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zeb3
02-18-12, 20:55
I was going to look at some property today and on my way there i passed a little house in the woods. They looked to be prepping for the worlds largest yard sale with all the shit in there yard. but anyways i saw five 50 gallon drums under there gutter run off and each one was barried about 6 inches lower in the ground with a spicket going from on to the next. These people were using the runoff from there house running through 5 filtered 50 gallon drums as there drinking water. pretty good idea of collecting water.

My question is what is the best way to filter water this way? obviously you would want to do multiple filters and not just trust one but which method would be the best?
Just a Jarhead
02-19-12, 05:00
A Big Berkey filter or similar.

For the most part except for the most polluted cities with horrible air quality, rain water itself is very safe to drink. The question is what is your roof made of that the water ran off of first before it hit the collection tanks...tarred, acrylic paint, painted concrete tiles, treated wood? Each has it's own set of cautions. A big Berkey will remove down to 99.99% any harmful chemicals or contaminants though.

Or use this water for bathing, flushing toilets etc. But running it through a Big Berkey I'd drink it no hestitation. And you don't need multiple filters. Just let the water sit in the tank for a day to let any setiment or debris fall to the bottom, there shouldn't be that much debris to begin with. Then run it through the Big Berkey.
Sticks
02-19-12, 05:07
...I saw five 50 gallon drums under there gutter run off and each one was barried about 6 inches lower in the ground with a spicket going from on to the next. ...

And surprisingly illegal in a lot of states.
Just a Jarhead
02-19-12, 05:10
And surprisingly illegal in a lot of states.

Yup, unless you buy a permit first as the state owns water rights. That rain water runs into streams and aquifers and such and you're stealing from others catching your rain water! So much for freedom & liberty.

And I wouldn't say most states, but rather some. Scroll down the page a little for a listing of state by state you can click on. http://www.harvesth2o.com/statues_regulations.shtml
Sticks
02-19-12, 05:51
Yup, unless you buy a permit first as the state owns water rights. That rain water runs into streams and aquifers and such and you're stealing from others catching your rain water! So much for freedom & liberty.

And I wouldn't say most states, but rather some. Scroll down the page a little for a listing of state by state you can click on. http://www.harvesth2o.com/statues_regulations.shtml

California owns ours. Even on a local level, the pissing contests on use of surface water is mind blowing.

One county found a loophole in local agreement, and instead of their reclamation stations ejecting the processed water back into the water way where it would flow to the next jurisdiction, they ran a pipe way back up stream into the same waterway so they could keep on using it. Still within the agreement, just the next jurisdiction is not getting the water. Gotta love lawyers.
sjc3081
02-19-12, 06:59
Finally something NY doesnt regulate.
davidz71
02-19-12, 08:59
And surprisingly illegal in a lot of states.
And not so surprisingly put in place by stupid politicians.
zeb3
02-19-12, 10:13
Wow i would've never thought catching rain water would be illegal.

I have a metal roof and i would like to catch it off my shop so it could be stored either underground in the 1000 gallon tanks from tractor supply. And i live in the south east.
davidz71
02-19-12, 14:20
I remember reading a couple years ago about a man who was hooked to a septic system and when the city put in a sewer system ordered him to connect. He wasn't happy because he had to pay to connect and pay monthly fees. He had someone take the soil off the buried septic system, remove the top and pressure washed the septic tank until it was cleaned. The lines leading from the tank were plugged. He then ran lines from his gutter system to the tank. He installed a pump system and used it to water his garden rather than it costing money for city water.
zeb3
02-19-12, 21:36
That's a pretty good idea I've been trying to figure out the best system for a cabin to be completely off grid! But that's another subject!

With all this preparedness going on! What are some pro's and cons versus buying water or catching/storing yourself. I was in last April's tornadoes and bottled water was as scarce as gas with no power, so it really hit home for about 5 days. Luckily we had a few cases of water stuck back.
Ned Christiansen
02-19-12, 23:04
I visited the headquarters of Simon Bolivar in Bogota a while back-- the place from which he directed the war to throw the Spaniard out of that part of South America.

There was a big iron tripod stand, in which sat a large chunk of sandstone that had been chiseled into a bowl. As I recall, maybe 2' in diameter, semispherical, hollowed out so the inner bowl portion was, I dunno, a foot in diameter. The idea was you poured water into the bowl, it seeped through and was caught in a pail underneath. Presto, filtered drinking water!
zeb3
02-19-12, 23:18
Thanks for the help. Looks like I have plenty of options.
rjrivero
02-20-12, 19:47
Sand filters are a easy and economic way to filter water for drinking. From the way you describe the rig, it could be what they're using.
zeb3
02-20-12, 19:51
Sand and crushed rock filters. with two stages is what i have been looking at but most say a single stage will be sufficient. With a spout coming from the bottom of the barrel back up with a gravity feed. I have watched a few youtube video's and i remember doing a project like this in grade school lol.
warpigM-4
02-20-12, 22:48
I remember reading a couple years ago about a man who was hooked to a septic system and when the city put in a sewer system ordered him to connect. He wasn't happy because he had to pay to connect and pay monthly fees. He had someone take the soil off the buried septic system, remove the top and pressure washed the septic tank until it was cleaned. The lines leading from the tank were plugged. He then ran lines from his gutter system to the tank. He installed a pump system and used it to water his garden rather than it costing money for city water.

I am on a septic Tank and the county does not even have the sewer near me ,But on my water bill i get charged for the sewer service WTF:confused:
nineteenkilo
02-22-12, 09:48
I am on a septic Tank and the county does not even have the sewer near me ,But on my water bill i get charged for the sewer service WTF:confused:

Not only no, but HELL NO!

I'm on a well and septic tank myself so that may be the difference. Where in Alabama do you live?
pmarc
02-22-12, 13:58
There was a big iron tripod stand, in which sat a large chunk of sandstone that had been chiseled into a bowl. As I recall, maybe 2' in diameter, semispherical, hollowed out so the inner bowl portion was, I dunno, a foot in diameter. The idea was you poured water into the bowl, it seeped through and was caught in a pail underneath. Presto, filtered drinking water!

I've seen that around the countryside here...

That only works to filter the algae and sediment. Does nothing for dissolved poo and other nasty living stuff like viruses...
The pore size is big enough for some nasty stuff to pass through.