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That water seems very unsafe!
Who was the genius who said cistern water is perfectly safe to drink with a filter?
I bet they have a filter on that system. Oh yeah, there is a picture of it. Filters rarely are small enough to take out small bacteria.
Like I said before ignorance can be bliss but there are rinking water issues on STT an STJ. I drink bottled water. I have broke out in rashes in a few instances also.
People need to realize how important quality drinking water is!
I do have a degree in chemistry with an emphasis in water chemistry. I would love to discuss why water in a cistern is unsafe for drinking in the short term as well as long term, especially if it is not tested very aggressively.
Now, this is an issue that I really think needs to be discussed much more than it has been. It is a problem in the states.
On our las ttrip I met a lady who was a fairly new resident. She and her hubby had a 5 yr old daughter who kept getting sick. Each time she would take the daughter to the docs, they couldn;t figure out what was going on. Finally, the diagnosed a tapeworm in the daughter. The doctor prescribed meds to clear it up. A few moneth later, the daughter had another tapeworm...more meds, clear again.Several months later, same problem. This time the doc refused to prescribe meds until the family had the cistern checked. Sure enough, the bacteria levels were a problem. She said bats flew out of the cistern when the lid was slid away....and frogs were living inside. She had to pay a fortune to have it cleaned and properly sealed. I think she said they had a purifier on it, but it only helped a little.
When we first arrived on STT a couple of weeks ago, the water in our guest house had a sulfur smell to it. It hadn't been used in a while, except by the cleaning lady who came in just before we arrived. It took a couple of days of use before it smelled clean. We never drank it. But, we did make ice cubes with it and brush teeth, wash fruits and veggies, etc.
