Water Again......

[03A3]

I looked over my preps and came to the conclusion that I was going to have to do something about water. I have tried keeping water around with limited success. I've never got very serious about it or high tech, and always ended up with bottled and jugged water that usually the containers started leaking. I'm not really into keeping and rotating 5 gallon buckets and drums of water. For one thing I don't have the room to keep it, at least not where it wouldn't freeze.
So I got online a couple of days ago and ordered a stainless Big Berkey filter. It is supposed to make 7 gallons an hour if using all 4 filter stations.
I also bought several extra filters of all types, and quite a few repair parts. It was pretty salty, the credit card was smoking when I got done with that one. But I figure without water a person is pretty much done for, or at least dependant on an out side source.
I live in a small town and the water table is pretty shallow here. I have 2 cased wells on my property, but I'm not sure about the water quality. We do not have septic tanks with field lines, but still you never know what is in the ground/water after people have been living on it for so long.
My next project is to get at least 2 good pitcher pumps, with lots of repair parts for them, and pipe, couplings ect. I think I'll also get a couple of points, some drive couplings, and a drive cap too in case i want to put in a well somewhere else.
Now I'm looking for a good USA made pitcher pump.

 

[Cpt Caveman]

Get your well water tested. You may have perfectly potable water already.

 

[03A3]

That's true, but right now I don't know where to get the testing done. I suppose I could find out. There has to be a County agency that would deal with that.
We've had several wells at other places that were points driven fairly shallow. I drank a lot of water like that and not a bit afraid of it.
The 2 wells on my place in town are where i bought an old house and tore it down. There was decades worth of stuff dumped over there, it was a mess. So I am a little leery of those 2 wells.
I see the Berkey as a means to ensure good water in almost any situation.
I can get some food grade drums and will soon so I can store water if needed.

 

[IndianaResident]

Well water is supposed to be tested annually, and companies make bucks doing exactly that.

DNR: Licensed Water Well Drilling Contractors

Click on IN or Kentucky, whatever applies more, and try giving those guys a call for ways or people to test it.

 

[thompbarn]

Many (most?) hospitals test well water at their lab. If you have kids, you need to have the flouride levels checked, too. Many wells do not have adequate flouride for tooth development. Supplements can easily remedy this problem.

 

[Waveraider]

I'm going to buy this below. Unbelievable price!

Monolithic Marketplace — Just Water, Ceramic Drip-Filter

They sent several over to Haiti after the earthquake, and had very good results.

 

[navarre1095]

Your USDA water and soil conservation office has test kits for well and tap water. The Monolithic filters are good. Sawyer makes a .02 micron filter that is frakkin' awesome.

Sawyer® Products - The Leader in Outdoor Protection

 

[Michiganmilitia]

Many (most?) hospitals test well water at their lab. If you have kids, you need to have the flouride levels checked, too. Many wells do not have adequate flouride for tooth development. Supplements can easily remedy this problem.

Flouride is not so great for you or your kids. We don't know if fluoride works. In the United States, where 65 per cent of people are routinely subjected to the chemical, the worst tooth decay occurs in poor neighbourhoods of the largest cities, the vast majority of which have been fluoridated for decades. When fluoridation was halted in parts of Finland, East Germany, Cuba and Canada, tooth decay actually decreased.

This is why when you buy a Pur water filter, it displays on the box that it removes floride.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

The county health department should be able to test your water. And, yes, fluoride is BAD and even believed by nutjobs to be used in mass mind control experiments. Additionally, don't drink diet pop or consume ANYTHING with artificial sweetener, aspartame is a known neuro toxin and always has been poisonous. I've often wondered why ppl who filter their water or drink bottled water will drink diet pop and chew sugar free gum....We rushed the FDA to approve nutra sweet without testing because we were afraid saccharin would give us cancer......

 

[SemperFiUSMC]

Flouride is not so great for you or your kids. We don't know if fluoride works. In the United States, where 65 per cent of people are routinely subjected to the chemical, the worst tooth decay occurs in poor neighbourhoods of the largest cities, the vast majority of which have been fluoridated for decades. When fluoridation was halted in parts of Finland, East Germany, Cuba and Canada, tooth decay actually decreased.

This is why when you buy a Pur water filter, it displays on the box that it removes floride.

It's not the abundance of floride. It's the lack of toothbrushes.

 

[smokingman]

Many (most?) hospitals test well water at their lab. If you have kids, you need to have the flouride levels checked, too. Many wells do not have adequate flouride for tooth development. Supplements can easily remedy this problem.

Actually for small children even according to the ADA(American Dental Association) children are often over exposed to flouride and this has led to a dramatic increase in fluorosis. Here is a link to there page.. ADA: American Dental Association - Interim Guidance on Fluoride Intake for Infants and Young Children

It is mainly in regard to infants,and there recommendation that infants should not regularly be given fluoridated water.It recommends using filter for those that only have access to fluoridated water.

"If liquid concentrate or powdered infant formula is the primary source of nutrition, it can be mixed with water that is fluoride free or contains low levels of fluoride to reduce the risk of fluorosis. Examples are water that is labeled purified, demineralized, deionized, distilled or reverse osmosis filtered water. Many grocery stores sell these types of drinking water for less than $1 per gallon."

 

[navarre1095]

I treat water for a living. I hear about the mind control/"nuk-yoo-lur waste" thing all the time. You shouldn't give tap water to infants because excessive nitrates in some water can cause methoglobenemia (blue baby syndrome). BTW, the CDC closely monitors my plant to make sure I put enough fluoride in the water. I have to send them weekly samples and get inspected often. I find it odd that the people that crow most about impurities in tap also just happen to sell filtration units. No coincidence there I'm sure.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

That's true, but right now I don't know where to get the testing done. I suppose I could find out. There has to be a County agency that would deal with that.
We've had several wells at other places that were points driven fairly shallow. I drank a lot of water like that and not a bit afraid of it.
The 2 wells on my place in town are where i bought an old house and tore it down. There was decades worth of stuff dumped over there, it was a mess. So I am a little leery of those 2 wells.
I see the Berkey as a means to ensure good water in almost any situation.
I can get some food grade drums and will soon so I can store water if needed.

County Health Department tests wells in Marion County.

 

[CampingJosh]

I have at least three natural springs on my property that flow 100% of the time, so I'm pretty set on water while I'm here. If I'm on the move, though, water can be much trickier. I recommend this microfilter very strongly to anyone who is seriously concerned about the ability to consistently clean water. It filters down to 0.3 microns, and it has never failed me on my hikes.