Hidden Places

Hi!
I have made and used my own hi-capacity water purification system, and I'd like to describe it here, so that some others may benefit, or get ideas to make their own system.

First, a water source is needed. I use a surface spring that has a small pool near the spring head, and travels into a small stream.
Since this is surface water, and has some unprotected surface area, it needs purification even though it is spring water. You can also use rain barrels or cistern for catching water from rain or run-off, or whatever is available to you that has enough capacity to serve your needs.

In my system, I use a manually operated "pitcher pump" to pump the water from the spring source into my storage barrels. It's a fairly long distance from spring to house, so I use the black "coil pipe" that is commonly used in rural areas for water hook-ups. It's about 1-inch diameter inside. I laid it into a shallow trench that I dug from the spring to the house. I live in a warmer climate, so freezing isn't a big worry very often. I have a "foot-valve" which is a check-valve at the foot of the pump, so that I don't have to pump water all the way from the spring every time with priming the pump. If it's going to freeze, I simply release the foot-valve, and let the water run back to the spring, emptying the water line so it doesn't burst during the freeze.
I have a screen filter at the end of the coil pipe that's in the spring pool. That filters out the stuff that I don't want coming into the water line. And I placed the entry in the middle of the spring pool, far enough above the bottom, so that I'm not drawing in silt from the bottom.

I pump the water into large 55-gallon food-grade barrels, which I use for storage. They are in the house. After pumping the barrels full, I let them sit for an hour or two, and let any sediment settle to the bottom. There is usually very little sediment with my particular set-up. The water comes in pretty clear.
After settling, I use about 5 ounces of Clorox unscented chlorine bleach added to each barrel. Let them sit for at least 30-60 minutes before using, because it takes a while for the chlorine to disperse in the water and do it's germicidal work. It kills bacteria AND viruses. You'll have a biologically-safe water after this process.

Then, you have biologically pure water, but you have alot of chlorine in it, and there also may be some traces of volatile chemicals in it that came in from the water supply, which we aren't aware of.
So, to clear the water of the chlorine and any traces of most of these unwanted chemicals, we then make a second pumping system from the storage barrels to our faucets, which pumps the water thru a suitable carbon-block filter. Carbon-block filters will pull virtually all the chlorine out of the water, and many harmful chemicals too, particularly volatile types. I'm not claiming that every chemical known to man will be stripped by this filter, but it does a good job for me. I wouldn't try to use a toxic waste dump for my water supply, so try to pick a supply that is likely to be fairly decent to begin with.

You can use a manual pitcher pump for this second pumping sytem too, if you have no ability to power a pump. It's more difficult that way, but it's how the pioneers did it, and it works.
But, we can do it a little easier if we have some power available.
I use a solar power system for my house, and I have 12vdc available that I generate, and am not reliant on the power grid for my power.
So, I got a "ShurFlo" 12vdc water pump of a pumping capacity that would meet my needs, and this pump also is equipped with a pressure shut-off switch on the output line. It comes that way when you buy it, if you select one with that feature. Mine turns on at 20psi and turns off at 40psi.
I use this pump to pump the water from the storage barrels, thru the carbon-block filtsr, and into a small pressurized water tank with an air-bladder inside, just like the ones which are used in homes with deep well water systems. The pump pumps the tank up to presssure, and shuts off at 40psi. The air bladder inside the pressure tank holds that pressure of water inside the tank, for delivery to the rest of the house, so I have water at my faucets. When the pressure tank begins to get depleted of water, down to 20psi, the water pump then senses this lower pressure at the pressure switch, and turns the pump on automatically to fill up the pressure tank again. When the tank pressure reaches 40psi, the pump shuts off.
Just like a well water system works.

This delivers clean biologically-safe and mostly chemical-free water to my faucets that tastes good, and I've never gotten sick from it, in 12 years of use.

The real advantage of this type of system, compared to a "Big Berkey" or other smaller filter system is that it can deliver running water of fairly high volume, under pressure. This allows taking showers, and filling pots, and even having hot water on demand at your shower or tub, or at your faucets. The "Big Berkey" and stuff like that might be fine for a couple of glasses of water, or for cooking, but that's as far as it goes, and it's very low volume, and slow to filter the next tank when you fill it again.
This system gives high capacity, which is very much more enjoyable for general use. And it's cheap.

For hot water, I split the output line from the pressure tank, so that one line runs to the cold water taps, and another line runs to a small propane-fueled hot water heater that just runs "on demand". It's one of those "instant hot water" type things that is big enough to heat water for a shower. I use propane fuel for that, because it can be stored on-site, and give some autonomy and availability if there is some kind of emergency in the infrastructure. If you want total autonomy and availability in any situation, a totally manual pump system and no hot water is best. You could heat water up on the wood stove like they used to do in the old days, if it's a total world melt-down and no infrastructure support is available for energy.

From the end-user point of view, it's just like having city water or a well system. You can go to any faucet in the house, turn it on, and get water under pressure there, just like a normal house. You can run a hose, wash clothes, take a shower, and do basically whatever you do now.
There is a limit to the water amounts, limited to what you have stored in your barrels, and prepared for use with the water treatment system. So, it's not unlimited, but I find it quite adequate. If I run low, I just pump more water into my barrels, and purify it for my next use.
If you install a large cistern for water storage, do basically the same procedure, you'll never run out of water if you don't live in the desert.

I post this because it seems that everyone thinks that "survival water systems" consist of a Big Berkey or a portable water purifier, which is of very limited capacity in terms of our "normal" water needs. This is a system that works, and is high-capacity enough to feel like "the real world" in terms of doing what we normally like to do with our water, and be safe doing it.

I don't claim that this will eliminate every possible thing that could be a health issue. But it will eliminate most threats very reliably and easily, and be a very good system that is fully autonomous and not dependent on infrastructure hardly at all. I'd be willing to bet that it's as clean, or cleaner, than most city water systems, has no flouride in it, and will serve quite well to give you control over your water supply needs.