If water purification is dependent on electricity, what's the projected death rate from that? Can that be hardened easily?
When you say the grid will be down for 'some period of time and may be some extended period of time' - what are you talking about? Weeks, months, years... Will Nuclear power plants be able to function with their computers out?
“If water purification is dependent on electricity, what’s the projected death rate from that? Can that be hardened easily? “
I don’t know a water system that is not dependent on power. If you are talking about large municipal systems, I’d imagine that they’d try distributing in some other manner than existing pipes, but it would vary by location and degree of thought put into it.
“When you say the grid will be down for ‘some period of time and may be some extended period of time’ - what are you talking about? Weeks, months, years... “
Major transformers on the grid will be damaged or destroyed by the EMP phenomena (there are lots of technical papers out there) So replacement and reconstitution will require using exsting stockpiled replacements, to the extent they are available, an acquiring new ones. We don’t make them in the US anymore (the big EHV ones)
nukes stop as soon as external power becomes unavailable. That how they are designed.
“When you say the grid will be down for ‘some period of time and may be some extended period of time’ - what are you talking about? Weeks, months, years... Will Nuclear power plants be able to function with their computers out?”
The nuke plant computers will probably be fine because they are so well shielded inside the building. however the entire power infrastructure will be destroyed for months at the minimum.
As for the water supply, all the pumps will be destroyed. So they’ll have to be replaced. Replacing them will be tough.