Water

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I live in walking distance of the Chattahoochee river a few miles below the dam. This water is ice cold having been released from the bottom of the lake. How safe is it to use this water or for what purposes would you use this water?

-- Grady D. Bennett (bennett@peachnet.com), July 15, 1999

Answers

Greetings Grady!

Even though the water is very cold, there are micro-organisms that survive at great depths! I would still utilize some form of water purification method if water was intended for human consumption.

Also sounds like ya got a great resource for fresh fish!

Take care!

-- Ex-Marine (Digging In@Home.com), July 15, 1999.


Too bad the water comes from the bottom. I used to live near a dam where the water - and fish - fell from the top. The fish were so stunned by the fall that you could just grab them out of the creek below the dam.

-- biker (y2kbiker@worldnet.att.net), July 15, 1999.

You can of course use it for flusing toilets as is, and bacterial contamination can be handeled with boiling (5 mins.) or chlorine addition (using bleach --- 4 or 5 drops per gallon).

BUT I would check out what chemicals/metals/insecticides are in the water --- you can't just "filter" them out (at least not easily), it needs serious treatment. Yor State Health agency or County Health Dept. would know. Many rivers are badly contaminated, I don't know about the Chattahoochee.

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), July 15, 1999.


Grady, I too live near the Chattahoochee. I'd use the water as is for flushing toilets, but would purify it for drinking and cooking. I believe the Chattahoochee is fairly polluted; don't take any chances with your health and that of your family.

-- Jill (jdance@mindspring.com), July 15, 1999.

West Point Lake, near Lagrange, GA, on the Chattahoochee is polluted badly enough that fish caught there are not safe to eat. Atlanta is the major source of pollution in the Chattahoochee, but there are plenty of others along its course.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), July 17, 1999.


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