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  • Results 1 to 16 of 16

    Thread: Reclaimed water safe?

    1. #1
      jimfish98's Avatar
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      Reclaimed water safe?

      Anyone using reclaimed water for their pond? Looking at a house where I cannot second meter water due to reclaimed water being available.



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      I think to make it safe you are gona need some kind of really good filter to get all the nasties out maybe even RO water but im not sure if you can use that to fill a pond with no ill affects when I do saltwater tanks we use RO. maybe even a good charcoal filter. where is the water coming from if its rain I think with the right filter it would be fine but the get more opinions than mine one of the health experts.
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    3. #3
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      Quote Originally Posted by KoiKid55 View Post
      I think to make it safe you are gona need some kind of really good filter to get all the nasties out maybe even RO water but im not sure if you can use that to fill a pond with no ill affects when I do saltwater tanks we use RO. maybe even a good charcoal filter. where is the water coming from if its rain I think with the right filter it would be fine but the get more opinions than mine one of the health experts.
      Water is mechanically filtered and heavily chlorinated to make it safe for toilets, irritations, decorative features, etc. It is crystal clear and just not fully treatable for drinking. I am thinking it's fairly safe, but should probably use higher amounts of dechlor to bring levels down. Per the city site it is safe for decorative ponds and run off is no problem for natural water ways it hits.



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      Contact the water authority and see what the reclaimed water is. There is one town, I saw recently, that will be recycling the sanitary sewer water for drinking water. Even in the early 1950's or before, Grand Canyon had separate water lines that went to the toilets for flushing, yard spigots for watering and car washing, from the regular water lines that went to the sinks, and tubs. They had to bring the water up from the Colorado River a mile down, so recycled for non sanitary uses. In the 60's the sewage treatment plant in DC was demonstrating the level of cleanliness of the waste water by having one of the staff drink a glass. So it may be safe, but just not politically acceptable to put through peoples drinking water supply.
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    5. #5
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      I will have to contact the city if there is time, who knows how long we have to put in an offer if we go that route. I have read through and it is treated to be free of all contaminations. Virus and bacteria free. It does not remove the nitrogen that is beneficial for the lawns it services, nor reduce the salt levels. Those are the only two issues preventing from being drinkable per their reports. I will see if they have any tests on it, none are reported to the public like the drinking water.

      Still curious if anyone here actually uses it.



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      I would be cautious of it without knowing exactly how and what they use to reclaim it. I would be more worried about the chemicals they use to get it to that point of sanitation - most likely chloramine and chlorine.

      What does "second meter water" mean? I'm guessing it has something to do with outside water as opposed to inside water? the city itself should have their water quality report online, on their city's website (if they have one).







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      Second meter is when you have two meters for city water. One is house use and gets sewage charges. The second is hose and irrigation were you are not charged sewage. You cannot get second metered if there is reclaimed water since it serves as irrigation water.



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      We gets charged sewerage for all.







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      It's a secondary water supply actually. I have been planning on getting a plumber to do another line for the water company to put a submeter which takes out the sewer cost, but can be expensive. Also can rent a fire hydrant meter which doesn't add sewage cost but pay rental fees for the meter.

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      I've never seen a system like that around here but I do go through a lot of water every day and
      have thought of trying to regenerate at least some of the pond waste water and I wonder if something
      like this could be done before using the reclaimed water to be safe...

      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...ter-regenerate

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      When we moved here (Winter Springs) I thought reclaimed water for irrigation sounded like a great idea. Then I read that it was not for use on food crops, and that was what I wanted to water. I dropped the idea even before I walked around the neighborhood on watering day and smelled the stuff. Ewww.

      The quality will differ with the city, I assume. If they don't remove the nitrogen that fertilizes lawns (nitrate), it's important to check that value.

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      Jim, I have use reclaimed water for the last 16 years. It comes out a little green, has acceptable nitrates, and nothing else. I even had a Grand Champion B, after two years of growth in the pond. I have had good luck getting 30"+ out of 50% of the fish I raised in the pond. Even the Ochiba that you like has now hit 30".
      I have preached it's benifits, but get a negative response. But at $1.25 per thousand gallons, I change 40 % per week, at less than $20.00.

    13. #13
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      Quote Originally Posted by shakaho View Post
      When we moved here (Winter Springs) I thought reclaimed water for irrigation sounded like a great idea. Then I read that it was not for use on food crops, and that was what I wanted to water. I dropped the idea even before I walked around the neighborhood on watering day and smelled the stuff. Ewww.

      The quality will differ with the city, I assume. If they don't remove the nitrogen that fertilizes lawns (nitrate), it's important to check that value.
      If you have a stink, are you sure it's not well water? Wells here get the sulfur smell and orange staining. We were actually looking in Winter Springs Village in the Meritage Community.



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    14. #14
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      Quote Originally Posted by creekds View Post
      Jim, I have use reclaimed water for the last 16 years. It comes out a little green, has acceptable nitrates, and nothing else. I even had a Grand Champion B, after two years of growth in the pond. I have had good luck getting 30"+ out of 50% of the fish I raised in the pond. Even the Ochiba that you like has now hit 30".
      I have preached it's benifits, but get a negative response. But at $1.25 per thousand gallons, I change 40 % per week, at less than $20.00.

      I knew you were on it and that's part of what gives me hope.



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      I worked in FL a while back on estuary restoration and reclaimed water was one of our ways to get waste water discharge out of the bay. There various municipalities each had their own treatment level. Some were AWT (advanced wastewater) and some were only secondary. The reason the type of treatment matters is that is greatly impacts the amount of nitrogen left behind in the wastewater. I would definately find out what level is in your reclaimed water before expecting to rely on it for koi.

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      Quote Originally Posted by jimfish98 View Post
      Water is mechanically filtered and heavily chlorinated to make it safe for toilets, irritations, decorative features, etc. It is crystal clear and just not fully treatable for drinking. I am thinking it's fairly safe, but should probably use higher amounts of dechlor to bring levels down. Per the city site it is safe for decorative ponds and run off is no problem for natural water ways it hits.
      I get what your saying now by reclaimed water I thought you meant like rain water now I see what your saying
      Well I messed that one up
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