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Doulton did make a name for itself in the area, but it was for ceramic sewer pipe and their "royal" designation was awarded in 1901 for their factory that made fine china.
The designations of royal approval vary. No one website seems to give the full timeline. I did get the Broad Street water pump cholera epidemic (1853) out of sequence, but the events were as follows:
" As early as 1827, Henry Doulton developed ceramic filters for removing bacteria from drinking water.
"Offensive to the sight, disgusting to the imagination and destructive to the health"
This was how London drinking water, drawn from the Thames, was described in a pamphlet published in 1827. The Thames was heavily contaminated with raw sewage; cholera and typhoid epidemics were rampant. "
"Asiatic cholera originated in India and spread to Europe in the early years of the nineteenth-century. In Britain the first cases were diagnosed late in 1831. The epidemic, reached London in February 1832. "
"In 1835, Queen Victoria recognized the present health dangers in her drinking water and commissioned Doulton to produce a water filter for the Royal household. Doulton created a gravity fed stoneware filter that combined the technology of a ceramic filter with the artistry of a hand crafted pottery water container. In consideration of her pleasure with the new device, Queen Victoria bestowed upon Doulton the right to embellish each of its units with the ROYAL CREST. " (This was the first royal accolade.)
"By 1901, King Edward knighted Henry Doulton and honored the company by authorizing it to use the word ROYAL in reference to its products. In 1906, Doulton introduced a filter that proved to be equal to the one Louis Pasteur had developed in France. It was rapidly adopted by hospitals, laboratories and for use in domestic water filtration throughout the world. The popularity and effectiveness of even the early 20th century designs has resulted in their continued use in Africa and the Middle East. The range and efficiency of Doulton domestic water filters has been widely extended over the years to meet the demands of increasingly sophisticated uses. "
My overall point is that Doulton was the progenitor of the various ceramic filters that when constructed properly and used properly, can prevent giardiasis, cholera, and some other water-bourne parasitic diseases. The timeline clearly shows early development, epidemic, royal concern for their own health, approval of the effective early filter and concession of the royal crest. I mispoke in thinking the Broad Street epidemic was staunched by the introduction of the filter. Sometimes I give people more credit than they deserve.
My well water comes up 400 feet and into me without any treatment. It has been fine. The oil industry is wanting to frack the oil wells in my area because the poor Devils can’t make obscene profits otherwise. We have been able to stop it so far but I’ll probably need to figure out a filter/treatment system for some point in the future for when they buy enough politicians to get what they want. Glad to see there are a variety of options.
The fracking chemicals may be a particularly concerning problem. As only one weak attempt to suggest fracking west of me has ever come up and been rejected, I've not more than skimmed the surface of the process. What I did read was very troubling.
My well water comes up 400 feet and into me without any treatment. It has been fine. The oil industry is wanting to frack the oil wells in my area because the poor Devils can’t make obscene profits otherwise. We have been able to stop it so far but I’ll probably need to figure out a filter/treatment system for some point in the future for when they buy enough politicians to get what they want. Glad to see there are a variety of options.
There is an enormous underground structure involved with this and it's within their economic interests to keep what they put in the well in the well and groundwater outside of the well. There is 4 or 5 casings at the top of the well each cemented inside of the other and at least 2 or 3 well casings that extend beyond the ground water.
The fracking chemicals may be a particularly concerning problem. As only one weak attempt to suggest fracking west of me has ever come up and been rejected, I've not more than skimmed the surface of the process. What I did read was very troubling.
This site covers most of the basics, you can look up specific wells and they will list what is going into them.
The site is informative. The list of chemicals commonly used continues to trouble me, as they are toxic, and can migrate or leach over time, especially when under pressure. Future generations will curse us.
The site is informative. The list of chemicals commonly used continues to trouble me, as they are toxic, and can migrate or leach over time, especially when under pressure. Future generations will curse us.
I understand the concern and undoubtedly accidents will happen, these are typically on the surface though and may not even be directly related to the well. e.g. holding pond breaks. The wells themselves are substantial, again numerous well casings and there at least two that go through the ground water. Not sure what the thickness is but it might be a 5 inch casing 1/2 thick cemented to a 8 inch casing which in turn is cemented to the bedrock or other casings at shallower depths. They necessarily need to seal it tight because they don't want ground water, gas or anything else being able to get into their very expensive well. Here in PA they are many thousands of feet below the groundwater.
This thread is fascinating and valuable. Thank you all so much! I recently began another city-data thread involving water purity and that thread is also helpful.
What is an RO system?
How does one find a "pristine watershed" and how would they know it's pristine? (I once lived a month at a very rural community with spring water that felt soft and tasted fresh and great and was said to have been once tested as extremely pure. Its water felt even better than other rural communities with wells I've spent time at. I wonder if that was a "pristine watershed.")
In my personal opinion and preferences, purity is just as important for shower and bath and hand/face/teeth-washing water and even water given to plants and animals as it is for drinking water. Skin is our largest organ and we absorb things into our body through it, not just through our mouths. Our body is a big ecosystem that deserves pure water to function best mind-body-spirit as do our neighbors, animals, plants, planet.
So whole-house filtration unit is seeming best for me, as good of one as possible. Not sure yet what that would be cause that requires research. The idea of it being diy to save money yet highly effective sounds great.
As for the water source, you all have me seeing wells and springs may be less appealing than I thought cause of drilling and testing expenses. Maybe city water or rain water is more cost-effective.
I admit that the idea of the government being involved in my water supply isn't my favorite as much trust has been broken with them in many ways leaving me unsure how deeply they value health and safety.
Graywater means rain water, right? When I lived in California, which is one big drought, or at permaculture sorta homes I've been to, some people were mindful to keep buckets in their showers and sinks and by gutters to reuse water like for plants. Is that graywater? Reduce-reuse-recycling is always nice. I've heard rainwater is great for hair.
Manure/poo (animal manure and humanure) is interesting. To think that it can compost into nutritious soil for growing produce. Yet that it can also make people sick. Hmm, kinda contradictory. It is called "waste" for a reason cause the body is no longer served by it so releases it. Yet so cool that fish poo (aquaponics) makes some of the most nutritious produce, I hear from friends who made aquaponics systems. At one farm I worked at it felt kinda gross putting manure right on the vegetables (which left a smell on them) but didn't feel gross putting it into the big, wormy compost piles.
I always enjoy seeing compost toilets. Wait, isn't that an advantage of private well or spring water? That you can have just compost toilets on the property so hence no one's poo in the toilets going into the water supply?
Swimming in natural water like rivers, lakes, oceans is one of the freshest, purest, happiest feelings...and technically those are full of unfiltered water with much animal waste in it...
As for bottled water, I never know which are actually all that pure.
Am very interested to keep learning about permaculture...
Last edited by NatureYogi; 12-07-2019 at 03:12 AM..
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