Drinking Water - Setting up shop

Has the cistern water been tested? If it has and doesn't meet the potability standard, has a cup or two of chlorine bleach been added to it and then re-tested?

The reason I ask is that although you'll likely get a ton of negative opinions from people, I've never known anyone in my 30 years here - either resident or visitor - who's become sick from drinking cistern water. I've drunk cistern water at every place I've ever lived and the only place where I didn't drink it was because it had a mildly funky taste, although it consistently tested potable by a water testing lab. During that time I just bought inexpensive cases of bottled water.

Unless the water tests for enormously high levels of contaminants I'd have no problem using it for everything. The EPA standard is set very high.

I hear you old tart, when blessed by owner I have drank, made coffee, cooked with cistern without issue.

Owner here has said "not potable" so will not be going that route. Also, not our place so we will not be fussing about it rather we will work around it.

Not an issue for us as there are other options, just looking for best non cistern option.

Thanks for your insight regardless, it all help as we know that we don't know alot of what we should know but will never know without asking (even if very basic to those who have been here long time).

J and L

If you have access to the cistern you can purify water by adding Clorox. Amount depends on how much water you have in cistern.
I am sure someone on the board here can give the exact formula.
You don't want to add too much or the water will taste like Clorox and not be good for cooking or drinking.

You can get an under the sink water purification system installed as well which to me seems better than buying and lugging 5 gallon jugs back and forth. Probably best to ask landlord's permission.

You can get the water tested to see if it's okay to use for all your needs. Ask your landlord when the cistern was last cleaned and if they use for drinking, cooking, etc.

There are a couple companies that you can get bottled water/coolers delivered. Check yellow pages under water.

Unless there is a major issue with the cistern/water, you probably don't need to do any of the above except add Clorox from time to time.

I've always used cistern water with no problems.

You can usually get the 5 gallon bottles at Office Max.

I've heard people say they don't like the taste of some of the refills, but I've had it from Pueblo Long Bay and it was fine to me. Not sure if it's consistent, though.

I brush my teeth with cistern water, and boil it for tea. No problems.

The Ace Hardware may have bottles.

Thank you Ms411, much appreciated and what we were looking for.

- J and L

what about whole house filters along with filter pitcher

Keep in mind some people of more sensitive to the level of microbes in the water than others.

Crown Mtn Water 777-5515 they might deliver!

Just one personal opinion, we have filters and a UV light for our cistern, because we wanted it to be as clean as possible for showing, brushing teeth, washing dishes and clothes, etc. We don't drink it. We buy gallons of natural source water and buy personal bottled water for drinking by the case (it works out to about 14-16 cents per bottle).

I see what's in my cistern. We just had it cleaned and all the other stuff that goes along with it, but even so, there's bird poop, dead insects and beetles, etc. You're basically licking your roof. For me, just pouring bleach into my drinking water does not make me want to drink it. Why would I want to drink diluted bleach water?

My opinion is in the minority, but for me when for 15 cents or less I can drink pure water compared to water that has had poop and dead bugs festering in it for months (made better by pouring bleach into it??) it's not even a close call for me.

... but for me when for 15 cents or less I can drink pure water compared to water that has had poop and dead bugs festering in it for months (made better by pouring bleach into it??) it's not even a close call for me.

Each to his own. Where do you think that "pure water" you're drinking from a bottle comes from and how did it get "pure"?

ChrisMI, you might want to re-think your food, because the FDA says a certain amount of maggots, insect fragments, mold, rat hair, poop, and other foreign matter in food is OK. http://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/ucm056174.htm

Where do you recycle all those plastic bottles your pure water comes in?

ChrisMI obviously hasn't embraced island life yet. My family has been using cistern water for many years for showering and the like and we have never felt the need to get a fancy UV or reverse osmosis system. To each his own I suppose.

Same here. Helps build up antibodies.

Bottled water: Americans buy half a billion bottles of water every week, according to the film The Story of Bottled Water. Most people buy bottled water thinking they’re avoiding any contaminants that may be present in their tap water. For the most part, they’re wrong. Bottled water can be just as, or even more, contaminated than tap water. In fact, some bottled water IS tap water – just packaged (in plastic that can leach chemicals into the water) and over-priced. Also, from manufacture to disposal, bottled water creates an enormous amount of pollution, making our water even less drinkable. Do yourself and the world a favor and invest in a reusable stainless steel water bottle and a water filter.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/top-10-toxic-products-you-dont-need.html#ixzz3I6cAUHpt

Where do you recycle all those plastic bottles your pure water comes in?

I just burn them in our weekly fire with our used tires and old paint. The colors are spectacular.

I find the notion that we "have not embraced island live" because I'd like to kill the bacteria and microbes in our cistern to be frankly quite silly. Does one need to use palm leaves in lieu of toilet paper and bathe in ponds to to have 'embraced island life'? C'mon people. Sheesh.

Where do you recycle all those plastic bottles your pure water comes in?

I just burn them in our weekly fire with our used tires and old paint. The colors are spectacular.

I hope that was a tongue in cheek comment ... sometimes one just never knows.

😉

Haha. I'm with you. We put in whole house sediment and UV filtration and an RO system under the sink for drinking water. I shy away from bleach - that's not great for your septic system. There's no fricking way I would put unfiltered cistern water in my mouth for anything. I mean. . .totally unfiltered, it's brown and totally ucky after a big rain. When it hasn't been raining, it looks and smells okay, and I would be okay bathing in it, but my 1-year-old likes to drink bathwater and we will more likely than not have more children while here, so . . .maybe we went a little overboard, but I don't regret it.

Didn't the Marriott have a Legionnaires problem not that long ago? I mean. . .it is a tropical climate, and there is the potential for some nasty stuff to grow in cisterns (and elsewhere) here. . .no?

That said, the previous owners here had NO filtration of any kind, and they claim they never got sick. If you're a healthy adult, it's probably not going to kill you.

Didn't the Marriott have a Legionnaires problem not that long ago?
That said, the previous owners here had NO filtration of any kind, and they claim they never got sick. If you're a healthy adult, it's probably not going to kill you.

5 cases linked in 2010/2011 reported here:

http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/cdc-ties-five-cases-of-legionnaire-s-disease-to-frenchman-s-reef-and-frenchman-s-cove-1.1244214?localLinksEnabled=false#ixzz1gWVorrgT

Whatever rows your boat - cistern water in different locations hasn't affected me negatively in 30 years and I don't know anybody who it has, let alone even a breath of anyone ever having been killed by drinking it!

Where do you recycle all those plastic bottles your pure water comes in?

TRUTH!! U rock.

I think you're CRAZY to PAY for water lol. Our cistern gets a cup of bleach when I remember and I use a sink attached PUR filter for drinking. Works awesome and tastes sooo good! Actually my cistern tastes 100% better than bottled water. Rob in hull bay (long ponytail) will be able to test your water and help install anything filter or UV u need. I'll get his number next time I see him.

On a sidenote I would be really concerned on why that water is not potable. Hopefully it's not close to a septic system or something and there is intermingling or soemthing. I would ask to clarify why it's not drinkable. That would make me very nervous because ultimately you are using it to shower brush your teeth and cook with.

Landlords have to deal with liability issues these days. If you drink the cistern water after they tell you "no", then they are not liable if you should become ill. With all the attorneys around, lots of things become liability issues, with potential for litigation, and the significant expense of defending a lawsuit, whether based on fact or not.
We even refused to rent to some folks who asked about yard space for their little trampoline...I can just picture some guest of theirs getting hurt and suing the landlord for letting them have the thing in the yard!

Hey everyone,

Can anyone advise where you get the water quality tested? Really appreciate the help.

Dee

Didn't the Marriott have a Legionnaires problem not that long ago? I mean. . .it is a tropical climate, and there is the potential for some nasty stuff to grow in cisterns (and elsewhere) here. . .no?

When you work in refineries and chemical plants you have to do a training on Legionella... It was "discovered" around the 70's... Here is a link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionella

At Mill Harbour we are connected to WAPA, so I just use a faucet filter, Brita in this case... It works fine...