When Keeping the Flow is Mission Critical

When a tornado hit Tuscaloosa, Ala., on April 27, 2011, the city's regional medical center treated hundreds of injured at a time when its access to clean water was compromised for nearly a week.

In hospitals, water is critical for cooling, cleaning, sterilizing and preparing food, but a 2006 survey of hospitals in the Washington, D.C., area suggested the health care facilities' emergency water supply plans consisted of stockpiles of bottled drinking water that would last only about 2.5 days.

In Virginia, Tempest Environmental is offering 92 hospitals a better emergency water supply plan: A system to reuse and clean waste water that keeps them going in emergencies without having to rely on bottled water.  This project has piqued the interest of Ohio's prison system and hospitals in other states.

Average return on investment: less than 4 years.