11-27-2013, 01:52 PM
There are differing levels of paranoia regarding what's in the catchment water. You can have the fanciest diversion system in the world but when a bird or rat craps on your roof at the right time it's going into your catchment tank. Roof rat proof? Well, the wind will blow sediment onto your roof that a rat has crapped on. We ALL have crap and piss in our water. ALL WATER HAS BEEN CRAPPED AND PISSED IN. Even in a pretentious looking bottle with a foreign sounding name and a fancy label. Your catchment tank is just a big water bottle. You can either filter it like the bottled stuff or not. But enough about that.
I'm assuming that you are bathing in this water. Some people believe that parasites or microbes can migrate from your catchment water through microscopic abrasions in your skin and may cause an infection that can kill you within 72 hours. They are probably right that it's possible.
But why not make your catchment water better than that pretentious stuff? Add a few filters and a UV sterilization or reverse osmosis system and your catchment water will be good enough to bottle and sell to people in Manhattan for $12 a bottle. You can bathe in it, make ice, drink it, brush your teeth, and do all those other things that people like to do with fancy water.
The only real "whole house" solution is a UV system. It works best when the water is filtered to 5 microns. Usually there is a sediment filter of 20 microns followed by a 5 micron filter, which is then sterilized by UV energy. This will keep exotic parasites from attacking you when brushing your teeth or showering. Another option is to put a reverse osmosis filter only on one spigot where the drinking water is obtained. Reverse osmosis is a great filter technology but it is energy and time consuming and takes time to create and store filtered water for drinking, so you can't bathe in it. UV systems are "on demand" and can filter/sterilize water as fast as you need it.
Another option, is that some people have been bathing in and drinking catchment water for decades with no ill effects. Even with all the bird and rodent feces and urine in it.
I'm assuming that you are bathing in this water. Some people believe that parasites or microbes can migrate from your catchment water through microscopic abrasions in your skin and may cause an infection that can kill you within 72 hours. They are probably right that it's possible.
But why not make your catchment water better than that pretentious stuff? Add a few filters and a UV sterilization or reverse osmosis system and your catchment water will be good enough to bottle and sell to people in Manhattan for $12 a bottle. You can bathe in it, make ice, drink it, brush your teeth, and do all those other things that people like to do with fancy water.
The only real "whole house" solution is a UV system. It works best when the water is filtered to 5 microns. Usually there is a sediment filter of 20 microns followed by a 5 micron filter, which is then sterilized by UV energy. This will keep exotic parasites from attacking you when brushing your teeth or showering. Another option is to put a reverse osmosis filter only on one spigot where the drinking water is obtained. Reverse osmosis is a great filter technology but it is energy and time consuming and takes time to create and store filtered water for drinking, so you can't bathe in it. UV systems are "on demand" and can filter/sterilize water as fast as you need it.
Another option, is that some people have been bathing in and drinking catchment water for decades with no ill effects. Even with all the bird and rodent feces and urine in it.