THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK! * CISTERNS ARE AN "OPEN WATER SYSTEM" SUBJECT TO CONTAMINATION. * CISTERN WATER CANNOT BE “GUARANTEED” TO BE A SAFE SOURCE OF POTABLE DRINKING WATER. * CISTERNS ARE APPROPRIATE FOR SECONDARY WATER USES SUCH AS WASHING CARS, WATERING PLANTS AND LAWNS, AND FLUSHING TOILETS.
USEPA 2002: “Cistern water is not for usage as drinking water”.
USEPA 2006: "Water obtained from a cistern is only for nonpotable uses, such as landscape watering. In other words: Do not drink it!"
FDEP: “A storm water catchment system for non-potable uses such as water lawns, flushing toilets, and washing cars” .
FKAA’s 2008: Rainbarrel Handbook, “The quality of the water coming from your roof is great for plants.. but it is not fit for human consumption”.
CDC: “Private wells and cisterns pose the greatest public health risk.”All cistern disinfection methods listed by the CDC failed to produce safe drinking water.
CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL:Cistern Disinfection Methods
Most bacteria and viruses will not be removed by filters
Microfilters may not remove viruses, especially from clear waters
Most carbon block filters do not remove pathogens
Can act as a growth medium for micro-organisms
Bacteria can grow in these systems contaminating the drinking-water
[1]A one-year sampling period, Crabtree et al, found that 26% of samples from cisterns were positive for Giardia cysts.
Water is a Human Right, not a Commodity "The human right to drinking water is fundamental to life and health. Sufficient and safe drinking water is a precondition for the realization of human rights." — United Nations 'General Comment' on the Right to Water.
On November 27, 2002, water was formally recognized as a human right for the first time when the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted the ‘General Comment’ on the right to water, and described the State’s legal responsibility in fulfilling that right. For the first time water is explicitly recognized as a fundamental human right and the 145 countries which have ratified the International CESCR will now be compelled to progressively ensure that everyone has access to safe and secure drinking water, equitably without discrimination.
WATER IS A HUMAN RIGHT: The right to water is common to all beings and this right is a gift of creation, it is a natural right, a birth right. Common rights go hand in hand with common responsibility -- a common responsibility to conserve water, use it sustainably, and share it equitably. (U.N.)
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