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- Use of Springs for Drinking Water
- Types of wells and water supply systems and what to watch out for with each
This article describes Use of Springs for Drinking Water. We provide advice about what to do when things go wrong.
Readers of this document should also see
Water Tank Types and before assuming that a water problem is due to the
well itself, see
Water pump and pressure tank repair diagnosis & cost an specific case which offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost.
© 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Springs as a Water Supply
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Open water springs, and similar containers have been used for centuries to
supply water to buildings.
If the water tank is located higher than the building it serves
the water supply can be fed by gravity.
If the open water tank is in the building or below it
the water may be moved to the point of use by a hand pump or an electrical pump.
In the page top photograph my client and I had found the water supply for his home: a spring-fed
in-ground cistern located uphill from the house and fed to the house by gravity.
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What's Wrong Using a Spring to Supply Drinking Water to a Building?
Spring water can be delicious and clean if it is in a protected location. But most residential springs serving homes are not so carefully designed.
Springs and cisterns that are open to groundwater runoff like these are unlikely to
provide sanitary drinking water since they are easily contaminated by surface runoff. Where building security and personal security are a special concern, the water source needs to be protected from tampering; in these cases a spring could be deliberately contaminated or poisoned.
In the pictures of springs used as a home water supply shown above, the cover is unsafe or missing completely, and the springs remain vulnerable to surface contaminants such as animal waste, pesticides, fertilizers, or other surface chemicals. Even if a water spring passes a bacterial test we have these remaining concerns:
- Other chemicals or contaminants may be present
- The spring is so easily contaminated from surface water that we can't be sure that it will remain as a sanitary water source.
Water Tank Maintenance & Repair Chapter Index
Use links just below or at the left of each of the pages at our website to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
PLUMBING TOPICS
OIL TANKS
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
WATER PRESSURE REPAIR GUIDE & COSTS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL ADJUSTMENT
WATER PUMP PRESSURE CONTROL REPAIR
WATER PUMPS & TANKS & WELLS
WATER PUMP CONTROLS & SWITCHES
PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP & TANK SAFETY
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER TANK AIR, HOW TO ADD
WATER TANK REPLACEMENT
WATER TANK PRESSURE CALCULATIONS
WATER TANK SIZE & VOLUME
WATER TANKS HOW THEY WORK
WATER TESTING
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
Basement Wells
Cisterns
Drilled Wells - steel casings
Drilled Well with Submersible Pump
Shallow Well with One Line Jet Pump
Well with Two Line Jet Pump
Driven Point Wells
How Much Water is In the Well?
How to Test Well Water Quantity
Do Your Own Well Yield Test
How Water Flow & Pressure Behave
Reasonable Water Flow Rate
Step by Step Well Yield Test
How to Calculate Well Yield if Run Out of Water
Fixing Inadequate Water Pressure /Quantity
How to Conduct a True Well Flow Test
Visual Clues of Limited Well Capacity
Faucet Flow Rate is Inaccurate Test
How to Get More Water From a Well
Hand Dug Wells
Springs as Water Supply
Well Pits
WATER PRESSURE LOSS
WATER TANK TYPES
WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES
WELL LIFE EXPECTANCY
WELL PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WELL PUMP PRIMING GUIDE
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