JIN MOUSA Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 http://time.com/5085792/is-raw-water-safe/ People paying obscene amounts of money for untreated water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Oh for pete's sake. I cannot feel sorry for people who get sick from ignoring modern sanitation, science, and medicine. I only feel sorry for their children who might be exposed to such nonsense. 27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Sounds idiotic to me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) Funny, we just talked about this at lunch. People are nuts - but the person who had the idea to market this and sell it bottled for obscene amounts of money is a genius. Edited January 4, 2018 by regentrude 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Quite a large % of people in rural Australia collect rainwater off their roof and store it in large water tanks. We do it. It is our only source of water for household use. We call it tank water. Some people call it rain water. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) But hey, I have friends who will get spring water at full moon and "infuse" it with crystals, claiming it alters the molecular structure. I have a hard time biting my tongue not to point out that this is absolute nonsense, but one does not call one's friends' religious beliefs nonsense, however delusional they may appear. Edited January 4, 2018 by regentrude 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 "Drinking untreated water, and the pathogens that can lurk within it, could expose Americans to disease outbreaks once again, says Vince Hill, chief of the CDC’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch. “When water isn’t treated, it can contain chemicals and germs that can make us sick or cause disease outbreaks,†he says. “Anything you can think of can be in untreated water, really,†ranging from agricultural runoff and naturally occurring chemicals to bacteria and viruses." Oh my, I'm terrified to finish my glass of raw water now. *gulp* Still alive! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Quite a large % of people in rural Australia collect rainwater off their roof and store it in large water tanks. We do it. It is our only source of water for household use. We call it tank water. Some people call it rain water. But that is different; rainwater does not have the dangers of giardia which is extremely prevalent in surface water in the US, even springs. So the health arguments don't apply. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 "Drinking untreated water, and the pathogens that can lurk within it, could expose Americans to disease outbreaks once again, says Vince Hill, chief of the CDC’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch. “When water isn’t treated, it can contain chemicals and germs that can make us sick or cause disease outbreaks,†he says. “Anything you can think of can be in untreated water, really,†ranging from agricultural runoff and naturally occurring chemicals to bacteria and viruses." Oh my, I'm terrified to finish my glass of raw water now. *gulp* Still alive! I think the issue is the origin of the water. Plenty of people have wells and drink the untreated well water. OTOH, surface springs can harbor contaminants like giardia. Are you drinking untreated surface water? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) Quite a large % of people in rural Australia collect rainwater off their roof and store it in large water tanks. We do it. It is our only source of water for household use. We call it tank water. Some people call it rain water. But raw sounds so much more marketable. :D Do you purify yours, though? Or do you not drink it? ETA: or does rain water not need purifying? You can I grew up on tap, right? Edited January 4, 2018 by CES2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 "raw water" is quite common where I live, our water is raw, I had no idea this was a trend, it is just the way of life for us on wells. We have sediment filters because our water is hard but no treatment. Our water is the best I've tasted (our builders would take jugs of it home to drink) and I find the taste of treated water quite unpalatable. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Wait so I'm confused. Is this raw water fad simply water without the additives that treatment plants use, or straight up unfiltered and untreated water from...wherever? And why not just buy a reverse osmosis filter for your sink? :confused1: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) They seem to think that "raw" water is more pure and less likely to have contaminants, which is definitely not true. You want pure water it's a lot cheaper to just distill some water then run it through a carbon filter. ETA: I don't think this is the same as untreated well water. Edited January 4, 2018 by Where's Toto? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 But raw sounds so much more marketable. :D Do you purify yours, though? Or do you not drink it? ETA: or does rain water not need purifying? You can I grew up on tap, right? Some people filter it, My neighbour does. Though her son and my son just the other week looked at a water sample of each under the microscope and found there were less moving things in our water compared to theirs. the quality of course is affected by how many leaves you allow to collect in the gutters, what your tanks are made of, how much water pipes have stagnant water in them and if your tank has a roof on it or not. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Wait so I'm confused. Is this raw water fad simply water without the additives that treatment plants use, or straight up unfiltered and untreated water from...wherever? And why not just buy a reverse osmosis filter for your sink? :confused1: It's straight up unfiltered and untreated from wherever. Usually a spring. I wondered that about RO myself, but in the article I read, it said that RO, distilled, filtered, etc. water is "dead." Apparently, water is only good for you if it turns green in a few weeks... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 But that is different; rainwater does not have the dangers of giardia which is extremely prevalent in surface water in the US, even springs. So the health arguments don't apply. Actually rain water isn't overly safe. It's not terrifyingly dangerous but up north where it's warm some of the tanks have Giardia. A lot depends on the set up. When I was a kid we had rainwater and I always had pretty good skin as a teen. When we moved to chlorinated water I ended up with more acne. However when we moved to a new place with rain water with poorly maintained tanks I had a permanently upset stomach till we installed a pretty high grade filter. Other issues include lack of fluoride which has meant more dental issues. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Wait so I'm confused. Is this raw water fad simply water without the additives that treatment plants use, or straight up unfiltered and untreated water from...wherever? untreated spring water. here's the website of one particular company who started this business: https://livespringwater.com/ there's a lot of nonsensical claims there 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 If anyone wants any unfiltered well water, we could bottle some for sale. FWIW, if you were to have it tested prior to our UV light, it's got a bit of contamination in it, so selling AS IS. Also, we live in farming country, so if you want extra nitrates, they're included free. We tend to drink bottled water, though still use ours for cooking (post UV light). 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Actually rain water isn't overly safe. It's not terrifyingly dangerous but up north where it's warm some of the tanks have Giardia. Oh, they're not covered? I thought giardia is introduced through mammal excrement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS83 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 It's straight up unfiltered and untreated from wherever. Usually a spring. I wondered that about RO myself, but in the article I read, it said that RO, distilled, filtered, etc. water is "dead." Apparently, water is only good for you if it turns green in a few weeks... :lol: Where is this water gotten from, I wonder; you'd have to own the rights to the waterway to remove, bottle and sell the water, right? It seems like a fad that will either fail or get shut down pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Oh, they're not covered? I thought giardia is introduced through mammal excrement? whatever is on the roof is washed into the tanks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 If anyone wants any unfiltered well water, we could bottle some for sale. FWIW, if you were to have it tested prior to our UV light, it's got a bit of contamination in it, so selling AS IS. Also, we live in farming country, so if you want extra nitrates, they're included free. We tend to drink bottled water, though still use ours for cooking (post UV light). Farming community here too and we love our Berkey. No electricity / batteries needed. Works on gravity and filters last for a relatively long time. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 whatever is on the roof is washed into the tanks. ok, sure, that makes sense , hadn't though of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 our water gets contaminated when there are bushfires. We now disconnect all the downpipes when there is a bushfire. BBQ flavored water is disgusting 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) our water gets contaminated when there are bushfires. We now disconnect all the downpipes when there is a bushfire. BBQ flavored water is disgusting I bet you could market that and make a fortune. New crazy everyone- bbq flavored water. All the taste no calories. Lol Edited January 4, 2018 by itsheresomewhere 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 I think the issue is the origin of the water. Plenty of people have wells and drink the untreated well water. OTOH, surface springs can harbor contaminants like giardia. Are you drinking untreated surface water? My water is actually filtered, a little, with a very coarse filter to catch larger particle. So, maybe someone won't say it's complete raw -- kinda like the argument of honey, I once told a local beekeeper I wanted truly raw honey, not filtered at all. He laughed at me and tried to explain why I didn't want what I thought I wanted, I shrugged it off. Then, we have bees and he is right, I ain't eating completely unfiltered honey. You're focused on untreated surface water idea, if that the new trend? Because I just didn't really get that from the article I skimmed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 But hey, I have friends who will get spring water at full moon and "infuse" it with crystals, claiming it alters the molecular structure. I have a hard time biting my tongue not to point out that this is absolute nonsense, but one does not call one's friends' religious beliefs nonsense, however delusional they may appear. I'm pretty sure I would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 our water gets contaminated when there are bushfires. We now disconnect all the downpipes when there is a bushfire. BBQ flavored water is disgusting Market to the all the Instapot people so they can get that great smoked flavor when cooking! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Farming community here too and we love our Berkey. No electricity / batteries needed. Works on gravity and filters last for a relatively long time. I have to wonder if I'm the only person that thinks Berkey filtered water tastes gross. Like I would rather drink my friend's filtered city water (which is also gross but slightly less so) than the Berkey water. I do find that my friend that uses one for their well water has a slightly more tolerable taste, but .... I don't, something about it. Maybe I'm just missing all the nitrates from my own water. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 I have to wonder if I'm the only person that thinks Berkey filtered water tastes gross. Like I would rather drink my friend's filtered city water (which is also gross but slightly less so) than the Berkey water. I do find that my friend that uses one for their well water has a slightly more tolerable taste, but .... I don't, something about it. Maybe I'm just missing all the nitrates from my own water. ;) You’re not. I think it tastes terrible. I can’t even drink it. I guess I don’t have a “refined†palate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 This might be about fluoride? I know people who only drink bottled water to avoid it ("My body is a temple, the earth is a garbage can"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIN MOUSA Posted January 4, 2018 Author Share Posted January 4, 2018 One of the articles mentioned the guy trekking across private property under cover of night to harvest raw water. Some people are opposed to ANYTHING being done to the water, shunning water treated even by UV lights or filtered to remove algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 For anyone wanting real raw water rather than water from our well (before or after the UV light), we have a one acre pond on our property that's inside our horse pasture for extra seasoning. It's stocked with fish too, and often gets geese and ducks vacationing there. It's fed naturally by a spring. Or, our property borders a creek - the type fresh water shellfish and regular ole fish call home. It's likely got extra seasoning from deer, raccoons, and other assorted wildlife, but I'm sure all the bad stuff washes downstream leaving just the good behind. I'm more than willing to bottle some up and ship it for a reasonable cost - or we could have "fill it yourself" for even a lower cost. It's definitely all raw. All sold AS IS. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Oh, they're not covered? I thought giardia is introduced through mammal excrement? Well they usually have a breather hole. They are meant to be covered with mesh but because the mesh often fills with leaves and gunk they get removed and not put back. Friends of ours found a drowned possum in their tank! Also the water is collected from the roof top which means that if rats mice or possums have been up there the stuff can get washed in. Newer systems often have a system that diverts the first rainfall somehow so the roof gets a rinse first though I'm not really sure how it works. Other issues have been older tanks with lead based liners. Also standard filtration isn't ideal because small numbers of bacteria can multiply in the filter system. You need to use a rainwater specific filtration system if you are going to filter it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 our water gets contaminated when there are bushfires. We now disconnect all the downpipes when there is a bushfire. BBQ flavored water is disgusting Not only that but you don't want that firefighting foam or gel washing into your tank in the next rainfall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) Not only that but you don't want that firefighting foam or gel washing into your tank in the next rainfall! luckely we have never been that close to a bushfire to have foam etc. just ash and smoke Edited January 4, 2018 by Melissa in Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 People are so weird sometimes. I mean, I can ALMOST (not quite, but almost) understand the whole not drinking water with "harmful chemicals" like fluoride or whatever. What I really don't understand is why people pay MONEY for that? I mean....it falls out of the sky. Go get a rain barrel or walk over the the closest stream. Or in the current conditions, step outside with a pot and fill it. Bring it inside, let it melt. Drink. Ta Da! Raw water. Some dude was supposedly selling snow for a pretty penny a year or two ago during one of the storms. We can do that too right now. We're a very diverse farm at the moment! I just don't have the mind to come up with these ideas first to make money off of them I guess. My mind is like yours thinking, "Nah, no one would want that for the cost it would take!" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 We drink our raw, unfiltered, untreated well water. Had it tested by the state last month - it's all good. People stop at the spring across from our house 24/7 to fill up everything from jugs to large tanks. They have no idea what's in that water, which is the overflow from our old well...the overflow that comes out the side of the cistern through questionable pipes sistered together in swampy ground. I knew what came into my house from that well through underground pipes was safe because I had it tested. I also knew there was the skeleton of a dead mouse in the bottom of the concrete cistern. Best water you'd ever taste! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) Homeschool field trip / fundraiser, coming right up: Kids, go get the canning jars and fill 'em up with our tap (well) water - we're headed to NYC! This week's special, for a small extra fee, of course: FROZEN Raw Water! That has appeared, like MANNA, from the sky! Coming to an upscale freezer near you. :) Edited January 4, 2018 by Lucy the Valiant 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Homeschool field trip / fundraiser, coming right up: Kids, go get the canning jars and fill 'em up with our tap (well) water - we're headed to NYC! No sale. Nearly all of us learned in school that NYC water is the best in the world. So long as you can trust your building's pipes, that is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 This might be about fluoride? I know people who only drink bottled water to avoid it ("My body is a temple, the earth is a garbage can"). That's one of the things it is about definitely. One person in the article I read said that fluoride is a mind control drug. Like, the government is controlling the minds of the American citizens through people drinking fluoridated water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 That's one of the things it is about definitely. One person in the article I read said that fluoride is a mind control drug. Like, the government is controlling the minds of the American citizens through people drinking fluoridated water.That made me giggle. 🤪 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 That's one of the things it is about definitely. One person in the article I read said that fluoride is a mind control drug. Like, the government is controlling the minds of the American citizens through people drinking fluoridated water. It's how they convince us all that the earth is round. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 fluoride is a mind control drug. Like, the government is controlling the minds of the American citizens through people drinking fluoridated water. oh, that would explain sooo many things! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 oh, that would explain sooo many things! Hahahahahaa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Instead of seasoning, I believe the proper snake oil term would be "fortified". :lol: We have a creek too. It's naturally fortified with run off from the neighbor's finest Monsanto products I bet! I'm going to tell my husband he can retire early. Mamma's got a new business plan! Another reason I fail as a salesman (woman?). I can't even think of the correct wording to use. (sigh) Thanks for the assistance. Yes. Naturally fortified raw water. Lots of it. Fresh or frozen at the moment. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Well, I guess I've drunk plenty of raw water. We had a shallow well right next to the lake when my children were little. We all swam multiple times a day and made no effort not to get the water in our mouths. Ditto swimming in the harbour. We drank from streams camping growing up, although we don't any more. Too many giardia stories floating around. We drink spring or well water without thinking twice, when we are visiting other places. I wouldn't get water to take home from a random unknown spring, since I don't know whether it is surface water off a field or from someplace deep, filtered by plenty of sand and peat. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 The use of the word "RAW" is interesting. It's kind of a reclaimed term? Similar to using the word intact to mean not circumcised. But it doesn't work for me, I'm just not there. All water is raw. Boiled water is raw. Cooked water is evaporated. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 "raw water" is quite common where I live, our water is raw, I had no idea this was a trend, it is just the way of life for us on wells. We have sediment filters because our water is hard but no treatment. Our water is the best I've tasted (our builders would take jugs of it home to drink) and I find the taste of treated water quite unpalatable. this is us to except we don't have a sediment filter. Everyone that comes to our house loves the taste of our water. I also will point out my neighbors all have lived into their 80's 90s on untreated unfiltered well water. treated water taste nasty imo. I actually bring my own water with me everywhere I go. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 This is a bit off topic, but corporations such as Nestle pay very little, like two hundred dollars annually, to pump and sell millions of gallons of water. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-09-21/nestl-makes-billions-bottling-water-it-pays-nearly-nothing-for There was a big fight in Oregon when they wanted to start getting water here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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