6 step water treatment

Make Dangerous water drinkable

During an Emergency, especially one in which city services have been indefinitely interrupted, you should treat your water as though it is extremely contaminated. Yes, even if it looks ok. Clear water is no indication of safety. You will not be able to thouroughly test drinking water without a professional lab, thus In order to keep from getting sick, this process should be taken very seriously with no shortcuts.

C.h.u.s

This Treatment process is based on the CHUS method, using

1. CHEMICAL

2. HEAT

3. UV RADIATION

4. SODIS (SOLAR DISINFECTANT)

In this Process, each Step is both Scalable, Renewable, and able to be individually serviced.

Scalable - Depending on the size of your family and amount of water needed

Renewable - Most components can be replaced or replenished in a grid-down scenario, and those that are not can be used properly so as to prolong its life and safe usability.

Individually serviced - Different parts of the system will need to be renewed or serviced at different rates. you should be able to access each step individually as needed. (see warnings about "black box" systems)

The order is important

Double-click on a step to jump to that section

STEP 1:

SEDIMENTATION

Step 2:

Pre-Filter

Step 3:

Sediment Filter

Step 4:

SODIS

Step 5:

chemicals

Step 6:

Carbon filter

Use a settlement bucket

passive slow process
Patience pays - The longer you can wait, the cleaner water you will have to work with
Basic filter for DIRT, SILT, ALGAE ETC.
will NOT FILTER OUT PATHOGENS, BACTERIA, VIRUSES
can be scaled with more buckets

Sedimentation

step 1:

We're assuming you have managed to find "Wild Water" somewhere. But who knows what you have found...

Sedimentation – This one is easy. Be patient, and let the water have time to settle.

Scoop the cleaner water off the top into a new container.

- Reduces larger contaminants such as dirt, sand, algae etc. which you don’t want in your finer filters.

pre-filter

step 2:

- Reduces contaminants such as clay, dirt, sand, algae etc. which you don’t want in your finer filters.

PASSIVE SLOW PROCESS
BASIC FILTER FOR DIRT, SILT, ALGAE ETC.
SCALE AS NEEDED
WILL NOT REMOVE PATHOGENS

I recommend a cloth filter

If your water has floaties - use an old towel or sieve to GET THOSE OUT! you do not want them clogging your filters. Steps now will save you lots of effort later and prolong the life of your filters.

Use a cloth wick

A cloth can move water through a capillary action siphon, also known as a wick system. This method uses the absorbent properties of the cloth to draw water from one container to another, provided the receiving container is lower than the source. This is a passive, slow process driven by the cloth wicking water upward against gravity, and can also act as a basic filter, though it will not remove pathogens.

- scale as needed by using more cloths and buckets

- be sure to keep these open buckets free from additional contaminants such as dust, leaves or animal hair in the environment where you are filtering.

step 3:

Sediment Filter

Coarse filter with some Absorption

(Larger visible particles like dirt, silt, sand, rust, and scale). This many-layered filter should make the water look as clean as possible, removing turbidity which will interfere with important filtration in next steps. Ideally, this water comes out looking pretty clean to the naked eye

why are pre-filters so vital?

IF YOU DON’T PRE-FILTER:

ABSORBERS ARE SPENT
CHEMICALS ARE INEFFECTIVE
UV RADIATION CAN’T PENETRATE
FILTERS WILL PLUG IMMEDIATELY

THIS IS A MUST, YOU CAN’T CHEAT ON THIS ONE.

layers in a sediment filter

PEA GRAVEL - catches algae, dirt particles, large debris
FINE GRAVEL
CORSE SAND
ANTI-MICROBIAL PLANTS - Thyme, Pine Needles, Resin, Juniper, Mugwort, Hops, White Willow, Rosemary, Burdock, Yarrow (Don’t leave these to rot - renew regularly)
Fine Sand
Activated Charcoal or *Pyrolysis produced charcoal (Absorber)

Use Cloth (No dyes or chemicals - such as Cotton) between each layer to keep them separate

The Thicker the Layers, the better the filter
Top Layers will need to be Renewed/rinsed/cleaned/replaced more regularly
The life of your filter is dependent on the filthiness of your water. if you are dealing with clean water, expect to renew your filter at least monthly. weekly or bi-weekly if dirty.
The Charcoal filters by absorbing contaminants. It cannot be renewed once used up - Dispose of away from garden areas as it can contain heavy metals and dangerous chemicals that it filtered out.
Make sure water isn’t just running down the edges of the bucket and bypassing your sediment layers.
Keep water in contact with Charcoal layer as long as possible as it only filters by passing through the charcoal’s micro cavities.
Don’t let dirty water poured in the top spill down the outside or splash into your clean water.

PYROLYSIS PRODUCED CHARCOAL

You can’t make truly effective activated charcoal at home because it requires extreme, controlled industrial conditions (600-1200 deg C, steam/chemicals) to create the vast network of pores needed for absorption, something a regular oven or campfire can’t achieve.

Pyrolysis made charcoal can be made at home and while not as absorbative as activated charcoal, is renewable and still can act as an absorber in water purification. It is made by cooking Hard wood in a low oxygen environment. There are many videos and instructions online to learn how to may pyrolysis charcoal.

Video on making your own PYROLOSIS or BIO CHARCOAL on your own

SODIS

SOLAR DISINFECTION

Done properly, this will kill or inactivate pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria – (E.coli) , viruses, and protozoans (parasites like cryptosporidium and Giardia)

-DOES NOT FILTER CHEMICALS

SODIS (Solar Disinfectant) uses the Sun’s UV rays and heat to effectively kill Viruses, Bacteria and Parasites in clear Plastic (PET) bottles.

Bright Sunlight - 6 hrs

Cloudy or overcast - 2 days

Sunlight heats the water to temperatures over 122deg - boosting the purification process, killing heat-sensitive pathogens.
UV radiation damages microbial DNA killing pathogens
Will NOT WORK if water is cloudy. MUST be PREFILTERED.

SODIS is a recognized and valuable strategy for providing safe drinking water in resource-constrained settings…It is recommended by WHO and UNICEF. for further information, see Sodis.ch website for extensive resources.

SODIS Steps

STEP1) - Pre-Filter: Pre-filter water until it is not turbid or cloudy - you should be able to read text through it easily. Any turbidity will shadow dangerous pathogens from UV rays.
STEP 2) - Prepare and fill Bottles - Bottles should be PET plastic and not too big. remove any labels, stickers etc. don’t use ones that are heavily scratched or scuffed. Glass can also be used but is more breakable.
STEP 3) Optional, add salt*
STEP 4) Oxygenate - Shake vigorously for 30 seconds to oxygenate the water
STEP 5) Lay out Flat in the direct sun - to increase sun’s effectiveness, lay on metal or a reflective material.
STEP 6) TIME - Time to disinfect is 6 hrs when sunny. 2 consecutive days if cloudy. not effective if continuously raining.

CHEMICALS

STEP 5:

Chemical disinfection

Calcium hypochlorite (pool shock) – removes harmful microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, algae and fungi by breaking down their cellular walls.

This will NOT kill protozoa

6 step water treatment

C.h.u.s

The order is important

Double-click on a step to jump to that section

Step 6:

Carbon filter

Use a settlement bucket

Sedimentation

step 1:

We're assuming you have managed to find "Wild Water" somewhere. But who knows what you have found...

Sedimentation – This one is easy. Be patient, and let the water have time to settle.

Scoop the cleaner water off the top into a new container.

​

- Reduces larger contaminants such as dirt, sand, algae etc. which you don’t want in your finer filters.

pre-filter

step 2:

I recommend a cloth filter

Use a cloth wick

step 3:

Sediment Filter

why are pre-filters so vital?

layers in a sediment filter

The Thicker the Layers, the better the filter

Top Layers will need to be Renewed/rinsed/cleaned/replaced more regularly

The life of your filter is dependent on the filthiness of your water. if you are dealing with clean water, expect to renew your filter at least monthly. weekly or bi-weekly if dirty.

The Charcoal filters by absorbing contaminants. It cannot be renewed once used up - Dispose of away from garden areas as it can contain heavy metals and dangerous chemicals that it filtered out.

Make sure water isn’t just running down the edges of the bucket and bypassing your sediment layers.

Keep water in contact with Charcoal layer as long as possible as it only filters by passing through the charcoal’s micro cavities.

PYROLYSIS PRODUCED CHARCOAL

You can’t make truly effective activated charcoal at home because it requires extreme, controlled industrial conditions (600-1200 deg C, steam/chemicals) to create the vast network of pores needed for absorption, something a regular oven or campfire can’t achieve.

SODIS

SODIS Steps

STEP1) - Pre-Filter: Pre-filter water until it is not turbid or cloudy - you should be able to read text through it easily. Any turbidity will shadow dangerous pathogens from UV rays.

STEP 2) - Prepare and fill Bottles - Bottles should be PET plastic and not too big. remove any labels, stickers etc. don’t use ones that are heavily scratched or scuffed. Glass can also be used but is more breakable.

STEP 3) Optional, add salt*

STEP 4) Oxygenate - Shake vigorously for 30 seconds to oxygenate the water

STEP 5) Lay out Flat in the direct sun - to increase sun’s effectiveness, lay on metal or a reflective material.

STEP 6) TIME - Time to disinfect is 6 hrs when sunny. 2 consecutive days if cloudy. not effective if continuously raining.

CHEMICALS

STEP 5: