Water harvested from the wild has three problems which occur to a greater or lesser degree, depending on how and where it is harvested. Rainwater is pretty clean and clear, but picks up a few grollies when harvested as run-off from a roof. Underground springs, wells and aquifers are often pretty good, but a lot depends on where the water comes from and the type of rock or strata it passes through. Water pumped out of a ditch or land drain sounds like the worst possible option, so I decided to have a play with that first. I figured that if I could clean up that source as much as possible, then that would give me some valuable data to play with when it comes to implementing an off-grid water supply.
So what's in the ditch? Well, the ditch has a pretty good lining of clay which means it holds water quite well. There is a bit of loose mud and sediment in the bottom which is fine all the time the bed is undisturbed but this gets shaken up and makes the water pretty turbid when pumping. There is also plenty of 'livestock'...insect life, algae and frog and newt activity. Then there is all the stuff that I suspect is in there, but without some testing I can't be sure...nitrates, nitrites, pesticide and fertiliser residues and other nasties. Plus of course bacteria and pathogens.
All the problems I could encounter notwithstanding, most of the contents of the ditch - a good 95% I would say - is plain and simple, good old fashioned H2O. Which means I only need to get rid of perhaps 5% of the contents to leave me with reasonably clean water.
Would I drink from the ditch? No. Would I wash my hands in it? Definitely. Would I then eat an ice cream cone after washing my hands in it? Debatable.
So what's in the ditch? Well, the ditch has a pretty good lining of clay which means it holds water quite well. There is a bit of loose mud and sediment in the bottom which is fine all the time the bed is undisturbed but this gets shaken up and makes the water pretty turbid when pumping. There is also plenty of 'livestock'...insect life, algae and frog and newt activity. Then there is all the stuff that I suspect is in there, but without some testing I can't be sure...nitrates, nitrites, pesticide and fertiliser residues and other nasties. Plus of course bacteria and pathogens.
All the problems I could encounter notwithstanding, most of the contents of the ditch - a good 95% I would say - is plain and simple, good old fashioned H2O. Which means I only need to get rid of perhaps 5% of the contents to leave me with reasonably clean water.
Would I drink from the ditch? No. Would I wash my hands in it? Definitely. Would I then eat an ice cream cone after washing my hands in it? Debatable.
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