Red Neck water filtration

[zeb3]

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]

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]

...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]

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]

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]

Finally something NY doesnt regulate.

[davidz71]

And surprisingly illegal in a lot of states.

And not so surprisingly put in place by stupid politicians.

[zeb3]

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]

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]

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.