Water Wells and Other Wise Uses of Water by Hardboss, PE.

The ancient civilizations made clever filtration devices. They took huge circular pottery rings with tiny holes in the bottoms and placed them in a cone-shaped depressions, and sealed the bottom of the ring to retain the water collected. They filled the outer area with sand and let rain filter through the sand into the reservoir, then pulled their water up in a bucket from the well they created with the circular ring.  This was adequate to disinfect the water but the knowledge fell into desuetude and was lost.  It makes one wonder how they could lose such a knowledge, but then they lost the ability to make glass for centuries.  In King Tut’s time glass was a big deal.
Europe didn’t have the knowledge to create a clean water supply so they drank no water. Instead they drank thin beer and wine which was safe to drink. While this is a partial solution, who can justify showering in Bud Light?

We could use the ancient filtration  method today if we but were innovative enough to learn from the past.  We have the technology to make huge culvert pipes for huge wells for a community and they could be drilled to make the necessary inlets for water. Smaller pipes can be used for individual wells in the yard with a wishing well over it.  Pretty and functional at the same time. And if there is a shortage of sand, New Mexico can help out: we have it by the deserts full.

A cone shaped depression can’t be that difficult with modern digging machinery.  Voila!  We have a well that filters water enough to drink.  And with modern pumps, retrieving the water for drinking or watering the grounds isn’t difficult.  They can be run off wind power.  A pole with a large fan, a generator and battery found in RV supply places can make electricity, all you do-it-yourself types.

Think of the millions of people who have no clean water  in parts of Mexico, Africa, or Albuquerque in under twenty-nine years.  Water could be managed for people, animals and plant life with no ill effects on the ecology.

Further, here is an idea that would work in humid states.  Make copper piles cold and
collect the condensation of water. Purify it, maybe ozone treat it for better taste and cleanliness, and drink up. Clean rooms with chilled pipes could be manufacturing plants in states with high humidity such as all the gulf states, Michigan, Wisconsin  and all states  surrounding the lakes and the coastal states.  Get innovative for our future water supply now and cash in.

And more thoughts about water supplies.  Trap snow and melt it to feed your personal well using the ancient well model.  Filter and disinfect and bottle it. Maybe the Brita people could help with industrial filters for home and business use. There would be a market for huge filters for the wells when a larger section of the population gets hold of the idea.

The snow melt concept could be used in a city where loaders haul off snow and dump it into huge man-made well systems. Use sand to make traction and not salt on the roads to make the snow better to use. When it melts, the snow will create water to be filtered by the sand and provide decent water. If it needs amending, it can be done just as treated water does in the waste treatment plants around the cities of America.

Bring back rain barrels to water the garden and lawn. A barrel with a cover to keep debris out and a spigot at the bottom that fits a standard hose could be placed a foot off the ground to let gravity feed the water to the grounds.
Water that melts into the yard is fine where it is as it replenishes the aquifer and lawns, gardens and flower beds. Distill used water, rain or reclaimed water or snow for use by humans.  The  future of the planet depends more on water than even oil so get thinking while we still have enough resources to work with.

With that in mind, go really green by installing solar water heaters that gravity feed with a petcock (real word, honest,), for showers/tubs/sinks.  Now hook up “rain barrels,” large catch basins actually with screen covers,  to feed into the solar heaters, along with your conventional source of water.   Include an inline filter for cheap if you like, and reclaim that water from the heavens.

Some municipalities are cool about using gray water for irrigation of residential properties. Individual can drain a washing machine into a drainage system for the lawn or garden. We rerouted out washer to irrigate the vegetable garden.  So far, so good. The soap seems to be  good fertilizer and the plants like warmer water. We also wash in cold water but the house temperature is warmer than the ground water.

Upstairs showers or washers are easy enough to pipe off.  Ground level plumbing might require a pump to move water.  If the water were to be stored to a reservoir to where it needs to go until used, a small pump is a cheap enough investment with water prices going us as demand grows. .  A decent plumber ought to be able to help if you can’t get the hang of it by yourself.  I do believe; however, that a sump pump ought to be able to move water well enough to do the job.

Citizens still need to check local building codes, perhaps petition for special-use permit, if need be. Get the codes changed in town hall meetings, City Council, whatever your locale has for government. Make the world a better, smarter place one piece of real estate or one municipality at a time. All problems are a pie chart of solutions: Slice off a piece until there is no problem left.  That last statement is the Wisdom of the Day, so remember it

If you are serious about being green and doing your part to make the planet’s humans more efficient about managing our water, think about how to make laundry facilities, more green and maybe make a buck or two off the suggestion.  They use huge amounts of water, car washes too.  How can we reclaim and reuse that water?  I bet tanks like gas stations have could be used and the water pumped out for irrigation services in cities.  This would take the pinch off the use of fresh water that the city charges for and even penalizes us for over using.
Get the municipality you live in to require new water users in such industries as a car wash or laundromat to install such tanks for holding the water for such use.  They ought to get a rebate for the water saved with every tanker full they sell back to the city or make it pay as they sell gallons to private individuals for irrigation as a service.  Here is new industry for the private sector; maybe your business? Let’s see corporations ship this concern to the pacific rim!

Attrition eventually makes the area more efficient and conservationist forever.   Retrofitting could be done and the city ought to give tax breaks to individuals who make their businesses water efficient.  Restaurants, gyms with shower facilities, anyone who uses lots of clean water can qualify to be smart.  Suggest it locally.