbie Myers said most counties in Southeast Missouri have one, either in their emergency management or health departments, or at their first responder unit.

The portable water purifying systems, according to Myers, were acquired to assist in times of need if water supplies were to deplete. 

“If water supplies were down, you’d be able to go into a river or a pond and take the water and take all the impurities out so people could drink some drinking water,” Myers said. “Not a huge amount, it can’t supply a whole city but it can supply some in times of need.”

Myers also mentioned how the purifying device might be used in the event of a natural disaster.

“Whether it’s an ice storm or a tornado that knocked out a water plant or an earthquake, ” Myers said. 

Myers said Tuesday’s exercise consisted of testing the units to ensure they function properly and collecting a sample to submit to the state health lab in Jefferson City, Missouri.

“It will be checked for different things to see if it is indeed safe to drink,” Myers said. “Then we will wait to see what the results are, whether it is good or not, to see where we need to go next.” 

Myers also stressed the significance of evaluating any equipment or tools utilized by any responder or emergency management situation.

Myers said the region is usually wonderful about pulling together for the community and learning to operate this type of equipment helps keep the agency prepared and the community safe. 

“The community should know that they have good partners from around the region that work together to help each other,” Myers said. “That doesn’t happen everywhere in the state.”