It safe to drink tap water or rain water ?

[donnay]

I'll drink whatever's not stagnant.

No problems in over 50 years.

Would it be safe to say that collecting rainwater in a barrel is stagnant water?

 

[tod evans]

Would it be safe to say that collecting rainwater in a barrel is stagnant water?

I'd consider it stagnant...

Open top exposed to sunlight makes a big difference too.

Folks used cisterns for a long time, in good health I might add.

[edit]

All the old functioning cisterns I've seen in the Ozarks have been blasted into limestone, lined with concrete and covered by at least 3 feet of dirt. This provides a dark and cool storage container.
I've never seen one with any type of filtration, nor have I tasted sour water out of one.

Many are fed by both a galvanized metal barn roof and composite asphalt house roof, the theory is that solids settle.

The home I grew up in had a 60'x25'x12' cistern under the back porch and all of us preferred that water to our well water.

 

[donnay]

I'd consider it stagnant...

Open top exposed to sunlight makes a big difference too.

Folks used cisterns for a long time, in good health I might add.

I agree with UV treatment is good.

Comparing the cistern water to the well water, it is clear that cistern water is better or equal to the well water; except that the cistern has a presence of coliform. Coliform, a bacteria, is frequently found in streams, lakes, ponds, cisterns; and may indicate the water is contaminated with other harmful bacteria. Systems used for drinking water should always have some type of sterilization process (See related article on UV Sterilization of Rainwater Catchment Systems) to kill bacteria and organisms such as coliform.

http://www.harvesth2o.com/rainwater_safe.shtml#.UmA924nD_mR

 

[tod evans]

I agree with UV treatment is good.



http://www.harvesth2o.com/rainwater_safe.shtml#.UmA924nD_mR

I honestly don't think UV exposure is good for stored water..

But I've got no science to back up my opinion..:o

[edit]

Storing water in barrels is best used to water gardens and such.

The old timers believed in large, cool storage tanks..I never questioned why as the proof was in the pudding..

Even the "large" plastic containers would not be suitable to a turn of the century builder size wise.

 

[pcosmar]

and if storage space is a problem.

 

[Acala]

It is not necessary to drink sterile, distilled water. Your body is perfectly capable of handling most bacteria, algae, fungus, and dust. And a first flush diverter will eliminate most of anything else being washed out of the sky or off your roof by the rain.

 

[eduardo89]

A lot of the information doesn't necessarily need a science backing per se, but a little common sense.

Such as your claims on vaccines, GMOs, fluoride, cancer, cola, antibiotics, etc.

 

[mad cow]

Dump a lil fluoride in it,you'll be fine.

 

[angelatc]

Would it be safe to say that collecting rainwater in a barrel is stagnant water?

Water won't go stagnant unless there's absolutely no movement. As long as you're using the water and subsequently replenishing it, it will be fine. Some people put goldfish in the tanks to make it circulate.

 

[Carlybee]

I don't drink tap water. We have old pipes in our building and sometimes the water is orange. Our city water comes from a lake where dead bodies have been found plus its polluted. I dont care if its processed and chlorinated. Granted spring water probably has otter turds or some such but I'll take my chances.

 

[MelissaWV]

Mmmkay so all of that very helpful science aside, have you considered your kettle might be the problem?

 

[FindLiberty]

dupe post...

 

[FindLiberty]

I asked my Magic 8 Ball if the water from a puddle after a rainfall was safe to drink and it said No, but there were still some murky uncertainties answering that simple yes-no question. I placed a drop of municipal tap water (from Lake Michigan) on culture media in a petri dish and got a icky brown colony after a couple days in the incubator! I have not Gram tested it or looked at it under the 1800x microscope, but my initial thought is, it appears to be British in nature. Seriously, maybe RO is the way to go...

 

[amy31416]

I am not here to humor you. Being you have a backing in science you should know how to research and get the answer to your questions. A lot of the information doesn't necessarily need a science backing per se, but a little common sense.


http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/pictures5/

Yeah...lots of common sense--like if all the water falling out of the sky is radioactive, contaminated with all sorts of microscopic vermin, evil chemicals, vaccines, pharmaceuticals and chemtrails--it would make sense that every damn thing that uses this water is also contaminated. You might stand a chance with well water since it is a filtration system of sorts...but even then, the Bilderbergers? Rothschilds? Masons?

Any cow chewing on wet grass is ingesting it--CONTAMINATED! Your dog sits on the wet ground, then licks his balls--OMG! How is it that he didn't drop over dead? How do children splash in rain puddles without their raingear dissolving?

You destroy your own credibility by going to such ridiculous extremes. You freak out over rainwater just as handily as you freak out over a vaccine...nobody's trying to kill you, I'd bet money on it.

Donnay, I've tried, but you are a brick wall--if it's raining outside, do you cower inside? Do you rinse your dog off in RO water after a rainstorm? Do you test foods you've grown for radioactivity after it's rained? You are the Chicken Little of this forum, and you might want to try a little common sense as you suggested. Life is a risk, rainwater is one of the smallest risks you can come across to shorten said life.

 

[oyarde]

Rainwater is safe to drink, so long as you're not slurping it out of a disease-riddled back-alley cheap ho riddled with heavy metals in Chernobyl.

Meh , I drank some Chernobyl water, with alot of Vodka

 

[oyarde]

I asked my Magic 8 Ball if the water from a puddle after a rainfall was safe to drink and it said No, but there were still some murky uncertainties answering that simple yes-no question. I placed a drop of municipal tap water (from Lake Michigan) on culture media in a petri dish and got a icky brown colony after a couple days in the incubator! I have not Gram tested it or looked at it under the 1800x microscope, but my initial thought is, it appears to be British in nature. Seriously, maybe RO is the way to go...

I use my magic 8 ball only at work .I used to eat yellow perch out of that lake , never drank the water though....

 

[amy31416]

Meh , I drank some Chernobyl water, with alot of Vodka

It's the vodka that saved you.

 

[oyarde]

I love drinking water BUT recently, I notice when boiling water there has been a huge build up of hard deposit inside my tea kettle. So, I wondering is it safe to drink tap water or build a tank outside my house to collect rain water for drinking? which one is the safest?

Making tea or coffee or sassafras you are heating the water , so no difference that I could fathom.

 

[angelatc]

I love drinking water BUT recently, I notice when boiling water there has been a huge build up of hard deposit inside my tea kettle. So, I wondering is it safe to drink tap water or build a tank outside my house to collect rain water for drinking? which one is the safest?

Or you could buy a water softener.

 

[amy31416]

The problems with the water in lakes and streams usually is not because the rain contaminated it.

I grew up near a lake and it was NEVER because of the rain. It was because of manufacturing plants dumping chemicals (sometimes changing the pH), heavy metals (sometimes make their way up the food chain), people shitting in the water, changes in the environment, invasive species, etc. I did research on Lake Erie's heavy metal levels near various manufacturing plants, interesting stuff. One regulation that I am for is for regulating what various companies can dump into lakes/oceans, and protecting against invasive species, like zebra mussels.

RO is a great method to purify water if you want to remove small molecules/elements like fluoride or chlorine. If you have water that's clogged up with vermin and other crap, you're going to be replacing the filter a lot.