We have a 20,000 litre rainwater tank that serves our house for drinking and other water. Since it was last filled by tanker at the start of November 2023 we've had only about 175 mm rain (6.9") adding ~11,000 litres. That's just not enough, so today the tanker delivered another 12,000 litres.
Mike Malone I'm curious about how the water is treated for drinking and household use. Rainwater that is.
Miraz Jordan @malonemade A couple of years ago, after a tank full of water went 'bad' in spite of various pour-in treatments, we had the tank cleaned and refilled, the gutter vacuumed (we can't reach to clean it properly) and had a UV filtration system installed. We also have a first-flush diverter. That's a 60 litre tank that can fill with the first flush of any rainfall. Then a ball rises to block the pipe and the rest of the water goes straight into the main tank. The diverter tank drips empty or sometimes I empty it and clean the filter by hand.
Mike Malone thanks for info. We are also rainwater harvesters. We're on the east side of the Big of Hawai'i so getting sufficent rainfall is rarely an issue. Our tank is 10,000 gallons. We have a first flush as well. We treat our tank monthly with a small amount of bleach (1ppm) for disinefction and add minerals to keep the pH level in 6.5-7.5 range.
Miraz Jordan @malonemade Ah. Good to hear you get enough rain. In winter we're fine, but this summer has been dry. The UV filter is worth a look. Water goes through two filters — one takes out larger material and the next removes finer stuff, then the water passes through a UV lamp that disinfects anything remaining. Once a year I have to replace filters and lamp. miraz.me/2023/12/1...
Mike Malone We also have two filters in our system. A 20 micron polyspun sediment filter and a 5 micron carbon block filter. For disinfection we use Clairify Platinum. The Clairify Platinum doesn't require power is good for 200,000 gallons of use. clairify-quantum-disinfection.eu/products/...