# Drinking Water from a Cistern



## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

For those of you that are using your cistern as a source for drinking water, what are you doing, if anything, to treat it? I would like to find a good way to treat water from a cistern that does't use electricity.

Thanks,


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## Rick (May 10, 2002)

I'll be watching this thread. 

I know one Lady on here uses various size filters and ultraviolet light which of course would use some power. 

You could bleach it and filter the chlorine back out. We've done it, but I don't know the amount we used.


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## Old Swampgirl (Sep 28, 2008)

I grew up on cistern water. We just passed it thru a piece of screen & picked out any "wiggles" when we saw them. But nowadays, I'd boil it before drinking.


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## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

Swampgirl, your reply made me smile. I am sure that is how it was done in day past. But somehow today that just don't seem right.

Rick, that is what I am leaning towards.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Can you use the citern water for everything but drinking and cooking? If so, perhaps you can find a source of clean water you can bring home in 2-5 gallon containers.

I get my water directly from a spring. Only a 20mm filter inside to catch most of the grit and such. When it rains a lot, water turns a bit cloudy.


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## Rick (May 10, 2002)

Studhauler said:


> Swampgirl, your reply made me smile. I am sure that is how it was done in day past. But somehow today that just don't seem right.
> 
> Rick, that is what I am leaning towards.


I forgot to say, I saw a you-tube demo about building a large scale water filter, following a link from a thread here. The guy walked you through exact sizes of holes to drill. It was 2 stacked 4 or 5 gallon buckets and used Berkey filters.

We buy Culligan water at WM, or use an Aqua-Rain to soften our well water. I want to build a unit like I saw tho.


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## houndlover (Feb 20, 2009)

We filter/treat (sand filter, ozone, UV) before it's stored, then use as we need it. Our water source is a river that has several farms/homes upstream from us.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

Before we got rural water we used a cistern of sorts. We hauled water in and put it in a tank outside and then pumped water out of the tank and into the house as needed. The tank had a lid, but it still managed to get it's fair share of dirt in it and then one time, a dead mouse because the kids forgot to put the lid on. We had a whole house filter inside the house and that is all we ever used. Once a year we cleaned and bleached the tank and every once in awhile shocked it with chlorine. You can treat your cistern water with chlorine to kill contaminants. You can also just use it for everything except drinking and buy one of those Culligan water machines for drinking. We had one for awhile and love it, but it finally broke and we never bought another one. I don't know where your water is coming from that you're putting in your cistern. If it's filling up with run off water or pond water, then you might want a better filtering system, but you can buy them reasonably priced. For us, a whole house filter was all we ever needed.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

<shrug> Berkey. Some gets distilled because of kidney stone issue. Next question?


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## stockdogtta (Apr 12, 2008)

I dont do anything but pump it dry every 4 or 5 yrs and clean it out and scrub it down good. Been doing it that way for years....use for drinking,cooking, everything.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I lived out of a cistern for about 4 years, and yes we drank it. I filled it from a fairly deep well (140 feet). Water didn't usually stay in it more than a month. I treated it with a little laundry bleach after each fill to prevent algae growth, but not enough to give it a bad taste. It kept the tank clean.


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## tnyardfarmer (Mar 22, 2011)

I grew up drinking water from a cistern. Gutters ran from the barn to the cistern where the water was pumped to the house. No filters or chemicals were ever used. Only drawback seems to be that we all (9 kids) have poor teeth from lack of flouride, But nothing that a dentist can't fix. Sometimes during really dry years we would have to have a truckload ofwater delivered. I do remember when I was 16 or so that the water started smelling and tasting bad. After a week or so it was so bad we couldn't drink it. My father had the 3 oldest boys pump out as much water as we could and then using ladders and buckets on ropes take out the rest of the water. When we got to the last 6 inches or so we found several dead mice that the younger kids had thrown in. No one got sick but it took awhile to get comfortable drinking the water again. 2 years later we got city water.


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

Pick up a cheap test kit for pool chlorine. You want to maintain a slight chlorine residual, not enough to taste or smell. 0.1 PPM would be fine. After awhile you get the hang of it and know how much bleach (unscented) to add with every rain. 

A simple carbon filter at the faucet will take the leftover chlorine out. Bleach will kill the bacteria but won't touch cryptosporidium. A good filter will take that out. 

Water off a metal roof will be a better quality than water off asphalt shingles.

Kathie


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## bourbonred (Feb 27, 2008)

Growing up we ran the roof water through a screen, then into a gravel filter. We used a little bleach occasionally as needed. In winter, we didn't collect the water while we were burning the wood stove or the water would taste barbecued/smoky. I have a cistern at this house I'm trying to talk DH into putting back into use, or at least stocking gutters that we could hang if needed. Water isn't expensive, but it would be one more step toward self-sufficiency. We both grew up on cistern water.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

stockdogtta said:


> I dont do anything but pump it dry every 4 or 5 yrs and clean it out and scrub it down good. Been doing it that way for years....use for drinking,cooking, everything.


X2

big rockpile


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## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

My cistern will be filled with well water. It is good water that we use every day. My plans for the cistern are; for extended periods of electrical outages. The cistern would be filled with the well pump run off a generator. The cistern will be buried underground on top of a hill near my home. It will have a bottom outlet, so that it provides pressurized water to the house.

I am glad to hear all of your replies. I was a bit concerned about using cistern water and all the treatment that would be needed according to "official government sources." Thank for informing me on how the real world does it.

Big Rockpile, Stockdogtta, TNyardfarmer, how long would your water sit in the cistern before it was used up or refreshed with more water? I am wondering how long you stored your untreated water? Days? Weeks? Months?

Thanks


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

I would like to put a cistern up on the hill behind me we have a nice spring. 
What is the cistern material?

I am going to run the water through a whole house filter.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Go to a farm supply store. They typically carry flat topped, round white containers for water in various sizes. I've also seen water wagons which tow behind a vehicle. They have an oval tank on them.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

By cistern I take it you mean a tank to collect/hold water? I've lived with tanked water collected from the roof for most of my adult life which is now getting on a bit. None of it is filtered in any way and never has been. In a drought summer we will direct water from a spring (which has never been tested). As somebody stated earlier, the tank gets cleaned out every 4-5 years or when somebody remembers it might be a good idea to do it. I'm still here, the kids are still here, the visitors went home without gastro enteritis and at the end of the day I wonder how the hell our ancestors survived without all this modern preoccupation with sanitation.

Most household water is boiled in one way or another anyway - tea, coffee is made from boiled water, vegetables are boiled etc. Toilet, shower, washing machine and dishes hardly matter and much of it has gone through the hot water cylinder anyway. If it's a worry for drinking cold water or making up cordials for kids, boil it and keep it in the fridge. 

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

Thanks Ken


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

I think a Berkley filter would clean up cistern water nicely and make it safe to drink. If the berkley can make lake water drinkable then it can make cistern water drinkable. Maybe I am wrong though.


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## n9viw (Jan 30, 2005)

Excellent thread, thank you all for your contributions!

Our cistern is probably 200 gallons or so, made of double-wall brick. I've never been down in it, there's probably 100 gallons of water in there right now, plus all manner of debris and whatnot. The previous owner suggested pumping it dry and cleaning it before using it, advice with which I concur (but have yet to do, free time and all that rot). It has a hole in the cast-concrete cap for a pump pipe, and we have a pitcher pump and some PVC tubing for it, but have yet to install it due to the same time constraint.

There is a filter box adjacent to the cistern, which is currently full of violets and other plants... all that dirt and whatnot has to come out. I intend to lay a base of coarse gravel, then fine gravel, then sand, and have metal screens on the inlet pipes. I will also add a cover over the top to prevent unwanted entry by seeds, bugs, etc. The inlet pipes are ceramic drain tile, which has many joints... I'll probably dig up and replace what I can with PVC. 

We also don't have gutters on the entire house, just on one side of the house and on the alternate side of the garage, and neither one is currently connected to the drain tiles to the cistern, so whatever water is in there has been there a bit and hasn't been augmented by more than whatever rain filters through the open filter box.

The plan for right now is to pump it out without testing the water- it's likely contaminated beyond use for anything but the garden, so we'll send it down that way- and use the extension ladder to get down in there and scrape out the muck at the bottom. I'll scrub the walls with bleach and maybe some sort of cleaner for masonry. I need to make a new cap, as the old one was cast in two pieces and has since split into four, making it quite unstable. I also need to build a deck over it so we can have a platform from which to pump water. It will be used primarily for livestock, but we may take the suggestion made here to fill it during dry seasons from the well (which also needs to be plumbed and repaired!).


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## n9viw (Jan 30, 2005)

I just realized, I never answered Studhauler's question! Provided the filter on the source side (well, gutters, whatever) takes out all the physical debris, you could use a house filter system (Culligan makes a good one) with mesh, paper, and charcoal to take out the worst of the nasty bits. Chlorine, as mentioned here, will attend to the remaining micro-organisms. I think a 3-5 micron filter will catch the crypto, but if you're worried about it, boil it before you use it for drinking.

TNYardFarmer, I don't think your teeth are bad from lack of fluoride... more modern studies (Google "Fluoride bad for teeth" to get a LOT of reports from the UK, where they KNOW bad teeth!) have shown it's done more harm than good. Chances are more likely it's genetics; I'd never speak to your personal hygiene, but if you AND your sibs have bad teeth, that'd be the more likely reason, IMO.


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## tnyardfarmer (Mar 22, 2011)

@Studhauler, The water was refreshed every time it rained, or on the rare occasions when we had to have water trucked in.

@n9viw, Could be genetics, and for me at least a dislike of the dentist. We all brushed our teeth at least twice a day wether we wanted to or not. I know that when my oldest daughter was born we lived in an area without fluoridated water and we had to give her fluoride drops everyday. She has perfect teeth and never had a cavity.


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

n9viw said:


> I'll scrub the walls with bleach and maybe some sort of cleaner for masonry.



Be very careful using bleach and cleaners in that confined space. The fumes can quickly over come a person!!!!!

Kathie


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## n9viw (Jan 30, 2005)

On searching for a completely different book, I found two in our library that may help you with your filtration questions:

Cottage Water Systems, by Max Burns (http://www.amazon.com/Cottage-Water...220X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312911790&sr=8-1)

and 

The Home Water Supply by Stu Campbell (http://www.amazon.com/Home-Water-Su...3240/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1312911790&sr=8-2)


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Just drink it, your body will have a stronger immune system.

Just filter out the solids & you should be pretty good.


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## n9viw (Jan 30, 2005)

Not trying to thread-hijack, but here's an EXCELLENT, well-researched and well-presented article on how cavities are NOT caused by a lack of fluoride, and how fluoride does NOT help teeth: http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/fluorideharm.html


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## Horse Fork Farm (Jan 3, 2006)

We have and use exclusively a cistern at our farm. Actually we have 2, the old hand laid stone one and in front of it a modern poured on of concrete. A spring on the hill runs into the old one which feeds into the new one which holds 1600 gallons. It stays remarkably clean looking in there. It gets a little sediment over time. A well pump keeps our lines pressured like city water. We use it as it is for everything EXCEPT drinking. For that we have a Big Berkey sitting on the kitchen counter. The Berkey is very reliable and keeps us healthy. Thats what I would recommend you get.

Right now its so dry that the spring can't keep up with our usage so we are having to haul water from a hydrant. We dump it into the cistern and its not a big problem.

Our next step is buying a 2000 gal tank to catch rainwater to supplement. It will be just high enough to gravity feed the house. There will be a valve to switch from cistern to tank and back as needed.


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## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

For the fluoride sub tread, I grew up on well water and didn't have a cavity until I was 30. I moved out of the family home around 20-22 year old, to a city,(with fluoride in the water.) Humm? I think genetics and hygiene habits and diet has more to with cavities than fluoride. Altho I would think that fluoride would help, they must put it in tooth past for a reason. FYI, I now live less than a 1/4 from the house I grew up in.


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## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

Berkley filter looks like a slick system, but it is not for me. If I am going to do anything, it will be an inline whole house system. Some people don't do anything except a very infrequent cleaning of the cistern. I might try this approach first, since it is only a back-up system for me. 

If I think the water gets to funky I will chlorinate. My wife hates the smell of chlorine, so bad she does two loads of white, her with no bleach and mine with bleach. If I chlorinate I will have to put an inline charcoal filter.

Thanks for all the great information so far.


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## stockdogtta (Apr 12, 2008)

Studhauler....mine is replenished when it rains from gutters on house, which could be a month or better at times between rains. Takes 2 inch rain to fill it when dry.


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## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

davel745 said:


> What is the cistern material?


I don't have a cistern yet. The nostalgic side of me would like to build one out of stone or brick. The scaredy-pants side of me doesn't want to crawl down in a deep narrow hole to build one. The scaredy-pants side of me will win, and I will most likely go with a reinforced plastic tank with a man hole entrance that I will never be able to crawl inside of. Something like this: 
http://www.watertanks.com/products/0350-020.asp


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

Studhauler said:


> I don't have a cistern yet. The nostalgic side of me would like to build one out of stone or brick. The scaredy-pants side of me doesn't want to crawl down in a deep narrow hole to build one. The scaredy-pants side of me will win, and I will most likely go with a reinforced plastic tank with a man hole entrance that I will never be able to crawl inside of. Something like this:
> http://www.watertanks.com/products/0350-020.asp


that is what I am looking at too.


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## countrycluckers (May 16, 2011)

I grew up on cistrin water. We captured 3 underground springs into a concreate 'well' under our porch. It was pumped out and through 3 filters before it reached the taps. We had all kinds of mining all around us so as their 'good part' to the citizens of that area they were required to do water testing on all of the home's water supplies. Ours was always good. We never treated it with chemicals or anything. I do remember draining it once and scraping up all the sediment and cleaning it up. That was once in over 35 years.

--------------------------------
http://countrycluckers.blogspot.com


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Studhauler said:


> I don't have a cistern yet. The nostalgic side of me would like to build one out of stone or brick. The scaredy-pants side of me doesn't want to crawl down in a deep narrow hole to build one. The scaredy-pants side of me will win, and I will most likely go with a reinforced plastic tank with a man hole entrance that I will never be able to crawl inside of. Something like this:
> http://www.watertanks.com/products/0350-020.asp



You do not need to climb down a deep narrow hole. You can just dig out a big cavity, build the brick or stone container while standing in the open air, brick an arched ceiling with a man port leading to the ground level, check to see if it is in working order, then back fill the soil over the cistern.


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

Old Swampgirl said:


> I grew up on cistern water. We just passed it thru a piece of screen & picked out any "wiggles" when we saw them. But nowadays, I'd boil it before drinking.


Put a dollop of coal oil in your cistern and it'll kill the wigglers. Forms a sheen on top of the water. Just don't let your cistern get too low...


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Is coal oil safe to drink?


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

City Bound said:


> Is coal oil safe to drink?


That's why you don't let the cistern get too low...:yuck:


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Ok, I get you, the oil sits on top of the water and pump takes water from the lower levels of the tank.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

What kind of shingles do you folks have? Are you worried about toxic chemicals leaching out into the rain water and mixing with drinking water?


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

City Bound said:


> What kind of shingles do you folks have? Are you worried about toxic chemicals leaching out into the rain water and mixing with drinking water?


In this thread, I'm talking about how my grandparents did it. I've mentioned that they used a small smidgen of coal oil to kill the wigglers in the cistern.

Now, that was for the old above ground metal cisterns that you used to see down here.

As for the roofs, nobody had asphalt shingles back in those days. All I ever saw was white oak wood shingles or tin.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

Ok, oak and tin are safe.


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## Rick (May 10, 2002)

littlebitfarm said:


> Be very careful using bleach and cleaners in that confined space. The fumes can quickly over come a person!!!!!
> 
> Kathie


Thanks Kathie. I was gonna mention that. 

Life Bump!

_-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums_


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

Jolly said:


> Put a dollop of coal oil in your cistern and it'll kill the wigglers. Forms a sheen on top of the water.


That's is just nuts! If you want some surface oil to kill larva, use some olive oil. 

Kathie


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

littlebitfarm said:


> That's is just nuts! If you want some surface oil to kill larva, use some olive oil.
> 
> Kathie


At that time and place, the people around here couldn't have told you what vegetable oil looked like, let alone olive oil.


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

Jolly said:


> At that time and place, the people around here couldn't have told you what vegetable oil looked like, let alone olive oil.


That is true but you just told someone to do it yesterday! 

Kathie


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