water filtration/purification

[maryb]

With the South East now being officially in drought, I was thinking about what might happen. I don't think it's too extreme to envisage a situation where there are standpipes or water bowsers at least for a short time. Yorkshire came perilously close to this a few years ago in a drought. The trouble with water bowsers is that lowlife jokers think it's great fun to contaminate them. So I've been doing some research (including reading all the threads on here) about water filtration/purification - and I'm confused

I use an ordinary jug type water filter at home but I don't know how much or what that actually removes. Does it remove fluoride, or any heavy metals for example? It softens the water which is my main reason for using it in normal times as I use it for my iron.

I'm assuming that this would provide basic filtration only and that I would have to purify using separate means. A rolling boil for 1 minute would probably be enough in the scenario I am envisaging. I also have some unperfumed chlorine bleach in the form of baby bottle steriliser. However I'm a fussy piece and even with passing water through a filter jug I'm still a bit put off by the idea that you'd still be drinking some of what you've killed. And it wouldn't taste very nice.

So I've been looking at more serious water filtration/purification systems such as the British Berkefeld. I'd be grateful if anyone could answer a couple of questions.

If you only use it for a short time in an emergency can you then store it until you need it again or does it start the clock ticking on how long the filters will last? With the basic filter jugs you are supposed to replace the filter once a month regardless of whether you use it a lot or just a little. I believe this is because of possible bacterial contamination. I don't bother too much about this since I really only use it for the iron but if I was going to drink the water I'd be more concerned.

You can get inline Berkey filters which I could be tempted by, for fitting to the mains drinking water tap to the kitchen sink. (This would be for ongoing use not the sort of emergency I was thinking about) They give the quantities the filters will cope with but I'm finding it hard to get my head round how that would translate into how often I would need to replace bits. We are a family of 4. Would I end up having to replace the filters every month for example? And would I have to stand there for 5 minutes just to fill a kettle?

Any help would be much appreciated

[Ian]

1. The water utilities have a legal duty to supply their customers with a minimum of ten litres of potable water a day, whatever the circumstances.

2. The Brita type jugs remove coarse contamination and partially de-mineralises it, i.e. removes lumps and softens it. No bacteria, viruses or Fluoride are removed.

3. Just bringing water to a boil in the UK will pasturise it, removing harmful bacteria. Boiling for longer will (unnecessarily) kill more. Sterilising water is difficult to do in the common home.

4. A domestic distiller will remove most things but is expensive to run.

5. A Berky with the black filters will do what you want to do. Provided you keep the filter pot topped up it only takes seconds to fill a kettle from the bottom reservoir but it can take a long while for the top reservoir to filter through so you might need the four candle version (it is easy to add candles later on, Buy the two candle to start and add more later if you need them) Dry unused filters may be stored, Used filters should not be stored (with the odd exception) as any bacteria lodged in them will multiply (some filters are loaded with silver which is said to eliminate this growth) The filters clog over time and when they don't pass enough water to meet your needs are replaced. That time depends on your supply and thus varies widely. There are cheaper British made gravity filters that do the same. Google "gravity water filters" The water should not be kept too long as it is not sterile and there is nothing in it to preserve it. Adding your bleach will do that. Common tap water is already treated and will store for many, many months if kept in a sealed container to reduce the loss of chlorine.

6. There are 'inline' filters that do the same as a Berky but fit in your tap supply. They, of course, need mains water pressure to work but are much less intrusive to a household, the Berkys are a fair size. See: http://www.faireyceramics.com/products/ ... using.html I use the HIP and Ultracarb candles. Fairey also make the Doulton filters for the Berky's.

[maryb]

Thank you very much. I will have a look along the lines you suggested. It sounds as if it might be worth looking for the ones that use silver as well so that they can be used intermittently - it's a big expense if a filter has to be replaced even if you only use it short term.

[preppingsu]

1. The water utilities have a legal duty to supply their customers with a minimum of ten litres of potable water a day, whatever the circumstances.s.

In the floods of 2007 when Gloucester and surrounding area lost their water supply bowsers were used (as well as deliveries of bottled water). Many bowsers went missing! So although they have an obligation to provide water, once the bowser was positioned that was it until the next one was delivered. Not a fair system.

[the-gnole]

I think the system might have been the right one Sue, just that people were added to the equation and they only think about number one.

I heard of folks moving the bowsers because they didn't want to walk to the end of the road, I heard of people breaking the valves off the bowsers, I heard of people urinating into the bowsers.

Maybe the answer is to do door to door deliveries or hand it out physically to the people who can be bothered to go to the delivery point rather than dropping it off and leaving it to be raided by anyone who cares to get there first.

[Ian]

The rules and arrangements have changed considerably since 2007 mainly as a result of the abuses. There are millions of litres of bottled water waiting in store and call off contracts with the bottlers for many millions more.

You may have to collect it though. Give this a little thought now and also think about your less fortunate neighbors. Perhaps a small group to go with a kids trolley and collect a hundred litres or so in one go and distribute to the less able. A good way of presenting prepping and practice co-operation before YOU really need it in return.

[maryb]

It was because of what I read about the contamination of the bowsers in Gloucestershire that I started thinking about what to do if the drought gets to that stage. If people were really as altruistic as old newsreels of WW2 suggest then it seems as if that was a product of its time and one should not assume that people will work together at the level of society as a whole. In which case, I'd like to be able to look after my own and then do some good where I can in the immediate vicinity - that may be all any of us can do

[Ian]

Mary, We are society and can make it work if we are inclined to. Certainly look after your family first but consider others later. You might need them one day.

This may interest everyone:
http://www.water-direct.co.uk/emergency ... water-bank

And some public domain photos of a SMALL watering station so everyone may get an idea of what it may be like:











And a few of the old bowsers:

[FEISTY]

Found this from Ian: "Common tap water is already treated and will store for many, many months if kept in a sealed container to reduce the loss of chlorine."

My question is: As a free way of storing water, would it be all right to scrub out large milk bottles (plastic), sterilise them in a basin of cold water with bottle sterilising bleach (the kind that comes in the blue bottle used for sterilising baby bottles), air dry and fill with tap water (lovely, soft, Scottish stuff ). I always believed that there was bacteria in tap water. I'm a contact lens wearer and dire warnings are given about not using tap water to rinse them (I use disposables now anyway) or indeed to thin mascara (I use the sterile stuff from the just-opened contact lens bubble). Don't want to store water for an emergency and discover it's slimy when it's needed. Can someone advise? I've started buying bottled water for the short term and I'm looking into the water purification tables. How many of these are people stockpiling? I'd imagine you could go through a lot of these in a short time.

[lonewolf]

i'm not sure about using milk bottles, I don't think its possible to remove every bit of milk residue, I buy the cheap £1 bottles of water from the supermarkets-the 5 litre size, store in a dry cool place and replace after 6 months, it is said that the plastic can leech into the water but if kept out of direct sunlight it should be fine.