Water ?'s

[DrippingSprings]

Ok I have had a good lengthy debate with a relative about drinking water and what should be used and what not to use.

He has a small pond that is triangular in shape. It is your typical blocked off ''holler'' type pond. He says that with a filter he should be able to drink from it and use it as a source of water for his house he is going to build. The pond is about 1/2 acre and is about ten to twelve foot deep. There are no homes within a 1/2 mile or so and no animals use this part of his land ie cattle etc. The water is very clear looking being able to see bottom in about five ft of water. The pond is about eight years old.

What say you? Can he use it for a source of water? And if so what type precautions should he use as far as minimal filtering etc?

He argues that our local ''city water'' folks use lake water for use to drink. But we all know they treat it etc etc. Also he says that as kids we swam daily in ponds ingesting tons of the liquid that cows regularly stood in etc and we never had any ailments from it. So for him a filter is all he needs. I disagree. How about you?

[KesWindhunter]

I guess, each to their own...just dont drink the coffee when you go visit him!

I have a pretty crude water system here, when I have water...a dam resevoir that seeps into a shallow well that I pump to the house. The water gets filtered through about 50' of soil/organic matter before it seeps into the well. I use a pressure pump to charge my pipeline that goes to my house and barns. Uh...test it? Well, nobody has gotten sick or died from drinkin' the water here. And my 3 darling daughters are quite tall for their ages (extra nutrients in the H2O?!)...and 2 of the three have never needed antibiotics yet.
Really, I have the basics done once a year (after the big runoff) then decide if I'm gonna drink it or not...
And...I make a mean cuppa coffee.
Kestrel

[RMShepp]

I'd be too concerned about possible surface contaminents...from runoff into the pond. Or maybe an animal dying in/near the pond and going un-noticed.

[Mid Tn Mama]

I've always heard that running water was much healthier than sitting water because the flow against/through rocks filters things. I'd never drink pond water-=-especially because of the runoff.

[Thoughthound]

He's playing with fire.

Surface water can be fine for a time, then bam--ecoli.

A water filter will filter out crud, but it will also harbor bacteria and make matters worse.

Even if he boils it, there is the risk of chemical contamination which will slowly lead to cancer.

Is it worth saving a few thousand dollars in the short run to dig a well and have it tested regularly?

If he wants to save bucks, he should dig the well himself, build a sealed cistern to catch rain or build a distilling device.