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Did
you know?
Reverse osmosis is the finest water filtration method known. This process will
allow the removal of particles as small as ions from a solution. It is used
to purify water and remove salts and other impurities in order to improve the
color, taste or properties of the fluid. R.O. uses a membrane that is semi-permeable,
allowing the fluid that is being purified to pass through it, while rejecting
other ions and contaminants from passing.
This technology uses a process
known as crossflow to allow the r.o. membrane to continually clean itself. This
is the reason of why an r.o. element can last many years before clogging or
need replacement. This
water purification process requires a driving force to push the fluid through
the membrane, and the most common force is household water pressure or pressure
from a booster pump. The higher the pressure, the larger the driving force and
efficiency.
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9. Setting up your own well
If you are building a home, one of the first things you will need
to consider is drilling your own well and planning your water supply.
And, on your piece of land, that source could be anywhere- even where
you wanted that two-car garage!
The first thing you need to do in this process is check with your
local municipality or contractor to see it they require a permit for drilling
a well. Being legal is important. The next step is to drill holes to
find the best source, examining the ground basically for quantity and
quality of water. Some things to look out for that cause low-yielding
wells include a low natural or seasonal water table, interference with
other wells (for example, in a subdivision) as well as geologic conditions. It is also recommended that a well be built first, prior to construction. This way, if there is a problem and a well needs to be rebuilt, there
is still land available. Would you rather have a house built and all
of a sudden- no water source available because it's underneath the bedroom? This also explains why sometimes you will see lots for sale with wells
already built. There are several types of wells:
Drilled wells, while can be more than 1000-feet deep, are constructed
by either cable tool or rotary-drilling machines. They penetrate unconsolidated
material and require installation of casing and a screen to prevent inflow
of sediment and collapse. The space around this casing must be sealed
with grouting material to prevent contamination by water draining from
the surface downward around the outside of the casing. Methods of drilling
wells include air rotary, bucket auger, cable tool, down-the-hole and
reverse circulation. Another type of well -- and an economic one at that--is the driven well, constructed by driving a small-diameter pipe into
shallow water-bearing sand or gravel. A screened well point is attached
to the bottom of the casing before driving. These wells are relatively
simple to construct, but keep in mind that they can tap only shallow water
and are easily contaminated since they are not sealed with grouting material.
Hand-driven wells usually are only around 30 feet deep; machine-driven
wells can be 50 feet deep or more. A third type of well is the dug well,
historically excavated by hand shovel to below the water table until incoming
water exceeded the digger's bailing rate. These wells were lined with
stone, brick, tile or other material to prevent collapse, and then covered
with a cap of wood, stone or concrete tile. Because of the type of construction,
bored wells can go deeper beneath the water table than can hand-dug wells.
There can either be hand-dug or machine-bored. There wells, since they
are shallow and lack grouting, are easily contaminated and they can also
go dry during periods of drought.
There are three main components to most wells: casing, cap and
screen. In a drilled well, the casing is a tubular structure that keeps
the contaminants from getting into the water supply. The most common
materials for this are carbon steel, stainless steel and most prevalent,
plastic. Whiles plastic is more cheaper, more lightweight and more resistant
to corrosion than steel, steel is stronger and more heat resistant. Well
caps, which fit atop the casing, keep out debris, insects and other things
we don't want in our water supply. They are usually aluminum on thermoplastic
and should be placed six to eight inches above the ground. Finally, well
screens prevent excess sediments from getting into the water supply.
The average cost of a well is $4500, but will vary depending upon
local geologic and market conditions. While some wells are more prone
to contamination than others, once dug and house is built and plumbing
done- top it off with a water filter to ensure the utmost in safe drinking
water!
Healthy and Convenient!
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