Recently I was thinking about what would happen if there was a major emergency here and what problems that would present. I thought of how I have a basement with water constantly coming in - the sump pump typically runs every few minutes! If I lose electricity, I have a battery backup, but of course it won't last a very long time (plan to do some testing to see exactly how long it will last). So if I lose both pumps, I'd be afraid of flooding and structural damage to the house. Then it dawned on me that all the water coming in could be a "blessing in disguise". I do have bottled water stored, but if there was an emergency lasting weeks I could run out. But what if I could drink the water coming into the sump? Hell, there's probably enough to cover a good section of my subdivision for drinking! So what do you think? It is freshwater, right? The water is clear. I have Katadyn Micropur tablets to purify it. I am waiting for a water test kit to arrive for my city water and plan to use it on the sump water as well.

On a related note, if you have 60 bottles of water but only enough tablets for 30 bottles (using the ratio suggested by the instructions), and anticipate needing all of the water, would you use the tablets at half strength or leave half of the water untreated?

From the sump? Sounds scary to me.

I would filter it heavily, with at least one layer of charcoal, then distill it.

Groundwater in most places usually isn't suitable for drinking, but used for things like golf courses.

It can depend on what kind of area you're in: farming country (agricultural chemicals) or city (fuel, antifreeze, garden chemicals, etc). One thing you might consider is to collect a jar of it and take it in to a local lab that tests water. Your local Cooperative Extension Office could probably help you with that, or check the phonebook. Water is always being tested for something, so someone will do it. Be sure to tell them EXACTLY what you want to know, or they may just charge you $8 and do a bacterial count, assuming its from a well. And this test won't tell you what's in the water three years from now when you need it, but it will guide you in the direction you need to go, and educate you in what you might be dealing with.

IronRaven's suggestion to filter (maybe a layered sand and charcoal filter) and then distilling it sounds good to me.

Sue

I personally agree strongly with Susan's and Ironraven's comments!!

How about acquiring a hand-operated pump as a sump pump standby and make arrangements to catch rain water off of the roof when it rains. Treating rainwater is much easier than dealing with sump water.

My current plans call for catching the rain water from the roof.

I too believe in the rainwater theory and all you need to do is redirect the gutter water from your roof.I would be leary of the roofing shingles as they contain asbestos,tar,etc but in large enough particles to filter out.

Even with rainwater, I'd want to filter it somewhat. "Fallout" isn't just radioactives, it's all kinds of wonderful crud- if you're in farm country, anything sprayed by air. Anywhere, for that matter, most major metropolitan areas spray for bugs. If for nothing else, pollens people might be allergic to and bird poo.

My house didn't start to get built until 2003, so it shouldn't have asbestos on the shingles, right? Wasn't that stuff made illegal long before then?

Probably not. But they might have tar, a petrochem distillation left over, on them, or any number of things your kidneys and liver might be angry with you over.

Also look at commerical test kits if your worry about water quality is long-term

http://www.air-n-water.com/product/P-Bacteria.html

http://www.pondsolutions.com/test-kits.htm

Thanks for the rainwater idea. If anything the sump will be a last resort - I let it fill up the other day, and it looked oily on top - not too appetizing, but maybe that was from stuff that had been sitting in the tile for awhile. I'm still waiting for the water test kit to arrive.

My plan is to let it rain for at least 15 min (hard rain,,longer in a light rain), and then start collecting the runoff. I'd still run all of it through my charcoal filter and then boil it before using.

Drinking the stuff (sump water), even with chemical treatment, seems to me a "last-ditch desperate measure."

But it occurs to me that a raw water source may have other uses in a difficult situation.

If people are confined to a shelter, for example, this water could (if not seriously contaminated by sewage bacteria or chemicals) be used to wash out socks and shirts and hair, soap out the latrine bucket, swab the shelter floor, provide evaporative cooling (wet towel over the neck), and generally make people's lives a little less miserable.

As long as they don't ingest it, and it doesn't raise a rash on contact ...