Shingle roof for water?

[Qweaver]

Our camp has no water source.  I like using our roof as a water source but it has shingles and I don't know if that is safe.  We could just use it for washing and flushing I guess.  It might be OK for drinking...I just don't know.  We are on the top of mountain and I don't have any idea if drilling a well is practical.  Re-roofing with steel is another option.

[pabst79]

 Drinking water from a roof is Definitely Not safe, the asphalt and chemical in the shingles are a worry, but think of the bird and other animal feces you could ingest! If you put it through a carbon filter and boil it, then it should be safe. Be careful getting sick from contaminated water is no joke.  Should be good for other uses, just don't drink it without decontaminating first.

[Ljohnsaw]

I read a thread somewhere (maybe Tiny Cabin forum) about a guy that had a water collection system.  I forget what the roofing was (probably metal) and was something like 1,000 sq-ft of area.  He ran this into a ~10,000 gallon tank.  On the way in, he had a particle filter and he would drop in a few pool chlorine tabs.  That would super shock the water, purifying it as it went through - so he said.  He figured that was better than treating it on the way out to his house (way down the hill).  He had it for quite a number of years and he and his wife never had any ill effects from the water.  I think he also had an automatic thing where the first part of the rain was diverted away (figuring it had lots of dust and dirt, etc) and would somehow fill a counterbalance that would then let the water go into the tank.

[47sawdust]

If you do an internet search for rainwater collection systems you will find your answer.

[redprospector]

I'm thinking of doing the same thing, but I have a metal roof. I'm not worried about a little bird poop. The village I live in is getting ready to start "recycling" our sewer water. Sorry, I'm just not interested in drinking water straight from the sewer plant, or even bathing in it. I'll use the roof, and haul water from a well outside of town for a while.
It's a crying shame in my book. I've spent almost 30 years building a life here and the powers that be just up and decide to mess it up for everyone...didn't even ask us.  :( Oh well, we'll just start over somewhere else, at least outside of town.

[Magicman]

I was a part of 4 generations that drank "roof water" growing up.  One house had metal roofing and the other asphalt shingles.  Maybe we had different germs back then.   ;D

[yukon cornelius]

we did at our cabin until we got our well drilled. 12x12 caught a lot of water.

[justallan1]

I know where I live and work there are plenty of wells that you just flat cannot drink and water off any roof would be better. I buy water from town or fill my jugs from my girlfriends house for my coffee in the morning.
I feel that if there were anything getting into your water from any kind roofing that your roof would dissolve in a short time, that doesn't happen. Other than maybe a little residue from when it was brand new, I really don't feel you could get any measurable amount of chemicals from any manufactured roofing.

[pabst79]

  Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should   , to give a background of why I'm posting this, I have spent my career retrofitting waste water plants and city wellhouses as well as many water treatment and backflow protection certifications. There was a study done by a Toxicologist from the Minnesota Department of health in 2006, regarding using rainwater off of a shingled roof, among many things the water PROVED to be contaminated with Lead, Arsenic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons were the worst offenders. Now I will say I'd not let my family drink from city water sources either, the amount of chlorine and flouride the feds mandate be pumped in is sickening.   I assume since I'm on an island here you may try it anyhow, but I promise sound science tells you not to!  :P

[barbender]

Allan, not many people have had the privilege of tasting that Powder river basin soda water. Mmmmm mmm yummy! Not to mention the wells that spew methane Nasty stuff.

[Holmes]

  Just because you are on a mountain does not mean the water table is hundreds of feet down.   You could have a spring right under your feet.

[justallan1]

@barbender I've seen wells  and "springs" down in Wyoming where all around them looked like the La Brea tar pits with the H2S gas coming out and although I've never seen any 2 headed cows running around, I'm not drinking it for darned sure.
@pabst79 I ask with total respect towards you, but how can roofing continuously put out any harmful amount of poisons. In my earlier post I should have wrote "harmful amount" and not "measurable amount".
On a lighter note, I'm going to guess the standards on unsafe numbers for this were set by the same government that told us that eggs were bad for us 30 years ago. :D

[barbender]

@justallan1, I know what you mean. I have seen people's faucets there spit out so much gas that you wouldn't dare have an open flame around, and the sulfur smell is pretty tough. I know when you take a shower, you come out smelling like a rotten egg. It dissapates after about 1/2 an hour :

[justallan1]

Yup. I sure remember that.

[pabst79]

justallan1, I would agree that there is probably more of a trace amount than, your going to tip over amount in the studies  :D, but sometimes with health its best to be cautious. I agree, eggs bad, butter bad, eat margarine, wait! Margarine is actually bad, butter good, eggs...depends on the month I guess  :D, If you really want to get irritated at Big Gov, go to the CDC website and read the link on rainwater, according to the feds you can't drink your bird poo roof water because it may be the property of the state, yes thats right apparently the gov owns and has rights to rainwater off your roof! REALLY? I myself am lucky to have a clean well, I do feel bad for those of you that don't, its something people take for granted until they don't have it!  ,   Josh 

[jueston]

when in Europe i met a Australian girl who told me that her family drank roof water, bird poop and all. she said her family drank rain water for generations now. that was the first time i ever heard of drinking roof water. they had wire mesh to stop leaves and junk, but no other filter

she said they have a big tank and the outlet is about a foot from the bottom and all the junk collects down at the bottom below the outlet, so every few years they clean it out and continue on...

i don't know if it was the bird poop, but she was a little odd. i attributed it to her being Australian.  :D ;)

[justallan1]

I guess I should not have been surprised, but yup, in certain states or counties you can't collect rain water off your roof. Somehow I have to believe there's way more behind that than them worrying about our health. I didn't read far into it, but they seemed more concerned with bird poop and dead animals getting in your water than anything else and I'd certainly agree that if someone doesn't collect and store water in a responsible way that you have a bigger chance of getting sick.
When I was a teenager my father and I dredged for gold in Northern California and had built a shower stall out of PVC and another for an outhouse. One day the BLM comes by and points out the shower asking what it was, after we told them they ordered us to tear it down because it was illegal and then asked about the outhouse. We told them and they were plumb fine with that. The difference was that letting soap leach back into the ground and river is a NO NO! I CAN understand that, within reson.

[pabst79]

 I guess the other thing to point out with regards to the safety of anything you ingest is how much? If your talking about adults using water for coffee and cooking 15 weekends a year or are you talking about a family with young children using it as their only water source, heavy metals affect the brains and organ development of babies and kids way different then adults. Salmonella or a bacterial infection might be fought off by a healthy adult, but a 6 month infant?  Just something else to consider. As far as the "well I did it as a kid" reason, we also used to put cocaine in cola and use urine too whiten teeth, but well....you know where I'm going with that  :D

[pineywoods]

I don't think you would want to collect water off a roof of asbestos shingles.

[Magicman]

I am the only one in my family that turned out like I did from drinking roof water.   ;D

[pabst79]

  ,  :D I hope to meet you someday MM, you seem to be an interesting fellow.   Josh

[blackfoot griz]

I am the only one in my family that turned out like I did from drinking roof water.   ;D

I was wondering how you ended up being 6' 8" tall! :D

[coxy]

I was told here in ny that they passed or going to pass a law that u have to get a permit from  dec   to drill a well  and they can refuse anyone  I think that's a crock  I pay 50k for a pice of property and they tell me I cant drill a well for water someone is going to be in deep dodo

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

,  :D I hope to meet you someday MM, you seem to be an interesting fellow.   Josh

You better hurry up.  :D :D :D :D :D