Questionnaire survey on water consumption and preparedness for water outages at intensive care homes for the elderly in Japan

The status of water consumption and preparedness for water outages at intensive care homes for the elderly (ICHE) in Japan was investigated by questionnaire. The ICHE is the nursing care facilities covered by public aid providing long-term care for the elderly in Japan. The daily water consumption per person admitted to the ICHE was estimated as 425 L (median) and the daily water consumption per admitted elderly person and the contributors (i.e., care staff and visitors) was estimated as 253 L (median). The question from the viewpoint of alternative water supply revealed a high rate of possessing water receiving tanks. In addition, the possession rate of personal wells was also clarified. High rates of drinking water storage and portable toilets were confirmed. From the viewpoint of action procedures, the rates of introduction of disaster training, disaster action manual, and mutual aid agreement in the event of a disaster with others, all of which took into consideration water outages, were also clarified. Furthermore, free written comments confirmed that many ICHE were concerned about toilet care in the event of an emergency.