The deleterious effects of contaminated drinking water

Dear PSA,

Affordable solution to accessing pure drinking water is available through the humble rainwater harvesting process. I believe all efforts to purify water should only be limited to providing water for industrial use.

For human consumption including non-potable purposes, God has provided nature's best way to access clean, pure water. We just need to have a sure shot method of capturinbg all that God gives us in the form of rain, storing it for the entire year's use and doing away with expensive treatment methodologies!

How I wish this simple solution is taken away from the clutches of vested interest including politicians and allowed to profligate through sheer common sense.

Yesterday I read a news item about one learned scientis from namma Bengaluru suggesting to the Planning Commission to paint all roof tops of all buildings white - to reduce heat island effect and arrest climate change. I wondered why a simpler solution of installing roof gardens could not be considered?

Just an example of how we miss the commonsense approach in favour of everything that is high tech or that is directly or indirectly helpful to industries (in this case the pain industry) !!

Regards

RKC 

We elders are experiencing and undergoing untold difficulties in Mysore City for getting a few buckets of so called clean municipal tap water sanctified as pure water for drinking and coocking purpose to our first floor house with our arthritis knees.

We tried the costly method of getting bottled water in sealed tubs from so called mineral water suppliers but after 2/3 days we found sediments and in one case a floating and dancing larvae - This literally scared us and we were back to square A - filling at 3 AM.    To over come -

I have adopted a simple method to solve the problem  for myself and my oldies of my family.  

Youngsters have become cookkoos and flew over the nests to green pastures. 

Servants cannot be present at odd hours because water trickles at odd hours.

My two paise innovative method:

We have a sump that is clean, an overhead tank that is clean and when municipal water comes at odd hours, sump gets enough quantity because it is below the ground level.   Water is pumped to the overhead tank.

I have a solar system that cannot give me hot water in Monsoons but has a built in electric immersion heating system that can deliver boiling water at the shortest time.

Before going to bed, we switch on the immersion heating system of the Solar Water Heater and after 15 minutes, boiling water flows through the tap - we collect a few bucketful, keep them covered properly and in the morning we use the same water for drinking and cooking purpose.

Question is:

Are we drinking clean water or are we endangering our lives with this kind of arrangement?  (Even if it is to the extent of BIS 1500 if not the standard BIS 10500 as recommended by Zenrainman/RK Chari).

- Vasanthkumar Mysoremath

Thanks Zen.  Some solace to oldies.

Chlorination is a good tip and will be followed. In fact I had also tried to instal a so called hi-end zero B to Z advertised in various media but had the prudent thought not to incur more expenditure from our pension money.  Hence this Zero level innovative idea albeit I will have to shell out a few extra for AEH power consumption.  It is worth.

This leads, I hope,  to a micro level approach  by others who have solar water heaters.   Whatever water we are getting through taps can be used / misused.

- Vasanthkumar Mysoremath.