Make Rainwater Drinkable
These days, water conservation is becoming more and more important, and many people are turning to alternative sources to conserve precious drinking water. What you may not be aware of is that rainwater, according to the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association, is the purest water available and can be harvested as drinking water. However, if you plan to drink rainwater, it's important to properly filter it because of pollution, particles in the air, and other contaminates. This can be achieved by setting up a simple sand filtration system outside your home. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
Instructions
1. Purchase a large rain barrel (between 55 an 75 gallons) made from plastic, fiberglass or metal. These are available at most gardening stores and cost between $50 and $250. They often come complete with a leaf screen and spout so there is little or no assembly required.
2. Set up your rain barrel so that it receives rainwater from your roof gutter. According to thisoldhouse.com, "1,000 square feet of roof will collect 600 gallons of water for every inch of rain that falls." Keep this in mind when planning your rainwater filtration system.
3. Fill your rain barrel with several feet of sand. Sand filters, or biofilters, are effective rainwater filters that work using gravity. Rain falls in the top and passes first through a naturally forming hypogeal layer. Then the rain trickles down through the sand and comes out the spout as remarkably clean drinking water.
4. Have your filtered water tested for impurities and toxins just to be on the safe side. Drinking rainwater in any form is not recommended if you live in a heavily industrialized and polluted city.
5. Remove the hypogeal layer every now and then by scraping it off and discarding it away from any drinking water. You can also use this waste material to feed a thirsty plant. A new hypogeal layer will form in a few days and you can return to drinking the water.
Tags: drinking water, hypogeal layer, rain barrel, filtration system, Make Rainwater