"Raw" water

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#1935579 10-Jan-2018 14:06

clevedon:

Home water tank treatment/UV filters etc is only a fairly recent development in NZ, it's only been trendy as townies move to tank water only areas.

Most people I know on tank water don't have any filtration/treatment and I've never heard any reports of mass sickness or higher than average water borne disease amongst them.

We have a single stage mechanical filter which normally has a 1um or 5um (depending on which store I happen to be able to get to when I buy a new one) cartridge in it. We used to use the carbon ones but they restrict water flow to as low as 33L/min which makes showers unimpressive compared to the nuclear decontamination flow rate we would get otherwise.

Anyway ... I do not believe we have been noticeably sicker from any bugs than we were on town water. But chlorinated water now tastes revolting.

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clevedon

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#1935603 10-Jan-2018 14:09

kingdragonfly: In the Massey report, they mentioned a lot of rain water drinkers didn't always go to the doctor when they got a tummy bug.

Their theory is if you're using rain water to drink, you're likely rural, and further away from your GP.

They concluded sickness due to rainwater collection was vastly under-reported, as proved by their actual testing of the water people were drinking.

Or maybe they have hardier immune systems and don't puke at the just the thought of "raw" water.

kryptonjohn

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#1935608 10-Jan-2018 14:21

clevedon:

kingdragonfly: In the Massey report, they mentioned a lot of rain water drinkers didn't always go to the doctor when they got a tummy bug.

Their theory is if you're using rain water to drink, you're likely rural, and further away from your GP.

They concluded sickness due to rainwater collection was vastly under-reported, as proved by their actual testing of the water people were drinking.

Or maybe they have hardier immune systems and don't puke at the just the thought of "raw" water.

I'm certain that immunity does form from exposure to untreated water. My kids and I are always water-skiing in the Waikato river at Tuakau and the water there is kinda disgusting. We never seem to get sick but a few friends who have come along have caught the Delhi belly.

muppet

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#1935628 10-Jan-2018 15:00

We have a bore at our property, it gives out "raw" water.

Raw water is great in that it tends to smell sometimes (bore isn't quite deep enough) and the water tends to stain some things Orange because of the minerals in it.

On the update I am so farking healthy it's not funny, that's why I drink so much, to make it fair for everyone else.

(In all seriousness, I'm glad we're on a bore because it means the chlorination of Napier's drinking water doesn't affect us at home. Not true at work etc)

Fred99

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#1935672 10-Jan-2018 15:29

kryptonjohn:

Hmmm, not sure that herd immunity was that great in the days that polio and smallpox existed (in the wild).

Actually, there's good evidence that in the past there was pretty good "herd immunity" to polio. That disease only became a significant problem in the west when sanitation improved to the point that essentially all newborns weren't exposed any more - at a time in their life when the disease symptoms are so mild as to be often unnoticeable - yet this provided lifelong immunity. But the impact of not having immunity when there was a chance of being infected at an age when contracting the disease could be devastating was horrific.

That one had them stumped for quite a while - as in "WTF is going on? This damned disease has upset the natural order of things - it's killing and maiming the wealthy and privileged - and leaving the poor and underprivileged alone" .

So the 20th century polio epidemics (with older children / young adults suffering severely) were actually the result of improved sanitation.

Fred99

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#1935688 10-Jan-2018 15:42

muppet:

We have a bore at our property, it gives out "raw" water.

Raw water is great in that it tends to smell sometimes (bore isn't quite deep enough) and the water tends to stain some things Orange because of the minerals in it.

On the update I am so farking healthy it's not funny, that's why I drink so much, to make it fair for everyone else.

(In all seriousness, I'm glad we're on a bore because it means the chlorination of Napier's drinking water doesn't affect us at home. Not true at work etc)

Yeah - but look what it does to your chickens:

SaltyNZ

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#1935689 10-Jan-2018 15:45

Fred99:

Yeah - but look what it does to your chickens:

Ah, lovely bird. Beautiful plumage.

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Aredwood

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#1935751 10-Jan-2018 18:28

I like rainwater mainly because it is a very soft water. It tastes better, soaps and cleaners work better. I actually don't like most bottled waters, as they typically have high mineral content.

UHD

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#1935774 10-Jan-2018 18:49

Raw water sounds like something Auckland City Council pumps into the sea surrounding the city 100 days a year.

Masterpiece

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#1935903 10-Jan-2018 22:42

BTR:
Goosey:

ChCh is generally untreated water given the aquifers on the Canterbury plains....

Yum. (it really is nice water to drink).

It is for now, wait another 10-15 years for the dairy farming to have ruined it all.

In one of my lives I build monitoring systems, specifically for Nitrate. The typical cost is $250000~$500000.

Although diary farming has a measurable effect on the environment, most farmers in the NZ dairy industry are fully on board with practices to reduce environmental impacts.

However human activity is the cause of most pollution on this planet. It is human wants and needs that makes it economically viable to overdrive environments, this applies to any farming or manufacturing process and urban living.

I am less concerned about drinking raw water than "bottling water in plastic" and "burning fossil fuels" to transport it to the few privileged enough to buy it. The cost is climate change.

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#1935906 10-Jan-2018 22:46

I never understand why people buy bottled water in developed countries. Unfortunately, one should never drink non bottled water while travelling in developing countries! Which means travelling is bad for the environment :D

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TLD

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#1935912 10-Jan-2018 23:21

Every house has its own well where I live 8k out of Blenheim close to SH62 Rapaura Road. The wells are 15 metres deep, which is apparently to ensure good filtering of the surface water that takes many years to get to that depth. We had to get a new well drilled a couple of years ago, and the drill came up wet within two metres. Oh, and it tastes great. So much so that we hate drinking other water when traveling.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

Geektastic

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#1935913 10-Jan-2018 23:40

kryptonjohn:

clevedon:

kingdragonfly: In the Massey report, they mentioned a lot of rain water drinkers didn't always go to the doctor when they got a tummy bug.

Their theory is if you're using rain water to drink, you're likely rural, and further away from your GP.

They concluded sickness due to rainwater collection was vastly under-reported, as proved by their actual testing of the water people were drinking.

Or maybe they have hardier immune systems and don't puke at the just the thought of "raw" water.

I'm certain that immunity does form from exposure to untreated water. My kids and I are always water-skiing in the Waikato river at Tuakau and the water there is kinda disgusting. We never seem to get sick but a few friends who have come along have caught the Delhi belly.

I have to ask...why deliberately water ski (or do anything else) in a body of water you describe as "kinda disgusting"?!

Geektastic

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#1935915 10-Jan-2018 23:43

Aredwood: I like rainwater mainly because it is a very soft water. It tastes better, soaps and cleaners work better. I actually don't like most bottled waters, as they typically have high mineral content.

Do we have any chalk in NZ? My parents live in an area of chalk downland and their water is fine to drink, but because it is so hard the hot water pipes, kettle elements, water cylinder elements and so on soon build up a good coating of scale - over the years, hot water pipe internal diameter can be significantly reduced by scale forming inside the pipes.

Aredwood

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#1935926 11-Jan-2018 01:11

@geektastic There are plenty of areas in NZ where the mineral content of the water is high enough to cause the problems you describe. Unsure if those minerals meet the definition of Chalk though.

You can get low watts density hot water cylinder elements to help manage the scale buildup. And when I install new hot water cylinders, I have to install the pressure control valves so where possible they stay cold as part of normal operation. As they can and do fail due to mineral buildup. Even Auckland council public water has enough mineral content that I still have to allow for it as part of system design. As Watercare maintain a min mineral content to extend the life of all of the cast iron, galv steel, asbestos cement and cement lined steel pipes that they have in use. Other areas of NZ can be far worse.

It also causes urinal drain pipes to block up. As the minerals in the water mixed with urine causes hard deposits to build up inside the pipes. Not fun trying to unblock pipes which are completely filled with what is basicly dried urine.

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