# Alum for river water



## twmartin (Apr 3, 2007)

How much Alum should one use per gallon to de-sedify water?


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## smiley_n_mt (May 19, 2014)

Not my original work...credits to the writer! They shared, I'm sharing...

Treating Water with Alum 
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There’s an easy way to settle water using alum as a settling agent. I do this in Grand Canyon and on the San Juan all the time when the river is muddy. First, you need to buy some alum, which you can find (usually) at the drugstore in small quantities, or you can buy larger quantities from a restaurant or food supplier, swimming pool chemical supplier, or chemical company. A pound or so would be a very generous amount to carry on a multi-week river trip with a couple dozen people if you settled all your drinking and dish water: odds are, you’d actually use less than half a pound. Alum, by the way, is aluminum ammonium sulfate. It is approved for use in food products, for example it’s used to keep pickles crisp. It’s the same stuff that’s called “baking powder,” the aluminum kind… It’s also used in municipal water treatment plants to help remove particulates: it’s a flocculent. It causes small suspended particles to clump together, so they will settle out.
My preferred method is to prepare a saturated solution by filling a container about 1/3 full of alum powder or granules, then adding very hot water. (Shake it up to disolve the alum…if you add too much powder or granules, and they don’t all disolve, you can add more water later after you’ve used some of the saturated solution). On commercial trips I carry a quart sized Nalgene bottle – the kind with a small (narrow) cap – of this pre-mixed solution and I use the cap to measure the amount to settle a five gallon (bailer sized) bucket of water. A tablespoon of this solution – about half a capful – is stirred into a 5 gallon pail of muddy water: be sure to mix it thoroughly. If the water is very muddy you’ll see the flocculation begin within a minute or two. In a half hour or so, almost all of the mud and 99%+ of the alum will have settled out on the bottom of the pail. Then you can decant the clear water into another container, or carefully filter the settled water off the top.
The prepared solution is easy to measure and goes to work instantly; sprinkling and stirring the dry powder will also work, but is less accurate and more time consuming: odds are, you’ll end up using more alum than you need, and you’ll definitely have to wait longer for the water to clear. It’s a good idea to use the minimum amount that will work; if you use too much there will be enough left in solution to degrade the taste of your drinking water. This works best in very muddy water: if it’s only a little muddy, it’s not so effective.
Even if you have reservations about adding chemicals to your drinking water (who doesn’t?), you might want to consider the advantages of having clear water for washing your dishes.
Most of the bacteria present in muddy water are found attached to the mud particles: if you get rid of the mud, you also get rid of most of the bacteria. When the water runs muddy, I fill a couple bailers and stir in the alum as soon as I’ve unloaded my boat at camp. At dinner time, the dishwater is clear, regardless of how muddy the river is.”
- share water


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

smiley_n_mt said:


> Not my original work...credits to the writer! They shared, I'm sharing...
> 
> Treating Water with Alum
> ****************************************
> ...


+ one on what he said.


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## RidgeLivin (Apr 25, 2019)

I never measure... I just tap a bit into the 5 gallon bucket, find a handy alum stirring stick, give it a good stir, walk away, come back a bit later, and it's clear. That must mean I typically use too much. :-D I probably use less than a teaspoon worth per 5 gallon bucket.


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## Will Amette (Jan 28, 2017)

I work for a water utility. We use alum to treat drinking water at the plant.


The dose will depend on how turbid the water is. You will probably use less than you think. You also want to make sure you manage pH to get it as close to optimum for the alum to work as you can. At the water treatment plant, they use soda ash.


You might be able to get a pint or two of liquid alum from your local water plant. If not, the recipe to make your own will work. Last time we had to use a fair bit of alum was on Grand Canyon with brown water. I had liquid alum in an old tonic water bottle. Yes I removed the label and put a label on saying what was in it. I worked on the dose for a while, and it changed along with water turbidity. I typically used a half to 2/3 of a capful for a five gallon bucket and maybe a sprinkle of soda ash.


Next you want to mix it up VIGOROUSLY. This gets the alum all mixed in, and it gets the floc particles to start forming as all the sediment smashes into it. I used a paddle; you can use a stick. After a short vigorous mixing of all buckets, then go back and GENTLY swirl the water. After it's thoroughly mixed, you want the flocs to keep forming and not break apart. I would take the paddle and make a little swirl in each bucket, and then go back and do it another time or three.


Then go have a cocktail.


In an hour or less, the sediment settles in a nice thick cake on the bottom. Decant in one pour into a clean bucket to maximize how much clear water you get; once you put the bucket back down, some of the sediment mixes back in. You can wait for it to settle again; it will, but if you need more water, it's better to just refill and start a new bucket.


Don't rush it. It still takes time. If you don't need clear water until morning, you can even skip the alum, but the sediment will be "fluffier." But if you think you MIGHT need clear water, get it started soon after you get to camp. We had one day when I was asked about my "magic" so we cold filter water, but we didn't have time to let it settle. Had I been asked an hour earlier.....


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## RidgeLivin (Apr 25, 2019)

RidgeLivin said:


> I never measure... I just tap a bit into the 5 gallon bucket, find a handy alum stirring stick, give it a good stir, walk away, come back a bit later, and it's clear. That must mean I typically use too much.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I should qualify this statement by mentioning this water is only for dishwashing. I would be more precise with water meant for filtering to drink .


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Mix it with hot water, and less is more, especially for drinking water.. I switched to water wizard and haven't used alum since.. From the Grand Canyon Private Boaters Assn site, and store, Grand Canyon Private Boaters Association | To ensure the ability for all to obtain an opportunity to experience a float trip through the Grand Canyon while protecting the resource. :


Water Wizard for River Runners removes sediment from river water. It is produced by a 30 year water treatment plant operator.
*The $19.70 price includes shipping ($15.95 plus $3.75). GCPBA members get this at a 10% discount, $18.10 ($14.35 plus $3.75). Contact the GCPBA Storekeeper at [email protected] for details.*
Ed Talkington, a Water Plant operator and river runner from Craig, Colorado, is offering a new water treatment coagulant that allows river runners to safely and quickly settle-out river water silt and sediment. 
“Water Wizard for River Runners” is Polyaluminum Chloride (PACL) or “PAC” for short. PAC is commonly used in Municipal Water Treatment and is a National Sanitation Foundation certified product. 
Adding Alum (Aluminum Sulfate) to buckets of river water has been a standard river practice for many years. Ed explains the advantages of PAC over Alum this way:
“We used Alum at our plant to treat the Yampa River for many years, then in 2008 we finished a $9,000,000 plant upgrade and switched to PAC. Wow! What a difference! PAC is like Alum on steroids! PAC is specially formulated with polymers that Alum does not have. On the river PAC settles sediment in my chickee pails much faster than Alum (15 – 20 minutes) and leaves higher quality clarified water. PAC also makes filtering water much easier, greatly extending the life and effectiveness of our expensive filters”. 
The product comes with complete, easy to understand instructions and 1ml measuring syringes. Safe and accurate dosages are calculated by a water treatment professional - no more mixing unknown strength alum solutions. The super concentrated liquid will treat about 250 gallons of silty river water.
**Important** - Although “Water Wizard for River Runners” removes a large amount of sediment and particulate matter in river water, it does not produce safe, potable drinking water. An approved filtration device, followed by disinfection, must be used prior to consuming water. Failure to filter and disinfect the clarified water could result in a serious waterborne illness. If you would like to use the clarified water for dishes, laundry, or bathing, that is fine – no filtration is necessary.


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

I have used alum and water wizard, both work.

I do a liquid version for alum. I have a liter bottle just for alum liquid. Put hot water in the bottle and dissolve as much alum in there as you can. Then do a cap full per 5 gal bucket. Procedure as noted above is great.

Link below is for the best place I have found for bulk alum. Does not take much alum to do several solution bottles. I know the name of the site might make you wonder but I have purchased the smaller amount several times and it is good to go.

https://nuts.com/cookingbaking/leavenerthickener/alum-powder.html


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## KrisG (Jun 22, 2012)

I have used both Alum and Water Wizard in the past, but for the last two years, I have been using P+G purifier of water. This is a product that was invented by Procter and Gamble for use in the third world. It is actually relative inexpensive to make, but is not really marketed in the US, and when it is sold, it is marked up a lot and the profits either pocketed by the seller, or used to subsidize the costs in the third world. 

It is a floculant, and it is also a disinfectant. You can use it to treat water and then drink the water with minimal filtration. I have been using it for dishwater, and when I have made drinking water I have filtered the water after treatment. It comes in a small packet that is mixed in the water. It works as fast and as well as water wizard in my opinion. I find it to be very user friendly and simple to use. 

The down side is the cost, which is more than other methods, and the packets have a 3 year expiration date, which wouldn’t be a big deal, but when I got mine one year was used up. 

Here are some links if interested. 

https://csdw.org/pg-purifier-of-water-packets

https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/flocculant-filtration.html


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## GCPBA (Oct 22, 2009)

This is what you want: Water Wizard

It's better than alum.


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

KrisG,

do you know where to buy the PandG product here in the USA ?

I looked at your links but could not find retail information, but may have overlooked it.

I am always looking for new ways to do things and products to test.


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## KrisG (Jun 22, 2012)

Okieboater, send me a PM with your address, and I will send you some to try. I bought a box from DayOne Response, but it appears they don't sell it any more. you can let us know what you think. 

Given the current situation, I won't use what I have before it expires. 

You might find it on Ebay, but it will be marked up a lot, and close to expiration. I got mine for about 45 cents per packet, and each packet treats 2.5 gallons. It seems like people are charging over a dollar a packet if you can find it. According to the internet, it costs only a few cents per packet to make. It would be nice if a company like NRS or REI would sell it. 

Even though it is more costly than other clarifiers, I like the fact that it also disinfects. If you look at how much water you actually treat on a trip, the cost is really no big deal. On a week long trip you can treat 5 gallons a day for about 6 dollars total at my cost.


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