(Sub)urban Water Treatment

Hey there, I've been thinking about my GHFW and BO bags and I realize that I currently don't have means for disinfecting / purifying / treating / whatever the heck it is you do to water to make it safe to drink. I'm familiar with iodine / chlorine tablets from using them in boy scouts, but as I understand it they have a shelf life of around 4 years? I've done some forum lurking and there seems to be some consensus that in a (sub)urban emergency environment (cough Hurricane Irene cough) one would have to worry about chemical contaminants in addition to the biological ones, which would require the use of a filter. In my admittedly brief search for information about filters I've only really found information about filters for use in the back country, which don't seem to talk about filtering chemical very much (if at all). Really what I'm asking is what kind of treatment is necessary for the kinds of situations one would encounter? Also, (what started this whole line of thought in the first place), has anyone heard of this filter before ( Link and Link )? Good, bad other?

when deionized water was needed by my science classes, I used a vertical column ion exchange resin pack, that was designed for most of the common dissolved compounds.... the front end (+ charged/cation) metal ions were usually the target... the refil pack was pretty pricy, but lasted a year or so (I'd go through about 3 gallons per school year in my class, the Honors/IB classes a lot more, but have no idea on total production) If you had an idea of the possible source of contamination you could be selective in your resin pack choice

as Izzy commented, those of us in Florida typically store water, and the commercial bottles are the way to go... just get a hand operated pump from your route delivery guy.. I do still have a shallow well, and 5gal bucket filter for .1micron critters

I've been toying with the idea of converting an old fish cooker to a heavy duty rocket stove... 2 1/2" or larger pipe, short 6" fuel inlet (with divider shelf at diameter... wood/fuel on top/air underneath) and a 8" stack to draw... could use one of these fuel efficient stoves to run a small still

haven't given up on my solar desal plant, just looking for a kiddie pool

The issue of water purification in an urban bug out, likely on foot, from an office or entertainment venue, with only a small EDC/GHB and a 1-2 day walk home, is a particular interest of mine. Especially because I live, work and recreate in a metro area where this is my likeliest disaster scenario. What follows is my strategy: If I'm lucky enough to have access to my car kit, even if I cannot drive out, I'll have my General Ecology First Need XL Puifier. This unit will, according to EPA test ratings, remove bacteria, cysts, viruses and most chemicals. I believe, based on my own research, that this is as good as it gets for generally available civilian, backpack portable water purifiers.YMMV. If I'm limited to the small backpack or briefcase kits I carry, I go with a mixture of very small and lightweight components. Initial filtration is with coffee filters in a folding Survival Resources (SR) filter holder. Once I've got that in a SR 1 liter water bag, I'd add Katadyn water purifier tablets. Final stage is to run the pretreated water thru a Seychelles Advanced water bottle purifier or a Seychelles Advanced Water Purifier Straw. Both of the Seychelles units are very lightweight and compact. I believe that these set-ups, along with a four way silcock key, will allow me to scavenge enough clean water to get me home. I welcome everyone's comments. Constructive criticism can only prove or improve my preps. Cheers.

This week I purchased an extra water filter for my atmospheric water generator. This way, in the event of a water emergency, I can replace the current water filter when it needs to be replaced. Just like having extra light bulbs on hand, except an extra water filter is much less visible so it's easy to forget to keep an extra on-hand.

Distillation is not as simple as some think, nor as fool proof. For instance, methanol is quite toxic and it is not real easy to remove methanol from water via distillation unless you know exactly what you are doing.

sorry I got off the OP's topic with the deionizing resins and following up on Izzys comments... I think Acropolis5 is on the right track for urban use..

a .1micron absolute tubular filter and chemical purification is probably what my reality would be, however for one carrying a couple of filter bottles, one tubular and one charcoal might be an good option for posssible groundwater contamination

good call on the sillcock key.. we used them at school, but never crossed my mind to carry one...

You may want to check this out. I dont have any personal experience with it but I'm thinking about trying it.

http://www.aquapail.com/

I don't carry one. They're heavy for a single-use item. I haven't met a silcock that I couldn't open with a full-size multitool.

Hopefully someone will write a review of the Aquapail here, or a link to one.

My route home from work on foot (40 miles) is somewhat suburban but tends more toward rural between suburban towns.

So my planning has been for water bottles to carry known good water plus 2 means of water filtration plus a small metal cup for boiling water over a small fire if needed.

My expected reason to be on foot is EMP immobilizing everything. So chemical contamination of creeks and stock ponds on my route is not going to change due to the emergency.

Silcock tool sure seems like a good idea.

Well, you never know. Without electricity for pumps and other machinery, who knows what kinds of nasty industrial stuff backs up or overflows into local waterways upstream for your route? Maybe someone trying to siphon fuel without electricity has an accident that spills fuel into a storm drain? Or someone pushes a vehicle killed off by EMP off the road into a drainage ditch and it leaks fuel?

Normally, I'd say I was getting carried away with my imagination, but if we're going to go as far an envision something as dramatic and extreme as an EMP, then might as well be thorough, I say.

In other news, I'm still looking for radiation-resistant clothes that are formal enough to wear to the office everyday. (Actually, I'm not making fun of the EMP scenario, just pointing out that there are other equally unlikely but nightmarish scenarios out there to contemplate, and the radiation one got a whole lot more real in a hurry.)

Okay, any number of natural (or man-made) disasters could stop the water from flowing safely from the taps and contaminate the local groundwater and streams.
But what about the rainwater?
It seems to me that many (but definitely not all) of these scenarios would leave the rainwater safer than anything already on the ground. I'm considering harvesting my roof's rainwater using a collection barrel. In case of emergency, it should require less filtering than the local creek.
In non-emergency times, I could use the barrel to water the garden, defraying the cost of the city water.

Living partway between Portland (OR) and Mt. St. Helens, I have plenty of rainwater, but if we have a repeat of the last Mt.St.Helens eruption, the ash plume would cover the roof and render the rainwater an ashy mess.

Any thoughts?

BBQ_Pork... welcome...one YouTube channel I like to watch is "LDS Prepper" and he has a pretty good rainwater collection system, but I especially like his dump system to divert the initial run off away from the collection tanks... I live in an old Florida residential community with no heavy industry, and other than lawn maintenance, not too much ground water pollution..my shallow well is 25' and that is my supply...my concern for your location is when our Chinese friends decide to test something out in Lop Nor (Lop Nur) you get a bit of it a couple of days later... not that they would test in the atmosphere..

Check these out:

Berkey Water Filters
These supposedly filter out most bacteria, virsus, cysts, heavy metals and chemicals. They come in various sizes from backpacking to the Crown model that does 26gals/hour. Note that they cannot be shipped to CA until they are certified to be lead-free. There are several US distibutors.

This site has the 'Go" model for backpacking, BOB, etc. They also have a "Sport" model which is a bottle with a straw (listed under Accessories for some reason).

Big Berkey Water Filters

I have not used one of these. And, I am not affiliated with them in any way.

They do look like nice filter systems.

Great question. What I go with is a camping type filter, but my main back-up is stored tap water.

Wow, looks like there is a lot more to my question than I realized! Lots of good information here. More research required.......

So, my dad is considering building some contraption out of PVC pipe and Brita water filters.
Now, I've read the side of the box on those things and they say nothing about filtering down to x number of microns. They do claim to remove certain metals and chemicals, IIRC.
While they make mediocre city tap water taste a lot better, I have no evidence to believe that they would make the water safe if it's not already reasonably safe.

Assuming that he still pre-filters for sand and large grit before the water pitcher filters, is he wasting his time thinking that these filters will get out all the smaller, nastier things?

BBQ_Pork...to filter out virus, you need to exclude a diameter down to about .02 micron, .1 micron for the larger bacteria ...for heavy metals and city chlorine, there are some surface bonding resin strata and activated charcoal filters available (which I assume Brita is), but they will need periodic replacing....

I chose to use a Sawyer filter (5 gal kit with the .1 micron filter) for my hurricane supplies, that can be back flushed and is good for a million gallons...and plan on using a chlorine based purifier anyway, so went with the cheaper .1 versus the .02 filter... I built a DIY vertical PVC column that I filled with aquarium grade activated charcoal, but haven't tasted it yet...

what exactly is your Dad wanting to use the filter for? good tasting water, or emergency water?

BBQ_Pork,

The Britta filters take out chlorine, mercury, lead, and copper--no biologicals. I use one at home just for it's ability to remove the chlorine taste.

Here is a comparison chart showing some of the major brands of water filters and what they remove:
Water filter comparison chart

Primarily for emergency water.


Looking at your post, I'm wondering if bacteria and viruses are going to still be a problem.
Our (mine and his) water ideas are similar, and if he is planning on harvesting from his heavily mossed and likely fungus/mold-carrying roof, he will have to be careful, in my opinion.
1) large coarse filter/screen for sand and grit
2) filters, like Brita or charcoal or such.
(store-bought filters seem like an expensive way to go, especially if we're thinking long-term or large quantities. it's just one man and a small dog, but still...?)
3) boil?
4) let cool and enjoy.

I'm thinking that boiling the water can't hurt (other than requiring fuel/energy for the fire/heat), but wondering if it is needed.

BBQ_Pork,

Take a look at one of my previous posts in this thread regarding Berkey water filters. This is what I would use as a final filtration. They are expensive upfront, but they take out just about everything for about 1.7 cents/gallon.

And no fuel required.

I am not affiliated with Berkey.

I remember back when I was a kid, we were under a boil order due to a loss of power in a lift station, and back flow into the water main... Mom was not happy having to produce the amount of water needed (don't think Clorox treatment was popular then)as at the time she didn't have enough large pots to do it efficiently... that's why I went with the filter that could be backflushed and produce 5 gallon amounts..

good luck with you rainwater collection system... you might look into a biological sand filter... several videos of them in tandem with rainwater collection units on YouTube

Thanks for the info, guys! I will definitely pass it on to my dad!
And while the vending machine doohickey at the grocery store can beat Koldkist ($1.75/5 gallons vs 6$+/5gallons), this will be even more inexpensive yet, over the long-term.

That brass-looking Big Berkely looks pretty cool, but the clear one showing the insides might interest my son.

Lots to think about. See you around!


edit: Just bought my (48 gallon) rain barrel. Probably could have gotten a better deal buying it online, but got to see it upfront and pay cash (giving that credit card a rest!). In some states, you may be eligible for a rebate. I checked the manufacturer's website (Fiskars, and no I am not affiliated with them) and found that I was not so lucky.

At the risk of sounding redundant, I've discovered that buying 2.5 gallon jugs of spring water at the grocery store is the most economical way of storing water.

Each 2.5 gallon jug costs me $2.50, comes complete in its own container with spout, and is efficient in use of storage space. According to the CDC, bottled water has an indefinite shelf life when stored unopened and out of sunlight. Since we use these for most of our drinking water, I go through one or two jugs a week and rotate through my supply at least once a year.

I would not trust the water dispensed by vending machines to be any safer to drink than my tap water. Who regulates, tests and maintain these machines to determine what level of filtration they provide? You also need to factor in the cost of the container, which will easily put you over the $5/5gal price point.

I bought a couple of the rain barrels and put those on the side of my house. This gives me about 100 gallons. I also store about 20-25 gallons of bottled water from water delivery. I did purchase one of the berkley water filters and this seems to work well for water out of the tap.

What are you doing to keep debris out?

I'm looking at small purification units too - See the post " new tech in water purification"

My rain barrels have a screen on the top to keep out debris.

i did not read thru all the posts but i put a few goldfish in my rain barrel to eat mosquito larva and algae.
maybe you could put in fish that in time you could eat!!!!

CANOEDOGS...you must not be a fan of W C Fields...

thanks Les..now i have to read thru ALL the posts to see what the WC Fields thing is about---------
by the way i thought his movies were great.

Fields was explaining why he didn't drink water, in his own NSFW way, due to the presence of fish in the water.

thanks bws!..i just came on to read thru all those!
i have a screen over the barrel not only to keep the trash out and whatever local critters might want to make a meal of the fish but also to keep them from washing out when the barrel overflows.
we have had some heavy rain in the last few days.the water is collected in used orange juice and milk jugs to water the indoor plants. three thirty gallon plastic drums under the basement steps are a back up.the drums by the way are one of the best "free-take it" items i ever hit the brakes for!