Is Rain Barrel Water Safe To Drink
Most rainwater is safe to drink.
Is rain barrel water safe to drink. This may make the treated water less safe. Rain water that is safe for drinking. The levels of pollution pollen mold and other contaminants are low possibly lower than your public drinking water supply. These are the reasons why drinking rain barrel water is not recommended unless your installed rain barrels had sophisticated purification and filtration system.
Here are some things to consider before you install a rain barrel. Since you have algae build up the barrel doesn t get fully drained and replenished and gets stagnant. In fact it s been linked with disease outbreaks according to the centers for disease control and prevention cdc. It has long been cautioned that people should not use water collected in a rain barrel for drinking water or for watering plants that you plan to eat.
For emergency or short term use of rain barrel water for drinking boiling is the best way to purify it because boiling kills viruses parasites and bacteria that cause diarrhea. The reason is that the barrel may contain bacteria or unwanted chemicals that combine with the water as it runs off the roof. The water isn t safe to drink. Because most rain water collection systems are not intended for drinking they are not good at preventing contamination.
Making rain barrel water safe for vegetable gardens. While collected rainwater is high quality water it has been exposed to anything that s on your roof. Using a rain barrel is situational and other than a vitamin supplement mix i m hesitant to add anything to their drinking water. You can t drink it without treating it first.
The good news is it s easy to treat rainwater for safe drinking. Another fact that household must be aware of is the fact that empty plastic containers are usually not constructed of food grade plastic so they are considered unsafe for storing consumable products. Remember it comes off a roof so it may contain bits of asphalt roofing chemicals. Rain water tends to have very little dissolved in it.
When we are putting in drinking water systems from rainwater tanks we generally install a two stage sediment filtration system starting with a 20 micron filter followed by a 5. In ohio all rainwater systems that are used for drinking water must be filtered down to at least 5 microns which is small enough to filter out cysts from the water. If it s an open top barrel it s subject to getting all kinds of contaminants. This means it is not potable i e.
The problem with rain water is with the collection and the storage. Consider adding a screen to the water inlet or emptying the rain barrel in less than 10 days to prevent mosquitoes from using the rain barrel as a breeding site 9. Stored rainwater has similar bacterial load to a creek or stream in nature.