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using the water from the well and how to keep this drinkable....


Blade

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the water of a well can change every day so we thought it would be best to install something something like an ultra violet light to kill the bacteria so that we can use this as drinking water. does anyone have any experience of this? costs etc? thanks in advance.

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Who told you it can change on a daily basis? Most people have their water checked every year or two years. If you have chemical or faecal contamination a UV light isn't going to make any difference - if indeed it would make any difference to bacteria, which I don't know about.
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Our hamlet in 46 is almost totally supplied by several underground springs. The water is collected in a huge underground tank. Because I did not want to take any chances, I have purchased a worktop ceramic filter & tap combination (www.faireyceramics.co.uk/why.htm), which is advertised as a...

Highly effective barrier to particles and pathogens: the drinking water filters have a pore structure which has an Absolute

filtration rating (defined as >99.99%) of 0.9 microns (less than

1000 th of a millimetre). The sub-micron filtration the ceramic

achieves is capable of removing almost all known particles and bacteria

from drinking water.

They are used in third-world countries by the Red Cross:

A recent study by a leading UK University showed that use of these drinking water filters in a community in Zimbabwe slashed cases of

potentially fatal diarrhoea (a common problem in Africa caused by

pathogenic bacteria and cysts in the water supply) to virtually zero.

Our water filters have been proven to work in the most demanding

conditions. This is why they are used by the major aid organisations.

I bought it in France from www.aqua-techniques.fr (about €150) and, although the spring unfiltered water was last analysed as "conforme", it gives me peace of mind to know I know I'm definitely drinking clean and almost-free water!

It can also be bought from the UK.

As an added note, this French website is all about water and has a very good little catalogue full of interesting little water-saving devices... I recommend the STOP douch (simple tap fitted to your shower hose to stop water running whilst you're soaping) and the AERATEUR évier (kitchen-sink aerator which  "foams" the water and reduces the flow without apparent loss of pressure)

More details on request, no commercial link, just a happy user!

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[quote user="Dicksmith"]Who told you it can change on a daily basis?

Most people have their water checked every year or two years. If you

have chemical or faecal contamination a UV light isn't going to make

any difference - if indeed it would make any difference to bacteria,

which I don't know about.[/quote]

UV light can indeed be used to sterilise water (though it won't remove

"solids"!). It won't do much to certain pesticide residues, hardness or

nitrates either (though some manufacturers claim that they can remove

the latter - I'm not convinced), and here regular testing would be

recommended. We did look into this, though for the life of me I cannot

remember the name of the manufacturer we were talking to. What I do

remember is that when we had totted up the cost of the equipment, its

installation and its not inconsiderable consumption of electricity we

concluded that we could pay for town's water for about 12 years and not

be out of pocket.

Note also that many communes will seek to levy their part of the SAUR

price from you whether or not you consume town's water. We get a

questionaire every year asking us to confirm which supply we are using

(only for drinking quality water - use of wells or boreholes for the

garden and / or pool is excluded). If we were using our own supply then

a tax equivalent to 60m3 or the metered amount (if it were running in

via the water meter, which appearantly is allowed) - whichever the

greater - would be demanded. Ask around your neighbours if you know

anyone else using well water to see how the land lies. You could also

ask at the Mairie, but this could put ideas into their heads...

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With our, now abandoned, well the only option was to have it emptied, cleaned and allowed to refill, when the water might or might not have been potable. As the local well-cleaning company had just closed down, the uncertainty of the process and the general nuisance of priming pumps every time we visited (and hoping that friends and family who used the place would remember) and the noise (oh the noise) we went for connection to the town water supply. At about 400m the connection cost about €12000, but the commune (unexpectedly) paid half. Our current bills are laughably low (€33 for 6 months) and the water is excellent. Three cheers for progress!
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HI there did not understand all of it. are you saying the installation costs to use the water from the well was going to cost you 12000 euros? the water level at our well is about 7metres from surface and about 4m deep. we are based just outside cahors.
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