You can buy small packets of chlorine powder - available everywhere - and dose the tanks every month or so; that'll help keep the micro-organisms at bay. If you're going to store rainwater run-off - from the roofs - you should really store it separately and only use for flushing toilets or washing cars etc., and not mix it with well water. The reason being that rain water often contains pollutants which could be toxic and you really shouldn't use it for washing, drinking or cooking.
Yes I have. I had well-drillers on my land for the best part of five months. If they hit rock, they have to punch through it which slows the operation considerably. We encountered several layers of lava and from the depth of the shallowest, a geologist, from the Ateneo, told us that it was a minor eruption that occurred some 800 years ago.
Didn't know that about rainwater, I assumed as we're in the province and its generally an onshore wind the water has basically come from over the pacific and would be fairly clear. I was looking at using it for washing and cooking.
Can You Drink Rain Water? http://chemistry.about.com/od/waterchemistry/fl/Can-You-Drink-Rain-Water.htm
A word of caution for those close to the coast.....I first came across this in Tripoli, Libya where their bottled drinks frequently had a salty taste! Yuk! "Saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, which can lead to contamination of drinking water sources and other consequences. Saltwater intrusion occurs naturally to some degree in most coastalaquifers, owing to the hydraulic connection between groundwater and seawater. Because saltwater has a higher mineral content than freshwater, it is denser and has a higher water pressure. As a result, saltwater can push inland beneath the freshwater. Certain human activities, especially groundwater pumping from coastal freshwater wells, have increased saltwater intrusion in many coastal areas. " From Wikipedia
Water from a well is not a given. For there to be water in any well then the well must penetrate the water table and have both porosity and permeability (ie void spaces in the rock and the means for it to flow out). As the substrate can vary enormously, over a distance, then it simply just depends..... as to whether there is water beneath. Obviously if there is proven water in the area then chances are increased.
There is a shallow well already on the farm but I want to build a new proper one on the other side of the hill I think. The present well is quite cloudy I think mainly due to it being open at ground level. I no way do we want to drink the well water but if its clean enough to use it for washing, toilets and if possible cooking.
Yes. The geology can change over a short distance. So it may be a different picture, the other side of the hill...
