NO! No matter how thirsty you may get toiling away in your garden, don't even think about drinking water from our rain barrels -- or any rain barrel for that matter. If you're concerned about dehydration, bring some bottled water with you to your garden. While we're at it, do not use rain water for cooking or bathing, either.

From the quantities that came up in the questions listed above, one can conclude that less than 1% of the water supply on earth can be used as drinking water.

Drinking water is available at most developed campgrounds. When it is not provided, water should always be treated with purification tablets or iodine, by boiling, or by filtering. One safe method of treatment is boiling vigorously for 3-5 minutes to kill parasitic organisms which may be present. To improve taste, add a pinch of salt to each quart of boiled water or pour it back and forth from one clean container to another several times. More on drinking water...

Due to heightened popularity, the Department of Water Management's supply of rain barrels from Rain Water Solutions is limited. To get on the waiting list, call 560-4381. Other vendors may have more readily available supplies of rain barrels. An area listserve noted success in obtaining a rain barrel via www.pleasantgreengrass.com and other Web sites may provide information on how to build your own rain barrel.

Rain barrels are available at the Waste Diversion Site, 100 Kitchener St. for $45 for residents of the City (must produce a copy of water bill) and $60 for non-residents.

The Town of Arlington is sponsoring a Rain Barrel Sale on two different models through a grant from Mass DEP. We are all aware of the high price of water. Add the high level of environmental conscience in Arlington residents, and it explains the huge interest in Rainbarrels. We are offering two different Rainbarrels for sale at a reduced rate through the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Grant.

Prior to designing a drainage system an adequate location for the outlet must be established. Examples might be city storm drains, a ditch or other low-lying area, or in some cases even the city streets. There may be situations were there is no alternative but to use a dry well. Dry wells are basically a void in the earth sometimes filled with large rock. Because they have a somewhat fixed capacity, dry wells are a last choice as an outlet location for a drainage system.

Without chemical treatment or special filtration, harvested rainwater typically does not meet State and Federal drinking water standards and as such is not suitable for human contact applications. Subject to regulatory stipulations, however, harvested rainwater may be suitable for treatment to allow for potable usage. Contact your local Department of Health, or Rainwater Recovery Inc. for further information.

Clark, a former subscriber to the Kombucha list, says: "My only experience so far after about 10 weeks of drinking the K-tea was to become dehydrated after about 5-6 weeks. This manifested itself as constant physical and mental fatigue (my chiropractor aptly described it as brain fog) and finally my lips became dry and cracked.

Because radon in indoor air is the larger health concern, EPA recommends that you first test the air in your home for radon before testing for radon in your drinking water. EPA and the Surgeon General recommend testing all homes for radon in indoor air (and apartments located below the third floor). EPA recommends that you take action to reduce your home's indoor radon levels if your radon test result is 4 pCi/L or higher.

If you have your own well, you are responsible for making sure that your water is safe to drink. Private wells should be tested annually for nitrate and coliform bacteria to detect contamination problems early. Test more frequently and for other contaminants, such as radon or pesticides, if you suspect a problem.

Fresh water ponds in the dunes, they can drink from sound sometimes. Although the sound does connect to the ocean at Oregon Inlet, the sound in Corolla remains fresh and drinkable because of the many miles of distance between the two points.

Public water supply customers can contact their local utility and request a copy of the Annual Water Quality Report (or Consumer Confidence Report). This report is a summary of the water test results obtained by the utility for the previous year. This report lists the following:

Intentional contamination of the water supply is thought to be highly unlikely. Water treatment facilities routinely filter the drinking water supply, add chlorine in order to kill harmful germs and regularly test for contaminants.

On any eating regimen, a minimum of 64 ounces, or eight 8-ounce glasses, of water per day is the usual recommendation. Many people, particularly women, suffer from inadequate hydration, so it is important to be diligent about drinking water throughout the day. Water consumption will also help flush toxins from your body and combat such problems as constipation and bad breath. Note that coffee, tea and diet sodas do not apply to the daily minimum.

Tip: Want to hide your rain barrel the natural way? Get some plastic mesh and plant a hardy ivy near bye, allow the ivy to climb up the mesh and cover the rain barrel or build a simple box or fence out of trellis.

Our prudent advice is to disconnect your rain barrel and put it in the garage or under the porch. As promised, we kept a few outdoors this winter to run a very unscientific but practical R&D process on what happens when rain barrels freeze. The expansion of the water molecule during the freezing process caused full barrels to become disfigured and very unsteady.

Yes, you can handpump or siphon water through our unit during an emergency situation. Complete instructions are available upon request. In Response to customer and distributor demand for a drinking water system for emergency use, we have a new system for emergency use. Click Here for information on Emergency Survival-Water Storage and Purification.

Pour-through water filters (like Brita) do not remove fluoride from the water. Either reverse osmosis or distillation must occur for fluoride to be removed. The NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) has a complete database of water filtration devices on their website. You can search by manufacturer to find out what is removed with your device.

Washington State Department of Health fact sheet about arsenic http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/dw/our_main_pages/arsenic.htm http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/dw/fact_sheets/331-167_5-1-2_Arsenic_in_Drinking_Water_Q&A_With_Graphics_.pdf

The Workplaces (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (ISBN 0717604136) require your employer to provide an adequate supply.

No, there is absolutely no reason to be concerned. Raw food is full of naturally occurring water! All the moisture needed to digest raw food is contained in raw food! Although a lower sodium intake is part of the reason that our BARFing dogs drink less water, the real reason is that raw food has not had the water removed like kibble has. The different between kibble and canned dog food is the water content...they leave the water in the canned and dry out the kibble.

Yes, all models have been tested and listed under NSF Standard No. 42 and NSF Standard No. 53. In addition, the replacement filters for these units, are listed along with the Drinking Water Systems.