I cringe whenever I read about somebody talking about or promising “pure” water. Pure water, H2O with nothing else in it, is hard to make. it requires lots of energy, usually chemicals, usually has a waste stream, or in the case of solar distillation, requires lots of real estate. Pure water is necessary for a few chemical processes, some industrial applications where any contamination is a problem. Drinking water? No. I repeat, no. Our bodies do just fine with some calcium, some magnesium even many other things commonly found in water. What we don’t want are pathogenic organisms and certain specific compounds that we know to be dangerous.
So what is wrong with producing “pure” water? It can only be good right?, Well, no. Here is the problem. Most developing country communities, and in fact most rural communities in the US, don’t have the resources, either human or financial to operate the complex systems required for “pure” water. So when we tell these people we think they should aspire to “pure” water, we are in essence telling them they can have nothing at all, because “pure” water systems are beyond their reach.
We should be assessing their abilities both financial and human and suggest water and wastewater treatment that meets their needs, not our expectations or neurotic fantasies about purity and perfection. In this way, we give them service- safe water that they can maintain and afford. This is not compromise. This is relating to the world that is.
I am a sustainability consultant and I just found your blog. My heartbeat is to provide self-sufficient water treatment for those who see the need to become self-sufficient. I have studied SSF's for several years. I have built 3 of them. They work very well and the "technology" is very old, as you know. Talk about time-tested.
ReplyDeleteI have written to your sales email address concerning a large project I am planning for 20-30 households for a religious community desiring self-sufficiency. One enemy we face is the over-reaching water authorities who want everything chlorinated. This forces us to do individual homesteads rather that a large central system.
We will be filtering rainwater to provide potable water. In some ways, rainwater has an opposite problem of too little contained within it if you follow the proper filtering procedures for rainwater.
I have read your FAQs and saw the things about adding for rainwater. I would like to discuss that further.
I updated my blog profile.
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