Pond Water

Yolanda said:

I have a rubber lined ornamental fish pond in my back yard. Now I know there is all sorts of bacteria, not to mention fish poop but I was thinking that maybe this could be my SHTF water. All I have to do is turn off the waterfall to it and throw a tarp over it.

Now besides the normal boil the water and drops of beach techniques, are there any other steps you'd recommend I take to purify the water and make it safe to drink?

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I am planning on building a grey water filter in our yard which will be filtered by a multi-level pond basically. It will be patterned after the setup that was used in the 'Integral Urban House' book. I traveled to Berkeley to see it about 1980 or so. Using a cut in half drum mounted to a pole, it uses low velocity breezes to turn a pump drawing the water to the top level. Each level overflows into a level below it, and each has a specific ecosystem. One level has mollusks to filter the water, another has cat tails or similar to absorb the toxic materials etc etc. The water coming out is clean enough to drink. Some municipalities are using a flow through system with the same features to treat waste water without chemicals.

I want to run greywater out to this set-up and use it, after filtration with this system, to water our fruit trees and the greenhouse I plan to build. I am in the hot desert southwest and water is the weak link to our plans. This should help unless and until the muni water system is down. I would then have to haul water out of some of the low washes that is near the surface here, and this system will filter it as well.

G

I don't think I'd do anything quite so elaborate for filtration as living animals...

I have lived in areas that had well or stream water (farms) most of my life, and in the military I traveled to counties that have no municipal water systems at all so you HAD to do your own filter and sanitizing.

Here is what I'd do,
For such a small amount as a Coy pond or water feature, I would just use that water first for 'Non-Potable' purposes,
Watering the garden, bathing, sanitation, ect.
That would free up ALL the water in the hot water tank and toilet tanks in the home for human internal consumption, extending the Potable water supply in the house by quite a bit.
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If I were building a long term or high volume water system to feed my house from a contaminated well, lake or stream,

1. Filter the 'Chunks'.
A brass window screen over the top of the barrel should be your first line of defense!
Then,
A barrel full of sand, fine sand on the bottom, larger grain sand on the top.
Raw water in the top, sand filtered water out the bottom.

Sand in the barrel can be 'Washed' when it finally clogs after years of service, with nothing more than a bleach solution and water,
Left to dry, and reused.

Don't forget to use a screening material over the inside of the spigot on the bottom water outlet so the sand doesn't run out with the water!

The ones I saw in use in central and south America were simply a plastic barrel with a small hole, about 6" in diameter cut in the top,
And a brass garden hose spigot installed on the bottom with screening material, usually brass window screen, over the spigot inlet to keep the sand where it belongs.

Heavy sand will keep out sticks, leaves, small critters, ect.
Fine sand will screen out the pathogens eggs, cysts, ect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptospiridium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardia_Lamblia

Here in the US, filtering most of the 'Chunks' and larger pathogens is as simple as buying a commercial particle filter and screwing it into your filter system.

Just don't forget to buy up some extra filters!
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2. Killing Virus & Bacteria.
The most cost effective way to kill bacteria and virus pathogens small enough to get through the sand filter is a Medical Grade Ultra Violet Light.
(anyone ever seen that eerie glow from a fish tank filter?)

This is nothing more than a trickle filter in a longer, shallow rectangle pan with a fluorescent bulb above it putting out in the UV spectrum.

The tray us usually aluminum or stainless steel so it reflects and maximizes the UV output from the bulb, and the bulbs are mounted in a $10 fixture from any discount or department store.
The try is designed so the water flow makes three or four passes through/under the light...

PV Solar panels and/or deep cycle batteries, generators, or grid power to keep the light lit.
It's 100% effective on any living organisms or pathogens that might pass the sand filter.

Out flow water is virtually 100% pathogen free.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_water_disinfection

Sources,
http://www.home-water-purifiers-and-filters.com/sterilight-SC4.php?ref=base
http://www.interlight.biz/light-bulb/CF5DS-GERMICIDAL&ID=FROOGLE
http://www.topbulb.com/find/germicidal.asp
http://www.azponds.com/uv_parts.htm?gclid=CObmic2Dp5YCFQNaFQod8VY76Q
http://cgi.ebay.com/UV-water-filter...rse-osmosis_W0QQitemZ4424873950QQcmdZViewItem
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3. Chemical Contamination.
In areas were water stands the chance of being heavily contaminated with chemicals, oil, ect,
And much of the accessible fresh water of the world IS heavily contaminated with industrial chemicals, lubricants and fuels, farm chemical run off, ect.,

You simply use a post treatment filter made of charcoal.
That can be as simple as a commercial charcoal water treatment filter here in the US,

In foreign poor and undeveloped countries, the run the water through a dripping bar system over a barrel of charcoal.

Everyone with wood can make a charcoal filter, and they are VERY effective at removing chemicals from your water supply.
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4. FOR SMALL SCALE,
I would think you could scale this down to 5 gallon buckets and a UV light the size of an under counter unit.

So, the question is, Can you afford a couple of buckets full of sand, a 12 volt UV light fixture and bulbs, a disposable turkey or bread making pan made of aluminum, and a car battery or any other 12 volt source...

I would probably use a larger diameter PVC tube instead of a 5 gallon bucket for the sand filter.
The idea is, the longer the water is moving down in the filter, the more 'Nasties' are removed.
5 Gallons of sand will fill a pretty tall 6" diameter PVC tube.

This is all NO PRESSURE filtering, just gravity, so no high pressure containers are needed.

Same with the charcoal filter, but chemical treatment probably won't be necessary for water that is acquired outside of farm or industrial runoff zones.
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5. The Old, The Sick, The Very Young, & Pregnant Women,
Should still boil the water before consuming.
All of these will be sensitive to water treatment chemicals anyway and should be consuming seriously filtered water or distilled water even before a disaster.

Yolanda said:

I have a rubber lined ornamental fish pond in my back yard. Now I know there is all sorts of bacteria, not to mention fish poop but I was thinking that maybe this could be my SHTF water. All I have to do is turn off the waterfall to it and throw a tarp over it.

Now besides the normal boil the water and drops of beach techniques, are there any other steps you'd recommend I take to purify the water and make it safe to drink?

Click to expand...

Pre-filter with a cheese cloth (or any other similar material) this will strain out the big stuff (dirt, rocks, fish crap, plant matter, etc)



Boil the water/ add small amount of bleach 8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water (let stand to allow the chlorine to dissipate.) Short of using a very high-quality water filter, this is the most reliable method for killing microbes and parasites. Bring water to a rolling boil and keep it simmering for at least several minutes. Add one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes for every 1,000 feet above sea level. Cover the pot to shorten boiling time and conserve fuel. In an emergency, think of this (one gallon of Regular Clorox Bleach) as 3,800 gallons of drinking water.



then as a final step run it through a good filter, Berkly filters are nice as they can sit on the counter top.



Hope this helps!