Lake water supply

[winterh]

I am looking at a nice waterfront home that gets its water from the lake. I have never had this situation but I understand it is quite common. What are the pros and cons of a setup like this. Can you drink it with a filter system? Can you use it year round? Never had to drill a well before. What would that cost?

[Bear Islander]

Some waterfront home owners drink the water right from the lake. However the bacteria content can be high especially in the late summer when the water is warm and human contact is high. I would not drink unfiltered lake water.

Most people filter it in some way. The filter should be one that will filter down to about 1 micron and or use ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. Filters like this cost hundreds of dollars and require regular maintenance, but I would not be without one.

Drilling a well is very expensive.

[Grant]

Our family house (lakefront, not island) got its water from the lake for the entire 67 years we were there. My grandfather had a well dug (not drilled) but the water reportedly had an awful taste. As a kid, I remember drinking the lake water all the time -- without thinking twice. But that was a long time ago, and water quality has declined drastically since then. In later years, we went to bottled water for drinking, but still did everything else with lake water. I would get a cooler with the 5-gal bottles. Better safe than hit with giardiasis.

BTW -- the folks who purchased our place last fall have since drilled a well.

[Happy Gourmand]

I remember back in the 50's when most lakefront cottages ( that's what they were back then) drew and drank the water directly from the lake. And some of us are still alive!!!
I don't think many do that these days though. Most drink water direct from their unfiltered, untested wells. HMMMM... imagine that!!!

[Grant]

Originally Posted by The Phantom Gourmand

I remember back in the 50's when most lakefront cottages ( that's what they were back then) drew and drank the water directly from the lake. And some of us are still alive!!!
I don't think many do that these days though. Most drink water direct from their unfiltered, untested wells. HMMMM... imagine that!!!

Come to think of it, I believe all the houses surrounding ours also had lake-supplied water. A few have drilled wells in recent years, but "back in the day," they all had the telltale water lines.

[Slickcraft]

On the island: sediment filter, carbon filter and then a UV sanitizer. Water tested every year, never a problem.

[fatlazyless]

For about twelve dollars, Walmart sells a 4.5-gallon, bright blue, water container with a large carry handle that has a spigot designed within the large cap, and the Gilford-Hannaford has a water vending machine that sells town water for 25-cents/gal which the vending machine supposedly further treats by passing it thru a reverse osmosis process. 4.5-gal of water weighs about 36-lbs.

One can get a very bad case of diarrhea by drinking the lake water............arrrrgggghhhhhh.........and that is why the pirates of old......always used to say........arrrrrggggggghhhhhhh.........and why they preferred to drink ale or rum .......... arrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

[BroadHopper]

There are some springs around the lake where you can get water for free. Notably the Alton water trough off Rte 11. There is one in Gilford but it is a hike into the woods. I remember one off of Rte 109 near the Bald Peak Club. I can't recall exactly where it is.

The family been drinking the water from The Broads since 1892. WE do have a pipe into deep water, I say 60'. Lately we have been using an osmosis filter with UV light before drinking. Everything else is straight from the lake!

[Lakesrider]

We have a house up on Branch Lake in Maine and it is lake water supplied. We have a filter to take out debris and an UV sanitizer. Lake fed houses are very popular up there. I mean really how'd the old settlers do it? But as mentioned the water quality is certainly not as good as it was a hundred years ago. Acid rain, polution, heavy metals etc. Just make sure your system is a good one and drink bottled water or boil it. I found these....

http://www.equinox-products.com/LakeWaterSystem.htm

http://doultonusa.com/HTML%20pages/C...%20filters.htm

I wonder if a filter system from a pool would work as well. Can't see why not. At least for debris. Just requires cleaning every once in a while.

[fatlazyless]

.....oh yeah.....u know if you pay your island property taxes for 25-years in a row ON-TIME.....u know the Town of Meredith will award you with a 7-gallon Reliance Aquatainer, worth about 16-dollars.......so's you islanders will at least finally get something for your property tax dollars!
..................

.....today's LaDaSun has a letter from the Belknap Point Motel in Gilford about finding a tv set in ten feet of water apparently discarded by someone unknown to avoid the tv fee at the transfer station or something......betcha it was not a new flat screen!

[chocophile]

We use lake water with a particle filter, UV sterilizer and point-of-use activated carbon filter to improve taste. It's been great for over 10 years, but I decided to test it this year when the town of Tuftonboro had a water testing program. The results were outstanding: no arsenic or radon, no VOCs, no bacteria. The pH was 7.05. The UV sterilizer takes care of viruses and protozoa as well as bacteria.

There is additional seasonal maintenance and UV bulb replacement cost, so you have to factor that in.

[codeman671]

Our lake water tested good before we put our system in, but of course I know that can vary. Our water draws from 8 feet down and we have plenty of movement out front, not at all stagnant.

We added a cartridge filter and Trojan UV system. The water is great, better than my well water in Dover (with filtration and a softener in place).

[tis]

A water softener? Wow! I didn't think there could be water any softer than what this lake is! That is one of my favorite things about the lake and I would hate to have to ever give it up. It is also the main reason we didn't drill as well as planned. And the taste is always wonderful. We have filters and a UV system. You DO need the UV system because you never know what might go through, even though it usually tests fine without it. Especially with all the geese around in recent years.

[BroadHopper]

The water from the lake was never softened. Nor did we have trouble with mineral or iron deposit.

My neighbor had to dig 250' to get decent water from an artesian well. The water was very hard and lots of iron as well as radon. He had to put in a mega bucks water system to get decent water. One big reason why I stick to lake water.

[Kamper]

I was once told that "ten feet offshore and ten feet down" the water would be bacterially safe to drink. With all the people in the water these days I still would be a little squeamish even if I were positive that were true. If you don't have access to a trusted well I'd advise bottled water or looking into purification techniques. At the very least you should have a sediment filter to reduce fouling in your plumbing and water heater.

They used to say to bring water to a boil for 5 minutes to kill any bacteria but now the camping/survival guides say just bringing it to boiling will do it. If you have a fire every evening I'd suggest boiling water on it. To reduce the chance of injury, use a ladle and funnel to move the heated water into appropriate containers.

Those purification pills aren't for permanent use and keep many people close to the outhouse... Reverse osmosis might put too much salt back into the lake than is good for it. The ceramic water filters that back-packers use are great. No chemicals and nothing large enough to be alive can get through them. They won't remove toxins though.

You can use chlorine bleach/tabs but you'd need to research how much to use. The manufacturers won't list this on their packages due to liability issues but if you have the US Army Field Hygiene Manual it tells you how to use bleach as a field expediant material. You can also find this info on the web if you dig hard enough.

And that's (almost) all I think I know about that.

[Legionnaire70]

They make water filters that will filter out viruses. The company I work for in Dover makes them, you could basically suck water out of a swamp and it would be cleaner than the lake.

We also make a silver impregnated filter, silver attracts and draws out bacteria in water. Keep that in mind when choosing a filter, expensive they are! But worth it.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by tis

A water softener? Wow! I didn't think there could be water any softer than what this lake is! That is one of my favorite things about the lake and I would hate to have to ever give it up. It is also the main reason we didn't drill as well as planned. And the taste is always wonderful. We have filters and a UV system. You DO need the UV system because you never know what might go through, even though it usually tests fine without it. Especially with all the geese around in recent years.

No, the water softener is at my main home which is not at the lake. I stated that the lake water was better than my main home that has filtration and softening.

[tis]

Thanks, codeman. Sorry I didn't read it right.

[Smith Point]

This post got me thinking, Has there ever been a survey on where the natural springs in the lake are? I would think that if there was, That would be a prime spot to set you water supply line. It might also be a good fishing spot too.

[MariaNYC]

An island friend has mentioned that her concern about drinking the lake water is small amounts of oil or gas or other chemicals, which filters and UV can't remove. At least, I suppose they can't. I'm curious if anyone has ever had water tested for those.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by Smith Point

This post got me thinking, Has there ever been a survey on where the natural springs in the lake are? I would think that if there was, That would be a prime spot to set you water supply line. It might also be a good fishing spot too.

I'd like to be the guy that makes the commision on that pipe sale.

[Scott's Yott]

Originally Posted by MariaNYC

An island friend has mentioned that her concern about drinking the lake water is small amounts of oil or gas or other chemicals, which filters and UV can't remove. At least, I suppose they can't. I'm curious if anyone has ever had water tested for those.

Gas and oil both float to the surface and evaporate...No worry there except when gas had MTBE in it,but thats gone now

[camp guy]

To cover all bases, design a piping harness that sends lake water used for toilets, showers, sill cocks, and sprinkler systems directly to those functions; lake water used for cooking needs to be sent through a filtering system (your choice); and, to provide drinking water acceptable to all (even city-folk), have a couple of free-standing 5-gallon water stations with both hot and cold water.

This may sound like a lot of piping, but if done all at once, it isn't all that complicated. You can send "raw" water into a water heater, and then filter it on the way out to be used.

[MariaNYC]

Originally Posted by Scott's Yott

Gas and oil both float to the surface and evaporate...No worry there except when gas had MTBE in it,but thats gone now

Thanks - makes sense and should have thought of that myself.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Grant

Our family house (lakefront, not island) got its water from the lake for the entire 67 years we were there. My grandfather had a well dug (not drilled) but the water reportedly had an awful taste. As a kid, I remember drinking the lake water all the time -- without thinking twice. But that was a long time ago, and water quality has declined drastically since then. In later years, we went to bottled water for drinking, but still did everything else with lake water. I would get a cooler with the 5-gal bottles. Better safe than hit with giardiasis.

BTW -- the folks who purchased our place last fall have since drilled a well.

I just heard of giardiasis in this area last week; however, the case occurred in nearby Lovell Lake, not Lake Winnipesaukee.

Years ago, we also drank directly from the lake. In about 1971, the NH Legislature announced that Lake Winnipesaukee water quality had declined to make it a "Class B" lake. We then started getting post cards offering to test our water "free". Did the NH Legislature "kick-start" a brand-new industry—intentionally?

Upon that news from the Legislature, our drinking water was then drawn from a Wolfeboro public water spigot. (Abutting the Lakeview Cemetery, we nicknamed it "Cemetery Water").



Seasonally, we get newsletters from the Town paraphrasing, here:

"Your Town water is treated in such a manner, that your Town water can introduce problems with trihalomethanes. (Below is a list of ranges of safety—please consider these numbers carefully").

Last Saturday, my newest neighbor asked about our drawing water from the lake. He is currently sharing a new drilled well with his new McMansion neighbor. His water has problems with radon, taste and smell. I related all the above, and I think he's going for the change-over to lake water.

Our area appears to have an abundance of cold springs upwelling into the lake—artesian, maybe?—which could have as its source, the Ossipee Range of mountains. (Just like our local bottled water).

From schlepping "Cemetery Water", we're back to lake water, but had problems with clumps of algae clogging the foot valve—and with rafters dragging their anchors and pulling up our waterline.

My engineer-friend (pictured—with permission) designed a rock-and-concrete base, which draws lake water from about three feet above the bottom with dual intakes (against algae), all stainless steel parts—and about 50' out in 10' of water.

It's been in place about 30 years, and nobody's carried it off with their anchor—yet!