Need Recommendations of Filtering Water taken from Creek

[BillyJoeJimBob]

We have a cabin that pulls water from a shallow well dug about 5 feet from a creek. The "well" is a 4 ft. square6 ft. deep concrete box line with plastic and has a lid. The last time we were there, the bottom looked like it had some dead plant material and a dead earthworm. The water is used for bathing/showering, etc... everything but drinking.

Recently CNN had a story about a protozoa that can infect a person's brain and cause death. It is transmitted by injesting warm, stagant water. The creek runs, and is mountain spring fed, so I doubt there is danger like this, but the dead stuff got me thinking about what could/should be done.

Is there something that could be described as a minimum? Currently there is no kind of filtration at all. I'd at least like to filter out as much solids as possible. I wonder what might happen is some animal dies near the creek or well.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

~BillyJoeJimBob

[Porky]

By your description this is not a well, it's a catch basin (like a cistern). It is only to catch water. Many years ago spring, stream and dug wells were reasonably safe but with todays population and chemicals many of these same sources of water are questionable.

I'd pour a gallon of household bleach in the catch basin and stir it up a little, turn on the pump and pump water to each faucet, when you smell chlotine (Bleach) turn off the faucet and go to the next including the showers and tubs. Then let it set for 24 to 48 hours then pump all outlets until you no longer smell the chlorine/bleach. This should purify everything. However it won't purify any incoming contaminated water. Be aware that in todays society not every unsafe bacteria can be removed by chlorine/bleach.

[BillyJoeJimBob]

Thanks Porky. I understand the risk of biological contamination. Just saw a special on wild hogs. In one situation, wild hogs were defecating in the water that was being used for cattle downstream. They said wild hogs are one of the few animals that will defecate in their own drinking water. So feces etc... (dead animal caracasses, i.e. "roadkill") is a concern.

We don't use the water for drinking, and I'm wanting to start out slow and cheap. Maybe work my way into something more effective. Right now I'm just wondering if there is an effective and cost effective way to filter the larger solids from the water. (Plant debris, maybe some silt, etc...) The sucker pipe has a foot valve on it, and it is suspended about 8" from the bottom of the cistern, so there isn't much visible solids, but I'd like to put at least some effort into filtering the water.

Is there some kind of filtration system that is cheap ? I have this idea of a 55 gallon drum filled with charcoal briquets and a bunch of Mr. Coffee coffee filters (lol). Any connection between this daydream and reality?