need help - safe water?

[bvigal]

I rent one of a 2-unit apartment bldg. We have cistern water only. This is very common here, as the water board can't even provide full-time water to the homes that ARE hooked up. I have always known the cistern water wasn't safe to drink, so I buy water to drink, make ice cubes, add to cooking dishes, etc.

But, I have been using faucet water to wash dishes, make coffee, wash fresh vegetables like lettuce and tomotoes, rish my mouth after brushing teeth, and of course, I bathe in it. Bottled water is now up to $1.89/gal here.

In the last place I lived, I could lift the cistern lid (not easy, but I managed) to add bleach periodically. Of course, that wasn't the best of options, because sometimes the water would burn my eyes for several days when I took a shower - I was only guessing how much bleach to put in. Here, the cistern lid is downstairs in other apartment and is 3-foot square hunk of 4"-thick concrete covered with 1/2" tile, probably weighs 150lbs, and I can't lift it. Neither can my neighbor. So we decided to test the water. Below are the results. Note the Total Coloform = 70 CFU per 100ml. "water is unsatisfactory for potable purposes."

My question, I know the dictionary says "potable" mean drinking water. But is it ONLY drinking? (It does say purposes - plural) Is this water safe to take a bath, brush teeth, wash lettuce, etc.? Does anyone know someone who is a chemist or water-quality technician they could ask? (Please ignore the mention of Environmental Health Officer - don't ask)

Thanks for any help!

[DanKellFla]

It has been 15 years since I did this kind of work. At I was dealing with industrial water and volatile organic compounds.
Call the number supplied. They can probably really help you..... or not??? But, I will do my best.

Don't drink the water.
If you are not elderly or very young, you might be OK for awhile. But, eventually something will catch up to you. You can shower in it as long as you don't drink it. Sorry to say, but you shouldn't use it for anything else. Not at 70 times the limit of what is considered safe. A few drops of bleach, some aggitating and waiting a few minutes will make it OK for washing and tooth brushing ( blechhh). Ok course, you can always boil it or add those water purifying tablets you get at camping stores.

Try to use a lever of some other system to move the cover.

I think the pH should be above 7 and that you should add some bleach and some baking soda. The baking soda helps with the alkalinity. A pool test kit is cheap and can get you some useful information.

There are lots of websites about water care. Give one of those a shot.

[coriolis]

Ordinary Coliform are bacteria that naturally live in the soil. Their presence is a sign that surface runoff is getting into it. Fecal coliform live in the guts of warm-blooded animals including our own.

Coliforms themselves will not make you sick, but they are used as an "indicator" because they are easy to detect and culture in the laboratory procedure. Their presence is an indicator of the possibility of other bacteria or viruses which would make you sick. Fecal coliforms are a particularly bad indication because various diseases are passed through the feces includng cholera, dysentery, cryptosporidium, e-coli, giardia, etc. etc. E-coli was detected. That's not good.

For public water supplies, there should be zero coliforms.

Here's a couple links that will help.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/list_waterborne.htm
http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/faq/emerg.html

I wouldn't put chlorine into the cistern. The chlorine will dissipate in a matter of days. It only takes a few drops of bleach per gallon of water. You should disinfect the water for drinking and brushing your teeth. There's less risk from washing with it.

The turbidity is high. That is basically cloudyness and is also an indication of contamination.

Chlorine reacts with organic material to create trihalomethanes which are linked to cancer. So adding bleach is not a long-term solution. Boiling is a safer alternative, but it's energy intensive.

A final thought: If that cistern cover is at ground level, you could think about ways to protect it from surface runoff, like grading the surrounding ground surface, covering the lid, etc. These could make a bad situation less bad, but in the long term you should discontinue using that water for consumption.

[coriolis]

Oh, I re-read your original post. Didn't notice what you said about the cistern being under the floor.

I'm curious, does it collect ground water? Or does it collect rooftop drainage? With the coliforms, it must be getting ground water.

Could you rig up a covered rain barrel? That would be safer for brushing teeth, washing veggies, etc.

I'd suggest an on-the tap filter, but with that turbidity, you'd be replacing filter cartridges frequently.

[bvigal]

Thanks Dan and Coriolis, for the great information! I've learned a lot already, more than I learned poking around the internet, where every place I looked only mentioned "drinking" water, diseases you could get from "drinking" bad water, nothing really about risks of other uses. And I figured with with the hurricanes and people having flooding, this topic might be of interest to others, too.

My biggest question was that of other uses of the water besides drinking, i.e. how much worse than simply "not safe to drink" does water have to be before it's unsafe for other things, and, is my water in that category? Thanks, you have given me a really good idea about that!

There were a few things I guess I didn't make clear:

1. I do not drink the water! Never have, never will. I drink ONLY bottled water purchased from the store. (I did state that in my original post)
2. The cistern is filled from the gutters around the roof of the building, between 20 and 35ft off the ground. Sitting and crawling around on those gutters (and pooping in them) are birds, lizards, bats (at least 100 of those flying in and out of the roof all night) etc. Landlady had someone come to supposedly clean the gutters, but when they left, there was still a 6"-tall plant growing from the gutter nearest my door. (I had a picture, but can't find it right now.)

I've had health problems which might be related to the water. Doctor couldn't figure it out, but when I asked if maybe my water supply was the problem, he said "as long as you aren't DRINKING cistern water, don't worry." I'm not sure it's that simple.

I've tried heating water to a rolling boil and boiling for 3 minutes in a big 8quart pasta cooker. I leave the lid on for it to cool, so I can pour it into containers. But when I come back later after it's cooled, it has a film on it - EVERY TIME! I've tried different pots, washing the heck out of them with bleach before I start, it never makes any difference, it always has a film after boiling!!! I am not comforted by boiling this water.

So, I fill one side of the sink with water and put in bleach to rinse dishes after washing. If I have only 1 plate, 1 fork, 1 spoon, etc. it's a waste of water to fill the sink enough to rinse the soap off them. Dishes accumulate for a few hours, and that attracts bugs. OR sometimes I just wash and rinse them right away from faucet - and then I get payback - in the gut! That's what makes me suspect something bad in the water stays on whatever I use it to rinse - I don't have to drink it to have ill effects.

I did call the number listed, every day this week, but can't catch the one and ONLY guy in his office. When I do, I'm told he'll come here and put bleach in the cistern.

[coriolis]

Check these out! Decent looking home systems for about 100 bucks!
http://www.pwgazette.com/
http://www.aquabelle.com/residential_sys_index.htm

Critters on the roof
Add salmonella to the list

About that film: You probably tried decanting it (pouring some water off the top to remove most of the film). After that you could try running it through a stack of 3 or 4 coffee filters.

I know - this is starting to get complicated. You're going to end up with a regular water treatment plant in your kitchen.

Here's another idea: A slow sand filter in a 55-gallon drum!

http://www.sanjosepartners.org/page18/p ... 11/http://

or this (scroll down to the bottom)
http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/VITA/WTRP ... RPURIF.HTM