# New To Forum, Water question



## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

So my short term goal is to get 3 months of 25 year food and 250 gallons of water. I have an above ground pool and was sad to find out that I should not use that as drinking water, whether I boil it, pill it, whatever. Twos years after I lived here I heard water down at the edge of my property. Its a cliff or steep hill. Uncuttable, very rough nomands land but only 50 yards deep till you hit a road. Anyaway there is a hidden cerek there. It's barley a creek. Do you think this would be safe to bucket say 5 gallon every other day and use my water purification tables?

I made a vide so you can see for yourself. It's a tough descent and I caught lyme diease in this area 3 years ago and just recently I finally feel like I'm cured. So I'm all protected but the tick net and long clothings make me sweat like crazy so I'm breathing herd even though I am a jogger.

Watch this video and let me hear what you think. I'm new to prepping.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

does it flow all year?


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Welcome to the forum. There are some great threads on water storage safety and purification. 

My only concern is you or anyone else carrying buckets of water around. Hauling 5 gallon buckets really means hauling TWO 5 gallon buckets to help in maintaining your balance. If you ever carried drywall joint compound in 5 gallon buckets you realize that you lose your balance pretty easy unless you carry 2. Two 5 gallon buckets equals about 84lbs per trip. I'd rather fight Mike Tyson (the old Mike Tyson, not the Champ Mike Tyson :uncomfortableness than do that every other day.

Good luck and glad you got over the Lyme Disease.


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## beach23bum (Jan 27, 2015)

is it possible to built a small pool, line it with rocks, so you have somewhere to pool the water from? if so, could use a small sump pump to pull the water up to the property so your not having to trek down there all the time. the pump could run off a small solar set up.


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## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

The key to water preps is to have a sustainable supply. If you store 250 gallons and use a gallon a day, you will start dying of thirst in 250 days.

Purification tabs might kill all or most of the biological buggies, but they don't do anything for chemical contaminants. The same is true for boiling.

A good filter unit, like the Big Berkey or the Sawyer .02 will provide much safer water. The BB is rated for 6,000 gallons, and the Sawyer is rated for 1,000,000 gallons. That's a lot of water.

Water is so important, it's generally best to have multiple redundant sources and purification methods.

Welcome to the forum.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Probably OK. Perhaps you could get it tested via a state university agricultural program. Is there any aquatic life down stream? Any history of mining or dumping in your area? Sewage? When it cools down perhaps build a path/stairs to make for easier access for just in case. I have a steam at the bottom of a steep ravine running through my property and these are things I have done/explored. I would still want to filter it.


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

Maine-Marine said:


> does it flow all year?


Yes it does. Late summer is the lowest it gets.


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

Slippy said:


> Welcome to the forum. There are some great threads on water storage safety and purification.
> 
> My only concern is you or anyone else carrying buckets of water around. Hauling 5 gallon buckets really means hauling TWO 5 gallon buckets to help in maintaining your balance. If you ever carried drywall joint compound in 5 gallon buckets you realize that you lose your balance pretty easy unless you carry 2. Two 5 gallon buckets equals about 84lbs per trip. I'd rather fight Mike Tyson (the old Mike Tyson, not the Champ Mike Tyson :uncomfortableness than do that every other day.
> 
> Good luck and glad you got over the Lyme Disease.


I have a 6 gallon container, was thinking of trying to "back pack" it. I would like both arms free.

<<Good luck and glad you got over the Lyme Disease>>
Thanks, went through 3 months of a pick line through my arm vien into my chest to get intravenous antibotics, after that, 5 months oral antibotics and now I'm gluten free (Lyme diet) I did well the whole time. Never missed but 1 day of work and kept positive attitude and exercised as best I could.


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

beach23bum said:


> is it possible to built a small pool, line it with rocks, so you have somewhere to pool the water from? if so, could use a small sump pump to pull the water up to the property so your not having to trek down there all the time. the pump could run off a small solar set up.


Damn creative idea. My pool outlet is like 50 yards from it, I wonder if I could a couple of extension cords and then just pump it into a 55 gallon drum that wold last two weeks. I forgot to mention that I have a standby generator the runs off a 500 gallon propane tank (also used to heat the house in winter) . so when SHTF and there is no power, I can run my generator about 1 hour a day if I feel it's going to be a long term outage.


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

Camel923 said:


> Probably OK. Perhaps you could get it tested via a state university agricultural program. Is there any aquatic life down stream? Any history of mining or dumping in your area? Sewage? When it cools down perhaps build a path/stairs to make for easier access for just in case. I have a steam at the bottom of a steep ravine running through my property and these are things I have done/explored. I would still want to filter it.


Nothing big life wise downstream, just some frogs and snakes, no minnows. No history of dumping. It was a large farm land area. As far as sewage, everyone in this area has septic tanks. I don't know if that is good or bad. But for me its good as my tanks are below my house so even in a overflow it will never back up into my house. So I can use my pool water to flush my toilets.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Now kindly refresh our memory as to why the water in the pool cant be used? Thanks.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

If the source is on a hillside and close it may be a spring. Much better than surface water.

For a spring you can dig it out at the source and install a bottomless box (use tongue and groove) with some gravel at the bottom. Make a "window" near the top of the box and screen it for an outflow. Make a hinged top for access and to keep out debris and critters.

I have used these boxes on clean springs without any purification, but test and/or filter it anyway.


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

bigwheel said:


> Now kindly refresh our memory as to why the water in the pool cant be used? Thanks.


This is what I read, I would love to be wrong. The chlorine tables in pool also have a stabilizer that does no break down when exposed to UV. So this stabilizer will get in your system and long term could cause kidney or liver problems. Also since my pool is right on the wilderness, I get a lot of tree fallout and had an algae problem which I solved using an algaecide, 6 ounces weekly. Boiling or pill purification will not remove these chemicals. A more sophisticated filtering system can remove these. They looked expensive but I did not price check the one I saw on youtube.


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

My Walmart sells the Sawyer filters for $19.99


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Did the algaecide have copper in it?


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

paraquack said:


> Did the algaecide have copper in it?


I really don't know. I went outside to read the label and its active ingredients are listed as...
Alkyl (C-14, C-12. C-16)
Ben???? Amonia Chloride

But in the harmful if swallowed section they provide an actual number to call for MSDS info and get instruction to give to a physician should you swallow it. But there is a huge diff between swallowing it pure then swallowing a mouth full of it mixed into 16,000 gallons.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Will agree that stabilizer lasts forever. Thanks. First I heard of the health issues with it. Our pool was part of the prepper plans. Now an old chum who used to be in the pool care business said just keep it shocked and forget the tabs. We been leaning in that direction anyway. Once the stuff gets built to where the sanitizer dont work..all you can do is drain half the water to get it back in line.


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

bigwheel said:


> Will agree that stabilizer lasts forever. Thanks. First I heard of the health issues with it. Our pool was part of the prepper plans. Now an old chum who used to be in the pool care business said just keep it shocked and forget the tabs. We been leaning in that direction anyway. Once the stuff gets built to where the sanitizer dont work..all you can do is drain half the water to get it back in line.


There may alternatives, like going to a salt water pool, where the copper / electronic device the salt water flows through just produces it's own chlorine (without stabilizer), but I just thought of that right now and did not do any research, so please do not take this as a salt water pool can be made drinkable better then a regular pool fact. I am just saying if stabilizer is the only issue, maybe it is something to research.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

You said the area was farmed... Check the nitrate level in the water because nothing will remove that except a still and it is dangerous in drinking water.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Good points all. Thought about the salt water deal but didnt have enough in petty cash to swing the retrofit. Mama is also clamboring for a new plaster job. That woman is going to break me. I want to raise carp and catfish in there.


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## beach23bum (Jan 27, 2015)

watch the part on the water, it's where I got some of the ideas from. 
these shows are a joke, but sometimes can give a good ideas once in a while


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

bigwheel said:


> Good points all. Thought about the salt water deal but didnt have enough in petty cash to swing the retrofit. Mama is also clamboring for a new plaster job. That woman is going to break me. I want to raise carp and catfish in there.


One good thing to note is that right now the way we live most of our water consumption is not for drinking and cooking. It is for washing our clothes and dishes, taking showers and using the toilet. Your pool water will do fine for these tasks, so it can still be part of your prep plan.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

If you have frogs and snakes the water quality is likely OK. I would still get it tested to be certain of what if anything needs removed.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Just popping my head in without reading the full thread. 

My water preps must be high quality and must leave me with enough confidence that I would be prepared to use them today. If I don't have that level of confidence then that source of water is not considered a part of my preps.

Hence, the water that I am storing from my facet is safe. The water that lands on my roof is not safe, I know it can be, but I am currently not properly educated on such a matter. To me, a small little trickle of water like that would be an exciting thing to have, but until I had the water tested, I would not consider it safe.

Well, that is my opinion. I wish it went far enough to be informative but it doesn't.


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

tinkerhell said:


> Just popping my head in without reading the full thread.
> 
> My water preps must be high quality and must leave me with enough confidence that I would be prepared to use them today. If I don't have that level of confidence then that source of water is not considered a part of my preps.
> 
> ...


Everything you say makes sense. I want to store water. I would like to purchase something like this 500 gallon tank, but I would have to store it outside and it would freeze in the winter. Do you know if these are safe for the winter if I leave 1 foot of expansion in the tank?

500 Gallon Tank


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

It would be better to bury it so the top is at least three feet below the surface.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

letting it freeze is a bad idea, no?

I would ask around with the local farmers. What do they do if they have horses or livestock? 1500W heaters? shelter it in a building?

If you are off grid, you may have to build a liner x inches away from the exterior of your tank, then use manure or straw to insulate/heat the tank. Don't take my advice. If this works, someone is already doing it. Talk to them.

Please let us know what the locals tell you.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

roto23 said:


> Everything you say makes sense. I want to store water. I would like to purchase something like this 500 gallon tank, but I would have to store it outside and it would freeze in the winter. Do you know if these are safe for the winter if I leave 1 foot of expansion in the tank?
> 
> 500 Gallon Tank


I've got Norwesco 500 gallon tanks and live in the SE US. We haven't had one freeze yet. Mine are dark green and on the South and West side of the house. Check out First Flush Systems to capture your rainwater through the gutter downspouts. A couple of screens, some bleach, the ability to boil and filters like a Berkey or Sawyer, and you got you a pretty good back up redundant water plan.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Having your tank below the frost line will enable you to draw water even if the weather is below the freezing point. That would be an important consideration in my neck of the woods.


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

Well, that sounds expensive. Maybe I can store half inside my house by using 55 gallong drums. Anyone know an inexpensive one? The ones I saw were going for $140 each, that's pretty expensive.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

my wife thinks they are all expensive so I've been saving all my pop bottles, in 12 months I've been able to store enough water for 30 days. When I reach a practical limit in my storage room, I'll start to replace then with food grade buckets, if and when I replace the buckets with drums, the buckets will be very valuable for other items.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

roto23 said:


> Well, that sounds expensive. Maybe I can store half inside my house by using 55 gallong drums. Anyone know an inexpensive one? The ones I saw were going for $140 each, that's pretty expensive.


I don't know what the cost of dying of dehydration is, but I suppose its more expensive than buying some water tanks.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Slippy said:


> I don't know what the cost of dying of dehydration is, but I suppose its more expensive than buying some water tanks.


Nothing wrong with being frugal. Some might argue that frugal is prepper skill that need practising.


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

roto23 said:


> Well, that sounds expensive. Maybe I can store half inside my house by using 55 gallong drums. Anyone know an inexpensive one? The ones I saw were going for $140 each, that's pretty expensive.


I can pick up used 55 gal drums (plastic, used for food products) for $23 at a local feed store. 
We have a 250 gallon tank at our mountain cabin - 7,000 ft. elevation. It is buried below frost line and never freezes.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

I need to take some new pics but here is my original 500 g tank with a first flush system to reclaim rainfall from the metal roof.

View attachment 12594


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## roto23 (Aug 30, 2015)

RNprepper said:


> I can pick up used 55 gal drums (plastic, used for food products) for $23 at a local feed store.
> We have a 250 gallon tank at our mountain cabin - 7,000 ft. elevation. It is buried below frost line and never freezes.


How will you access the water if you need it? Do you have to dig it up? Did you bury the tank by itself or did you wrap it somehow?
Also, did you pour a footing for it?


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Also remember that you may need to make that water portable if you have to evacuate. Tis why I like the smaller 2-liter bottles. So much easier to use, transport, and maintain.

One thing that we used on the ranch for years is one of those air force tanks. They are made of aluminum so they are very light (empty 2 people can lift one easily.) but hold up for many uses. We used a 250 gallon tank for years, in fact it is still sitting out at the ranch.


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