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bae
4-18-11, 7:26pm
I live on an island out in the ocean, off the west coast of the USA. It's 56 square miles in size, and primarily it's a couple of mountain-sized rocks sticking out of the ocean, with a layer of sedimentary rock, and some glacial drift left atop that here and there. You can drill for water in some places, but the aquifers are pretty spotty at best, often you're just drilling into fractured rock and hoping for the best. Rainfall is 10-25 inches down by sea level here, much of the precipitation in the region never makes it over, it gets raked off by the Cascade Mountains, Vancouver Island, or the Olympic Mountains.

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/state/wa/uw-1927-2/images/fig1t.jpg

But, there's a 2400 foot mountain here, the tallest thing for ~60 miles. It manages to rake off quite a bit of rain, and has spots that get 60+ inches of rain. And I live halfway up it.

So, from the top, here's a tour of my water supply:

The fire observation tower on the very top, built by the CCC:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKkNSNMLI/AAAAAAAAA3s/Rgz7FvOLE5Y/s800/img_0141.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKlRfuiBI/AAAAAAAAA3w/K4v10J3LGhg/s800/img_0142.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhK22T4i5I/AAAAAAAAA4s/dtOB9cE-_x0/s400/img_0156.jpg



Don't get distracted by the view, we're here for the water....

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKoYJRgjI/AAAAAAAAA4A/iOnalUMAOx8/s800/img_0145.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKpdPdnJI/AAAAAAAAA4E/VANZ27AIzt4/s800/img_0146.jpg

Here's what we're dealing with, in terms of the land. Doesn't look so promising, eh?

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKr8SfYcI/AAAAAAAAA4I/hIcqLE-pUxk/s800/img_0147.jpg

But even up here, at the very top of the mountain, water pools up from rainfall and mist, and seeps out of the living rock:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKxWjTMbI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/14LMxk_L-qE/s800/img_0151.jpg

And as an aside, amidst all this huge scenery, look down:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKvSpiepI/AAAAAAAAA4U/7JkIuOSnbrc/s800/img_0150.jpg

Yes, freshwater clams. At 2400 feet above sea level on a small island in the ocean. Go figure.

bae
4-18-11, 7:26pm
Here's some scans from the top of the tower:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag0WB2DDQaA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9juET5EhV8s

If you look sort of in the middle of this, you can see Mountain Lake. It, and several other small lakes, collect much of the water that runs down and oozes down the mountain.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKoYJRgjI/AAAAAAAAA4A/iOnalUMAOx8/s800/img_0145.jpg

Mountain Lake is reasonably big, and full of fish:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKW3WFf6I/AAAAAAAAA3A/sQM6hYXGukM/s800/img_0131.jpg

Several streams flow out of Mountain Lake and the other small lakes:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKMVAZcuI/AAAAAAAAA2o/pZqDyYFA5so/s800/img_0125.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKOOgC3BI/AAAAAAAAA2s/5Okz0qQmO9o/s800/img_0126.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKPk1Ab5I/AAAAAAAAA2w/xKcoaCuzZeQ/s800/img_0127.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKRs9OD1I/AAAAAAAAA20/Dh4FAhslSRM/s800/img_0128.jpg

They flow into Cascade Lake, which is quite large - it's about a 3 mile hike around the oval-shaped lake, it's full of fish, it's great to swim in, and perfect for small boats:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKTCwjoLI/AAAAAAAAA24/53wirWhvWNU/s800/img_0129.jpg

From Cascade Lake, we withdraw it by several pipes to my neighborhood's water treatment facility (no pictures, I couldn't find the keys easily), then it gets pumped up to these two tanks by my house for the use of 4-5 households:

Small tank on my lot corner, for filling fire trucks:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TAhKEKFwz9I/AAAAAAAAA2Q/ituKGXoQ-SM/s800/img_0120.jpg

Big tank for drinking water and fire flow pressure:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-LwdA_IhwbkA/S_nt73DIxBI/AAAAAAAAD8U/Uc3H8SBlicE/s640/gse_multipart2057110496491695412.tmp.jpg

Problem solved.

freein05
4-18-11, 7:38pm
We get our water from the Sierra runoff in the Stanislaus river. The strange part is we live at the 5,300 foot elevation and the river runs near our place. About 4 miles away. They catch the water and pump it up from the Sierra foothills at about the 1,400 foot elevation. They have to pump it about 20 miles into redwood storage tanks in our area. Then gravity is used to supply the homes in our area with water.

The redwood storage tanks (over 30 years old) are going to be replaced this year thanks to a grant from the Federal Government and our Republican congressman.

treehugger
4-18-11, 7:53pm
Certainly no where so scenic as your water. :) Ours comes from the California Delta, barely strained. The refinery runoff (we have 2 major oil refineries in our town, which is on the water, inland from San Francisco) is just a bonus!

Kara

SiouzQ.
4-18-11, 7:54pm
Beautiful pictures bae! What a lovely place to live!

Zigzagman
4-18-11, 7:57pm
GET OUT OF HERE! :cool:

Bae, you live in a paradise. The streams are wonderful, the view magnificent. I can imagine being in a canoe smoking a doobie in total peace at dusk!

Absolutely gorgeous - you are a lucky man!!

Where does our water come from? Rain and it has been in short supply.

Peace

bae
4-18-11, 8:05pm
I can imagine being in a canoe smoking a doobie in total peace at dusk!


I have been told our growing climate is somewhat similar to upland Maui, for certain agricultural products. Just sayin'... :-)

Rosemary
4-18-11, 9:54pm
Bae - beautiful!!! thanks for posting.

Our city water comes from an underground aquifer that has few measured impurities (of course, I can't comment on what they don't test). It's the best-tasting city water I've ever had. We have a good undersink filter, though.

freein05
4-18-11, 11:23pm
Click on www.lakealpine.com to see how beautiful it can be in California. Not as beautiful as where bae lives but close. We also get our water from Lake Alpine and the surrounding lakes and snow fields.

Edited to add: I don't know how to include pictures in posts so you have to click on the link.

maryD
4-19-11, 12:48am
Ours comes off our colourbond roof

Tradd
4-19-11, 12:58am
Lake Michigan

kally
4-19-11, 12:59am
http://http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSAq8_9RLaJ2fG8GYAKUoyWYVTlVma1H kyLDLaT-z_3tTCz0KN_Sg

Here we are, pristine Haslam Lake in BC.

goldensmom
4-19-11, 6:21am
A well in a hay field. It is deep, was drilled in the 60's and still giving us really good water.

CathyA
4-19-11, 9:44am
Bae.......you big showoff!! :~) I'm so envious.
Our water comes from an aquifer that's about 65' down. Hopefully, its not filled with farm chemicals. Its very high in iron and other minerals. We use an iron filter, but alot still gets through.
The aquifer has alot of sand, and that means we go through a fair number of pumps and pressure tanks.

JaneV2.0
4-19-11, 1:36pm
If our snow pack disappears and the aquifers dry up, I guess I'll have to take a couple of buckets and walk downhill to Lake Washington. The hike back will be a challenge. :sick:

ETA: Gorgeous pictures, Bae.

Tweety
4-19-11, 7:10pm
Mine comes from the well under my front porch, that dips into an aquifer 40 ft. down. I don't know the source of that, but it ultimately must be from rainwater. I live only a few miles from the North-South divide between the Great Lakes watershed and the Mississippi drainage so I must be near the top of that divide. The creek in my back yard ultimately flows into Lake Michigan. I don't have a fancy water storage system like Bae, but do keep many gallon jugs of water stored in the basement for when the electricity goes out and the pump quits. The water is hard and full of iron but at least it flows.

razz
4-19-11, 9:28pm
Lovely views!
Ours comes from a 56 foot deep sulphur water well which we treat with hydrogen peroxide. This works very well except when the baromeric pressure drops dramatically then we might get a whiff of sulphur.

Bronxboy
4-19-11, 9:39pm
Our water is very good considering you can see the dam spillway from I-95 halfway between DC and Baltimore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Gorge_Reservoir

The water for this house originally came from a shallow well about 20 feet from where I'm sitting. The house wall between me and the filled-in well has some blistered paint to remind us of the high water table.

creaker
4-19-11, 10:57pm
http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/html/watsys.htm - but I liked the well water we had when lived in Maine much better.

Last year one of the pipes coming to Boston failed, we were without water for a day or so.

Spartana
4-20-11, 3:08pm
Dear Bae, I feel it is of utmost importance I come to your island. I am a former Environmental Compliance Officer for a large water/wastewater district and I believe that your water facility needs to be inspected ASAP. I believe that inspection willl take at least 3 years to complete and during that time you will be required to house me in your domicile and take me out on your boat everyday to view your waterways. As a Govmint Regulator who has the full authority of the law behind me, you MUST comply to my demands to live on your island and just loaf around doing nothing but taking in the beautiful scenery all day long.

OK so I'm wildly jealous!! Not only your island but of your water set up (yes, I really was a compliance officer for a water district before I retired but did industrial (chemical) waste inspections of commercial businesses). Here is suburban SoCal we get water from various sources depending on where you live. Most water is imported from the Colorado River (100% in winter) and combined with State Project Water (Sac Delta water in NorCal) in summer. All of this water goes thru a treatment plant before it is imported to the various water district's reserviors and then to their customers. There are a few aquifiers around SoCal - the Orange County area being one - but most are controlled by large water districts (like OC's) and there aren't too many private wells. Those aquifers are pumped by the water district, treated and often combined with some treated imported water. In OC there is also a plant that takes wastewater, highly treats it, and then reinjects it into the aquifers (the "toilet to tap" program). There are also many salt water desalinitation plants that are in the works to meet future water needs.

Also, most of the domestic (i.e. household not industrial) wastewater in SoCal is recycled (reclaimed) and highly treated to be used to water parks, golfcourses, green belts, etc... instead of using potable (drinking) water. This cuts down on the amount of water needed from other sources like the Colorado River and Sac Delta.

Spartana
4-20-11, 3:23pm
Click on www.lakealpine.com to see how beautiful it can be in California. Not as beautiful as where bae lives but close. We also get our water from Lake Alpine and the surrounding lakes and snow fields.

Edited to add: I don't know how to include pictures in posts so you have to click on the link.

Look up on the Practice board to see my (very slow) learnin' of how to post pics in threads.

Calif water that isn't out of a private well is treated before it is piped to a consumer. Even if it comes straight out of a river or lake near someones home it is treated and constantly tested - usually fairly aggressively - to meet the States very stringents requirements (which are higher than the federal standards) for chemical, bacteriolgical and physical standards.

Gardenarian
4-20-11, 6:32pm
Supposedly from Hetch Hetchy, but it is full of chlorine and chloramine and tastes really nasty and dries up your skin. Blechh.
:(

puglogic
4-20-11, 7:29pm
Ours comes from Evergreen Lake, fed by runoff from the surrounding peaks, including the beautiful 14,265-foot Mount Evans. (note: I was married in the 'cabin' by the side of it....there's a moose in the background of one of my wedding pictures) You can bet we watch the health of the snowpack every winter...

http://ext.xoopit.com/2/zq2wtqtdZ0etM7pvXINotkkLECXtG4KHi/rmm.contents.raw?sigKey=auy6rtw&cd=a&sig=5daa914e620e3bca41f386d00a223638

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmpQrKVoNBw/TLxpAR9Vq4I/AAAAAAAABe4/Txg_GJhW8YE/s1600/Blog_58_Photos_0009.jpg

freein05
4-20-11, 7:53pm
Spartana. Our water is so heavily chlorinated we use a filter to take it out. We live in an area that is 80 to 90% weekend and vacation homes and I think the water company has a hard time adjusting the amount of chlorine to fit the number of people using water on any given day.

Spartana
4-21-11, 12:12pm
Spartana. Our water is so heavily chlorinated we use a filter to take it out. We live in an area that is 80 to 90% weekend and vacation homes and I think the water company has a hard time adjusting the amount of chlorine to fit the number of people using water on any given day.

Even the big water districts have this problem. They use chloramines and then its tested everyday and suppose to be reduced to zero (after killing off everything) but sometimes a trace amount remains - which is safe but not tasty!

Gardenarian
4-21-11, 6:35pm
Spartana - I am also in California. I didn't realize our standards differed from other states. I hate drinking water that I know will kill fish, and has to be treated before I can put it in my small pond (and dd's hermit crab has to have bottled water!) There is just something nasty about drinking water that could be used as a fish-a -cide. :(

jp1
4-21-11, 10:11pm
Bae.......you big showoff!! :~) I'm so envious.
Our water comes from an aquifer that's about 65' down. Hopefully, its not filled with farm chemicals. Its very high in iron and other minerals. We use an iron filter, but alot still gets through.
The aquifer has alot of sand, and that means we go through a fair number of pumps and pressure tanks.

Decades ago my long deceased grandparents lived on a very rural farm in SW Missouri and got their water from a well that provided the most, ummmmm, flavorful water I think (hope) I will ever taste. We would go to visit for spring break every year. The last year before they joined the county water system the water table had fallen to the point that the water coming out of the taps was more opaque than an orange version of merlot, due to all the iron in the water. Mom, already not a fan of their water, had brought enough jugs of bottled water to drink for the visit but bath time was entertaining to say the least.

jp1
4-21-11, 10:16pm
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, this is where our water comes from. I wish it didn't have to be chlorinated but unlike others here who complain about it, my palate must not be too sensitive (or maybe it's just that my entire life it's all I've known) but I think it tastes just fine.

http://sfwater.org/msc_main.cfm/MC_ID/13/MSC_ID/165

loosechickens
4-22-11, 12:08am
Since we're talking about all the water being chlorinated, I still remember the moment, years ago, when a Mexican friend who had spent time in the U.S. was musing and said to me....."you know, one of the strangest things I found when I went to the United States is that you use maybe a hundred gallons of water, and you only use one or two of them for drinking, but your country puts chlorine in the whole hundred gallons, even if you are just going to flush the toilet with it. You know, chlorine is really powerful, and not really good for the environment. Why don't you just put chlorine in the water you are going to drink and leave the rest alone?" And I really didn't have a good answer.

Because, truly, we'd be better off to purify drinking water and leave the rest of it alone. It's not good for plants, not good for the environment, and unchlorinated water is just fine for other purposes. It really made me think.

Not necessarily whether or not you agree with her thoughts, but just the fact that I had never even questioned it (in the same way that I had never questioned always having a hot water tank keeping many gallons of hot water ready in case one should desire a hot shower at 4 a.m.) Always interesting to see how people from other cultures view something that you've always taken for granted and never questioned.

Because WE go place like Mexico and say stuff like, "ugh....you can't even drink the water out of the faucet", and here was someone coming from there to here and being amazed that we would chlorinate water that we are going to use to flush the toilet.

Just a thought that crossed my mind when the discussion turned to chlorination.......sorry......

Spartana
4-22-11, 12:03pm
Just a thought that crossed my mind when the discussion turned to chlorination.......sorry......

Well the chlorine (or chloramines) are added to all potable water to disinfect it and then that water "sits" for a bit (needs contact time to kill the bugs) and the chlorine is suppose to disapate to just above zero (trace amount only) before it goes out to the public. So it's safe for plants, humans and animals. It's constantly tested but may occasionally get higher than it should be ..... :-). It's more likely the mineral salts in the water (calicum, magnesium, etc..) that can't be taken out easily but aren't harmful to ingest that are causing damage to plants.

Editted to add: Most large water districts use other ways to decontaminate water like reverse osmosis, UV radition, etc.. The main reason they use chlorine/chloramines is because it's cheap and easy. And while they do it to protect the public drinking water supply from bacteriological contamination, they also make sure that the chlorine levels are pretty close to zero before sending it out to the public. Not just because it's toxic to humans, but because it's toxic to the bacteria used in most biological wastewater treatment plants that "eat" the solids. If the chlorine levels are even a tad too high, they will kill off all the bugs at the wastewater plant and render it completely useless. This is the same when the wastewater plant releases the treated water back into the environment (solids are handled differently and aren't released). Chlorine will kill off fish and harm other wildlife so it is nuetralized before going back into an ocean or other water way.

As far as why they treat ALL the potable water even if it's used for other purposes than drinking is to avoid bacteriological contamination too. Fruits and veggies watered with conaminated water could cause serious health threats (why many people won't buy produce from Mexico or other countries who don't sterilize their water first). Also who wants to shower or do laundry with contaminated water. And kids roll all over the place in parks and on green belts and in any watered surface - so they can also become ill if that water contains pathogens like e-coli amonst other even nastier things. Even reclaimed water (domestic wastewater that has been highly treated and that is used for golf courses and is not potable) has been chlorinated to kill off the bugs, and then de-chlorinated before being used for watering so it is safe for the environment.

Geeze, I know too much about poop!

loosechickens
4-22-11, 2:43pm
Those are interesting points, Spartana, and you obviously DO know a LOT about "poop", hahahaha.......

although, honestly, I think the concerns about all the cross contamination are a bit overblown, especially since living in a number of countries without potable water except for purified water for drinking, and not finding it a problem, since you can disinfect fruits and vegetables that you are going to eat raw, and foods that are cooked are not a problem.

For years, we have used waters from streams, ponds, etc., for laundry, bathing, etc., and unless one is literally washing in raw sewage, can't see that it's a problem.

Because there is one thing that does really bother me, and perhaps our over reliance on killing bacteria rather than learning how to live healthily despite it, is one thing you said, "and the chlorine is suppose to disapate to just above zero (trace amount only) before it goes out to the public. So it's safe for plants, humans and animals." Since our earth, itself, is a closed system, where exactly do people think this poisonous substance dissipates TO?

We keep pouring millions of tons of poisons into our atmosphere, our groundwater, on our soil, etc., yet somehow think that it all goes "away". Some does break down into "harmless" (so far as we know) substances, but I think kids have been rolling around in pastures and down hillsides for eons without worries about cross contamination, and it's gotten where the idea of chlorinating water that I'm going to use to flush the toilet seems as strange to me as it did to my Mexican friend when she visited the U.S.

But.....you clearly know a lot more about "poop" than me, so....... ;-)

Spartana
4-22-11, 9:19pm
Those are interesting points, Spartana, and you obviously DO know a LOT about "poop", hahahaha.......

although, honestly, I think the concerns about all the cross contamination are a bit overblown, especially since living in a number of countries without potable water except for purified water for drinking, and not finding it a problem, since you can disinfect fruits and vegetables that you are going to eat raw, and foods that are cooked are not a problem.

For years, we have used waters from streams, ponds, etc., for laundry, bathing, etc., and unless one is literally washing in raw sewage, can't see that it's a problem.

Because there is one thing that does really bother me, and perhaps our over reliance on killing bacteria rather than learning how to live healthily despite it, is one thing you said, "and the chlorine is suppose to disapate to just above zero (trace amount only) before it goes out to the public. So it's safe for plants, humans and animals." Since our earth, itself, is a closed system, where exactly do people think this poisonous substance dissipates TO?

We keep pouring millions of tons of poisons into our atmosphere, our groundwater, on our soil, etc., yet somehow think that it all goes "away". Some does break down into "harmless" (so far as we know) substances, but I think kids have been rolling around in pastures and down hillsides for eons without worries about cross contamination, and it's gotten where the idea of chlorinating water that I'm going to use to flush the toilet seems as strange to me as it did to my Mexican friend when she visited the U.S.

But.....you clearly know a lot more about "poop" than me, so....... ;-)


Oh i knows my poops that's fer sure. Now why is it I have trouble getting a date again :-)?

Well chlorine/Chloramines usually break down into non-toxic things - don't have the chemical compounds in from=nt of me being as I'm in my car, but it was water, hydrogen, carbon and some other stuff that is harmless. That's why you can chlorinate the heck out of a swimming pool one day and then it's gone the next and you have to do it all again. And then chemicals can be added to nuetralize chlorine (sodium thiosulfate is a common one) and those chemicals, after reacting with chlorine also break down into harmless chemical by products - h2o, hydrogen, etc.. and while I did industrial waste stuff for the water/wastewater district I worked for (it's a VERY dark and seedy underworld dealing with ndustrial waste polluters - i.e. big business - to say the least), I'm also WAY TOO familiar with the domestic water and wastewater side (i.e. household stuff).

Spartana
4-23-11, 10:45am
For years, we have used waters from streams, ponds, etc., for laundry, bathing, etc., and unless one is literally washing in raw sewage, can't see that it's a problem.



Battery ran out before I could finish last night (does anyone know if they make car chargers for laptops?)

Anyways... while I agree that we have an overblown fear of "bugs" in water and everything, I will say that in developing countries you are often using raw sewage to irrigate crops and provide drinking water - and are often bathing or doing laundry in it if you are using it directly from a waterway even if it LOOKS clean. Including industrial wastes from all sorts of places - medical wastes (including radioactive waste), manufacturing, agricultural, pesticides, fertilizers, prettyand much every chemical from arsenic to zinc, oil and grease from restaurants, etc... In developed countries all of those things are treated on site before they go into a sanitary sewer system or into a waterway. Farm John's hog rendering plant and snout sauage factory up stream from a public waterway (which is also used for agricultural irrigation for farmer Jims alphalfa farm) has to contain and treat any of it's waste by-products and manurer (and the water use in the processing) before it can be released. The solids are usually trucked off somewhere and the clean water can then be released. This is the same with all business in the USA that have manufacturing processes, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, research labs, gas stations, car washes, ... well you name it. It's all treated on the job site (or shipped to where it can be treated) before disposal by verying means. But in third world countries not only is much of the domestic sewage (i.e. household sewage) just sent directly into waterways untreated, so is all the industrial stuff. Even in the USA alot of that stuff gets into waterways and sewage systems (which aren't equipt to deal with industrial wastes) by illegal dumping or just negligence. I've personally tested most of the lakes, rivers, and oceans in SoCal on a weekly basis for everything from heavy metals to coliform bacteria and even our waterways aren't safe. And while most of that is from urban runoff (think about all the crap people put on their lawns and all those people who don't pick up their dog doo) you just never know! And even farmer johns hog plant can become overwhelmed in a heavy rain or flood and send all that good ole hog poop and hog parts into your local waterway where it is then used to water farmer Jims crops :-)!! Even wastewater treatment plants send out bacteria laden water after it's been treated - along with other things like hormones and other drugs that people take or dump down their sinks and toilets and can't be fully removed in treatment. So even our waterways, clean compared to most third world countries, can harbor a high level of pathogens on occasion. Heck, those large flocks of birds on the lake are pooping as we speak - as are the fish and those little kids playing in the river :-)! So you can get sick even here. And I believe that dysentery from untreated drinking water is the number one killer in third world countries.

loosechickens
4-23-11, 2:00pm
ARRGGHHH...Spartana....STOP.....I'm afraid to get out of bed, hahahaha.....

no kidding, thanks for all the good info...it's clear that you know your business, and surely all of that is true. I wish that there were a way to get people to really understand the "sh*t to hand to mouth" cycle with germs without getting to the point where they are wiping off every surface with antibacterial wipes......( I saw a piece online the other day about the dangers of trying on bathing suits for god's sake. they said not only wear underwear (duh), but that you should place a towel between the bathing suit and your underwear for protection from pathogens that might be on the suit from someone trying it on......), and we have swung so far in the other direction from the third world that we are in danger of poisoning ourselves from the chemicals that we are spraying everywhere and wiping on everthing, or having immune systems that because of that behavior, don't get exercised enough to be effective.......

thanks again for your thoughtful and really informative posts......I'm sure there are some dates that would be fascinated (might try conventions of sewage personnel?) ;-)

Spartana
4-23-11, 4:12pm
I'm sure there are some dates that would be fascinated (might try conventions of sewage personnel?) ;-)

A convention full of men in the sewage profession? Yep, I bet I could find a nice date there! Hmmm... hunky jocks and pretty cabana boys or stinky sewage guys??? What choices I have :-)!

Gardenarian
4-25-11, 3:28pm
Spartana - You mentioned that chloramines are safe for animals - but in fact water treated with chloramines kills off fish pretty quickly (as they take it in directly through their gills.) It has also been shown to harm amphibians and reptiles, and I've got quite a few salamanders and lizards in my yard. I'm also concerned because chloramines do not dissipate, and our water drains directly to SF bay.

Spartana
4-26-11, 10:33am
Spartana - You mentioned that chloramines are safe for animals - but in fact water treated with chloramines kills off fish pretty quickly (as they take it in directly through their gills.) It has also been shown to harm amphibians and reptiles, and I've got quite a few salamanders and lizards in my yard. I'm also concerned because chloramines do not dissipate, and our water drains directly to SF bay.

Yes you're right. What I meant is that before any water is sent out to the public, any chlorine or chloramines have been neutralized (for chloramines) or disapated (for chlorine) and "SHOULD" have only very trace amount levels (usually in the 0.05 to 0.5 parts per million range) when you get it at your tap so that it's not harmful. This is something that is tested continually at water plants and thru out the system. BUT, depending on where you live, other things like a high mineral content (especially in SoCal and the Southwest) can be very hard on plants and some animals like fish who need a speciific environments. As far as the lawn water draining into the storm drains and out into SF Bay, you have to remember that there are so many other toxic things like pesticides, herbacides, fertilizers, oil from the streets, tons of dirt, animal waste, etc.. that go down that same storm drain - often times with huge volumes of rain water - that the trace amount of chloramimes will have basicly no impact at all in comparision. All that rain water will greatly diluted any that may be left too. And people who have fish tanks at home or medical issues that require zero chloramines can treat their tap water to remove that trace amount left in their water.

bae
8-31-15, 1:58pm
Bump

Ultralight
8-31-15, 2:15pm
Those pics are amazing! You truly do live in a paradise. Wow! Just... wow. I am so jealous. haha

Ultralight
8-31-15, 2:17pm
My water comes mostly from Alum Creek Reservoir. It is nice and all, but it ain't like that spread you're drinking from out there, bae!

JaneV2.0
8-31-15, 2:49pm
I'm hoping Lake Washington doesn't dry up anytime soon. It's within easy walking distance, but the trek back would be uphill. Carrying water. rrrrr

rosarugosa
8-31-15, 8:32pm
We get our water from the Quabbin Reservoir. It has a rather haunted history, since a few small towns were eradicated to create it, but it's a magnificent place.

http://www.foquabbin.org/

rosarugosa
9-19-15, 7:40am
I finally have a good picture of where my water comes from. I was out there this week and took this from the old stone fire tower:

http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1523&d=1442662460