Vashon health resources & water safety
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Detailing Vashon healthcare options
Some may remember a difficult time years ago when successive primary care providers had left Vashon and too few healthcare options remained. In response, the community voted to form a hospital district that became Vashon Healthcare District. Community leaders worked hard to bring in Sea Mar, which reopened the clinic at Sunrise Ridge.
Recently, Vashon Healthcare District sponsored an informative community forum about our on-island medical care options. Participants included Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR), Vashon Natural Medicine, Sea Mar Community Health Center, Vashon Pharmacy, VIFR’s Mobile Integrated Health, Dispatch Health mobile urgent care, and Neighborcare Health at Vashon High School. Speakers detailed the services they offer, their operating hours, how to reach them, and more. They also answered lots of questions from the audience. If you missed the forum, you can watch the video recording on Vashon Healthcare District’s YouTube channel: tinyurl.com/VHC-WhoToCall .
Next time a health issue arises, refresh your memory of care options by visiting vashonhealthcare.org/resources . The chart will help you choose the appropriate provider for the care you need. But as Tim Johnson, superintendent of Vashon Healthcare District, reminds us, call 911 for emergencies or if you’re unsure you’re dealing with an emergency.
Free events for safe water
Safe, clean water is key to public health and the environment. That’s why taking good care of our wells and septic systems protects our family, our neighborhood, our property values, and our island’s shared water resources. To help you keep your systems operating safely, the Vashon-Maury Island Groundwater Protection Committee, Vashon Team Septic, and Public Health Seattle & King County are hosting free SafeWells and SafeSeptic events on March 24, 25 and 26, in person and via Zoom. Go to tinyurl.com/Vashon-Groundwater for more details and to sign up for one or more of these events.
How-to: Storing water for emergencies
Two popular quiz questions at Vashon neighborhood preparedness presentations are: how long can a person go without food? And, how long can a person go without water? (See * below for the answers.) Water is most critical, so it’s important to have in your emergency kit.
Why store water? Vashon has many sources of drinking water, including larger and smaller public supply systems, plus many domestic wells. The odds are good that there will be an alternate source of safe drinking water on the island if your usual source becomes unsafe or unavailable. However, it could take a week or two to organize emergency water distribution. That’s why it’s wise to store enough water for your household so you can be self-sufficient for a while. Store tap water in clean containers of various sizes. Water weighs about eight pounds per gallon, so make sure you’re using some containers that you can easily lift to take along in case you need to leave home. How much water do I need? Preparedness experts advise us to store one gallon per person per day for basic survival (drinking water). That means 7 gallons for one person for a week. Multiply that by the number of people in your household. Next, keep adding water until you have a three-week supply, which is 21 gallons per person for everyone in your household. (Add more water for food preparation and personal hygiene, and water for pets and livestock)
How to store water safely: Use new or clean containers that have never held toxic substances. Don’t reuse plastic milk jugs. Avoid heavy and breakable glass.
How to purify water? Stored water may build up a bacterial load over time, so be prepared to purify it before use. Three purification methods are boiling, chemical treatment, and mechanical filtering. Boiling water for at least one minute at a rolling boil will kill germs. Let it cool before storing in clean containers. Chemical treatments include disinfecting bleach or iodine, available at camping supply stores. Household bleach can be used, as long as it says ‘disinfecting’, and doesn’t have any thickeners or scents. Don’t use color-safe non-chlorine bleach, or bleach with added cleaners. Add eight drops of bleach per gallon of water, stir, and wait 30 minutes. You should still be able to smell the bleach – if not, re-treat.
Mechanical filtering such as camping filters are popular because the water doesn’t have a chemical taste, and no fuel or heat source is required for boiling. One popular brand is lifestraw.com, which offers various sizes for cost and convenience. Compare filter specifications to find those that remove bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Read more about water purification at tinyurl.com/Vashon-safe-water.
The answers: So, how long can a person go without food? Three weeks or more. How long can they go without water? It varies depending on a person’s health and activity level, ambient air temperature and humidity, and other variables, but the average is only about three days. That’s why ready access to safe water is so critical after a disaster.
