permaculture

[Marimike6@cs.com]

Dear everyone reading this---

I'm late as usual catching up on my permaculture topics, but the subject earlier this month was whether to trust the contents of your rain barrel, after the rain has washed off your roof.

Whether you get your drinking/cooking water from the well, the rain barrel or out of the creek, you should have it analyzed. The $25-35 you give the lab is well worth it for their evaluation of heavy metals, fecal matter and coliforms. The same is true for the water you use irrigating the veggie garden.

And if you've designed some sort of home treatment system for conversion of your black- and grey-water into crop-ready or potable water, how are you going to assign a passing grade to your efforts unless you know what you've ended up with?

Look in the yellow pages or call your local ag extension to find out who is testing water in your neighborhood. Be advised that if you call the local well service you will be in for a sales pitch rather than an independent evaluation.

Mike Elvin
Fuquay-Varina, NC

--- Begin Message ---

• From: Mark <mpludwig@facstaff.wisc.edu>
• To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
• Subject: Re: [permaculture] Black Locusts, more....
• Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2002 10:27:01 -0500

At 11:37 PM 10/3/02 -0700, you wrote:

Lastly, I'm not so sure I'd want to drink rainwater collected from rooves in
urban areas. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a bit of airborne
pollution around urban centers that would fall as rain?

Cheers,
BK

You're only wrong in that it's hardly just an urban phenomena. There are significant toxics in most rain water, my advise is to allow the first of the rain to wash the roof off and drink the later stuff. Eat well and welcome the challenge of a bit o poison, can't really avoid it any how....
M


Mark P. Ludwig
Poultry Research Lab
University of Wisconsin -Madison
608-262-1730 WK
608-846-7125 HM

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