Some of you may already have this information, but in light of the fact that so many people say things are about to get ugly, it probably wouldn't hurt to know this.
Lots of us know you can purify water in two simple ways... boiling and bleach. But many of us don't have memorized a) which method is BETTER, b) how long to boil, or c) how much bleach. You can get the lowdown here:
Water PurificationThe short version is basically this:
Boiling is better. You need to bring the water to a vigorous boil for at LEAST one minute (better yet, a few minutes, or even several). Basically, the longer the better, but after several minutes, you're probably just wasting water. (Evaporation.)
Bleach: 8 drops of bleach per gallon for clear water, to 16 for cloudy. Mix well, seal the container and let sit 30 minutes. The water should (says the literature) have a slight chlorine smell. If not, it's recommended to repeat your bleaching process, and let it sit another 15 minutes. Taste can be improved by pouring the water from one clean container to another.
MY ADDITIONAL NOTE:Boiling water kills the germs IMMEDIATELY, but has no lasting effect. Germs can contaminate the water again if it sits somewhere for a while. I'm not sure, but I would guess that bleach has a longer lasting effect, seeing as it's a chemical, whereas boiling just kills the existent germs until the water cools. But I can't really say.
What I can say from reading up on it a little, is that
you are not going to purify GROUNDWATER this way. :idea:
If that's your desperate last resort (groundwater), that's one thing. But apparently groundwater contains arsenic, among other things... which you will NOT get out of the water by boiling it or adding bleach. These contaminants require actual filtration or other more complex treatments to remove, which will not be available to most of us in the case that things were bad enough that we'd be digging wells.
Furthermore, even if you can find groundwater, exposing it to the air and contaminants by doing so may contaminate it. If you're thinking this is an option, you'd better get your well drilled now, professionally, so that it is safe, and the supply is not contaminated. It's true that water filtered through the ground into the water table (I think it's called), IS naturally purified to a very high extent... but I'm not sure what contaminants may still be left in it.
If you are determined to consider groundwater (however excavated) as a water source, you should read up on the right way to get it, what it may contain, and how it's filtered out, and perhaps check out some filtration devices that can remove the contaminants and make it safe for drinking.
Oh, and don't forget to check out what permits or whatever you may need, all you do-it-yourselfers out there...
Of course, nobody likes to think that things will get bad enough where we haven't got water out of the tap... but nobody knows for sure, and this information is useful in other circuмstances, too, such as natural emergencies.
Of course the information won't do you any good on the computer, so anyone who really wants it handy, should print it out while they can still afford printer ink.
Topic: Water Purification (Read 1803 times)