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Old 02-16-2015, 02:39 PM   #121
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Revisiting this thread

I still say that water you find all across this great country is safe to drink not withstanding a very few exceptions. But, times are changing and with continued drought conditions, over pumping and now the growing practice of fracturing oil and gas wells, we will soon face some serious challenges when it comes to protecting our ground water. Throw on top of that the growing mistrust of our government and an increasing distain of all regulations we will be in trouble sooner than later.

In an earlier post someone asked about the practice of burying a water line next to a sewer line. Someone from Texas said something to the effect that it is merely a suggestion but people do it all the time. Where i live this is a very big issue. When we added an addition there was no option and ignoring the regulation whould have earned us a healthy fine. Throw in fracking and over pumping and you can see where this is headed.
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Old 02-16-2015, 07:12 PM   #122
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I still say that water you find all across this great country is safe to drink not withstanding a very few exceptions. But, times are changing and with continued drought conditions, over pumping and now the growing practice of fracturing oil and gas wells, we will soon face some serious challenges when it comes to protecting our ground water.
Each of the 50 states has public health regulations that dictate how often water sources have to be tested, and which contaminants have to be tested. Any municipal water supply should be safe, and if they do have a problem they will issue a "do not drink" or a "boil before drinking" order until the water can be made safe again.

The only sources I'd be concerned about are non-municipal sources. Private wells may or may not be tested— and even if they are, they only have to meet a lower standard of quality due to the low number of people using them.

And of course if you're long-term boondocking and getting your water directly from a stream then the water has not been tested or treated at all, unless you do it yourself, and in that case I'd worry. The US Army has regulations governing the use of local surface water by deployed troops on an "expeditionary" basis, and those regulations require testing for fourteen different contaminants before drinking— much lower water quality standards than any EPA- or State-regulated municipal or private source. Even here in the States, if the US Army has occasion to drink surface water that has not passed through a treatment plant, they still have to test for those fourteen contaminants and provide their own water treatment if any of them are over the acceptable limits.

The Coors beer ads when I was a kid used to show a clear Colorado mountain stream in their ads when they mentioned that Coors was made with pure Rocky Mountain spring water, but the Coors brewery never got its water directly from a stream; it was ground water from an artesian well, not surface water.

In my usual verbose way, the lesson I'm trying to impart is, as long as you get your water through a hose from a regulated source and not dipped up from a stream with a bucket, the water is generally safe to drink. It may taste funny and/or may give you a case of the trots until you get used to it, but it won't pose a serious health risk. But since no one likes having water that tastes funny, and no one wants a case of the trots until they get used to the local water— and may not even be around long enough to get used to it— when you go camping outside your home area you should probably at least filter your water, or buy bottled water.
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Old 02-16-2015, 09:37 PM   #123
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I'm still looking for my "Artesian Search and Rescue" bumper sticker I got at the brewery many years ago....😄


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Old 02-17-2015, 04:21 PM   #124
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Generally I'd drink it so long as it tastes OK. You can't stay in business long serving bad water.

I hate iron and chalky water so I'd always make sure I have at least one bottled water somewhere just in case.

As well as using an inline filter you could also use a Brita which supposedly gets rid of metals, parasites and bacteria!

Who drinks water anyhoo. My choice is usually wine or beer!
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Old 07-16-2015, 07:24 PM   #125
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You do realize bottled water is usually just water from a municipal supply with the added bonus of soft-plastic taste ?
It's quite funny most people don't realize this. They drag around gallons of water all over the place that is more expensive and stored in nasty BPA bottles. All you need is a good inline water filter for potable water and something like a zero water for drinking water.
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Old 07-16-2015, 07:50 PM   #126
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I like bud lite and mr Morgan will get ice from my faucet for his bourbon
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Old 07-17-2015, 12:55 PM   #127
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I use a PUR on the kitchen faucet for all drinking and cooking water in the Colorado and Mexico homes as well as the RV.

PUR Advanced Faucet Water Filter | PUR.com

The EPA guidelines for tap water are more strict than bottled water, and the bottled water market and trash is not something I care to contribute to.

However not all municipalities, especially very, very small ones do not necessarily know what they are doing when it comes to supplying water. One place was using a boiler water treatment chemical to mitigate for copper solder joints that is not approved for human consumption. This went on for a couple of years until people started getting sick and asking questions. When it was finally traced to the water, the water company changed to an EPA approved treatment protocol.

During this time was when I started using the PUR and my digestion problems went away.
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Old 07-17-2015, 06:29 PM   #128
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After reading this thread, I'm pretty convinced that in the U.S. we are pretty blessed with good water in most parts of the country. I've worked and traveled a lot in other countries though, and for our purposes, I use a pretty simple filter system.

I went to the big box Lowes store, and bought two "whole house" filters, then plumbed them in series, with the first one having a white "sediment" filter, and the second, a carbon filter.

After hooking up, I run a bit of water through the hose to flush out any unwanted stuff, then I run everything though this system, and into the fresh water tank, then for the and that's what we use. There is also the undersink filter, (that is expensive, but good), for the drinking water.

In 30+ years, we've never had a problem in any part of Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.

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Old 07-17-2015, 08:55 PM   #129
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Yes, we drink the water, use it for everything.

No problems across the USA in our Chevrolet.

We did install an inline water filter.

The only problem I have with campground (and town) water was not the safety, but the flavor. It varies. We enjoy carbonated water (seltzer) and drink a ton of it, so we travel with a SodaStream. The failings of a water's flavor are masked by the carbonation.
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Old 07-18-2015, 07:08 AM   #130
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Municipal water is safe to drink, mostly. I don't trust CG with their own wells. I retired as a DEP Licensed Operator in NJ and can tell tails about the short cuts CG owners are willing to take.
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Old 07-18-2015, 12:23 PM   #131
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Here in NM -- I assume it's similar in other states as well -- RV parks with their own wells are considered to be "public water servers," just like other well-operating businesses, towns, cities, and so forth. All are required to submit a quarterly water sample to the local laboratory, which tests the sample and transmits the result to the environment department. The environment department also pays an unscheduled visit to each and every entity every year or so. If an entity's water sample fails the lab test, or if unsafe conditions are located during a visit, well, all hell breaks loose. The business can even be forced to close down on the spot, or the town even forced to shut off water to residents.


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Municipal water is safe to drink, mostly. I don't trust CG with their own wells. I retired as a DEP Licensed Operator in NJ and can tell tails about the short cuts CG owners are willing to take.
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Old 07-19-2015, 07:19 AM   #132
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California and NJ are the two most regulated states as to drinking water. NJ DEP would make an appointment a few days ahead before visiting a CG water system. The contract lab that did the sampling also had a schedule. I had to resign from many small community systems because the owners would not do the maintenance or up grades needed for safe water.
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Old 07-19-2015, 07:29 AM   #133
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Here is my simple solution....
.5 micron filtration and softening all in one simple package.
Less than $300 to build, .33 cents to recharge once a month. $12 per filter change. Click image for larger version

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Old 07-20-2015, 05:26 AM   #134
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I like the water softener idea! What brand odd softener did you buy, and whet did you buy it?
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Old 07-20-2015, 05:47 AM   #135
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It's a ... Can't recall the brand.... Something like on the go.
Was $200 at west marine.
I'm very happy with its performance! Water is very soft to about 800 gallons, then a 30 cent can of salt and a half hour wait recharges it.
It is a simple luxury that makes showers nice and leaves everything spot free!
Not a drop goes into the Airstream until it passes through my little water treatment plant!
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Old 07-20-2015, 09:50 AM   #136
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Do you drink the water at RV parks?

Have wanted to do this awhile.

Seen it done where the vacuum breaker is at the hose bibb and a chest holds a WATTS 263A pressure regulator with gauge, sediment & carbon filter, then water softener. Chest can be chained to TT. Several choices on hoses to keep distances short. A few 90-degree brass fittings and caps, as well.

Rv water filter store has most of this. Including custom hose lengths.

Softened water works well for washing TT and TV. Sheet the water during rinse and nearly no wiping needed in order to dry. Thus I'd add a brass wye for a second hose after the chest.
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