Clean water is incredibly important, and honestly, it’s something so many people take for granted. At this point, about 1/4 of the world’s population doesn’t have access to a clean, reliable source of drinking water.
That’s impressive when you realize that city tap water (that most people know better than to drink) is considered a “clean water” source.
Growing up in California in the 90s, we’d get regular notices from the state warning us not to drink the water because it was contaminated with dangerous levels of nitrites and pesticides. Thirty years later, those same taps are not looking better…
My parents still drive across town to a “water store” that fills up 5-gallon bottles with water every week or two, and during COVID lockdowns, when everything was closed…they realized just how precarious their access to safe drinking water truly is.
On our homestead here in Vermont, we have sweet, fresh-tasting well water to drink, but I still have a high-quality Berkey gravity filter on hand. Having a few gallons in the filter means we always have drinking water when the power’s out, and since it’s rated to filter ANY water, we could literally filter pond water in an emergency…and it’d come out crystal clear.
A while back, I wrote a comprehensive article on Emergency Water Filtration Options and spoiler alert: though we tested dozens of filters, the Berkey was by far the best option…but as many of you know, they’re not currently available!
This newsletter may contain affiliate links.
What Happened to Berkey Water Filters?
A number of my readers have sent me this question, wondering what happened to Berkey Filters (as their website is down, and their filters are no longer for sale).
Berkey Filters were by far the best option for water filtration, but they’re not currently for sale (and won’t be in the foreseeable future) due to a bureaucratic mistake made by the EPA. Somehow, they got categorized as a “pesticide,” and they’re stuck in a world of bureaucratic red tape as they try to get re-categorized correctly.
Apparently, before you can convince the EPA they made a mistake, you have to be approved as a product…and it’s hard to get EPA approval as a pesticide when you’re a water filter. In the meantime, since they’re not an “approved pesticide,” they can’t be sold…and millions of families that filter their water with Berkey Filters have nowhere to turn.
In the meantime, while this is all sorted out in the courts, another company (that, of course, has no relation to Berkey) is now selling high-quality water filtration canisters that fit berkeys. They operate under the name Boroux, and they’re available online here.
Per my conversations with the people at Berkey, they’re “even better than Berkey filters” and are conveniently made to fit into Berkey filters. (But, of course, the two companies are not related in any way and have no affiliation whatsoever…)
At this point, Boroux only has replacement filters for existing Berkeys. My contacts at both companies tell me that Boroux will have full stainless steel gravity-fed water filtration systems available by March (hopefully). They’re also planning a shower filter and fluoride filter add-on for some time in 2024, if all things go according to plan.
Anyhow, I hope this is good news for those of you who are disappointed by the temporary halt in the production of Berkey filters. (And those of you who have emailed me aghast at the scalper prices of filters (and knockoffs) available on Ebay.
Clean water is important, and I’m personally really happy that good options are once again available.
***Update and Corrections***
I got dozens of emails about this post, and I do sincerely appreciate all the feedback, thoughts, corrections, and other options that y’all were kind enough to share.
Some had minor corrections, which are always appreciated, and others had other options that they’re using, which I think are important to share widely. The corrections didn’t change the substance of the issue at all, but I’ll share both anyway:
Berkey Filters is still in business making filters for the international market, just not US customers. They have not been able to produce filters for sale in the US for 9 months now, and have sued the EPA…but it doesn’t seem they’re making any headway, and there’s no resolution in sight. You can follow the Berkey blog on their actual website for current information, as well as their specific page on information about news releases on this issue.
Berkey’s distributors are the ones shutting down, one by one, as they don’t have any product to sell, haven’t for months, and there’s no resolution in sight. Some of them are transitioning to other interim options, namely the Boroux filters I mentioned, which their distributors believe are even better than the originals.
In Canada, Berkey filters can still be ordered via their distributors there, and one reader shared that they love working with Conscious Water. They’re also available in other countries, check with your local distributor for options.
As to Berkey alternatives, readers have shared these filters as comparable options. I don’t have personal experience with any of these, but other readers are loving them, so I’m passing them along:
Alexapure Water Filters sells something that looks almost identical to a Berkey, and makes similar claims about effectiveness.
4Patriots has a similar gravity-fed water filter with a stainless steel canister, though the filter mechanism is different, they do make similar efficacy claims.
Aqua Rain is another maker of Berkey-like filters, and they have been a competitor for some time offering similar products.
Another reader recommends Clearly Filtered water pitchers. These are very different from a Berkey, and more like a Britta filter pitcher in terms of capacity and shape.
Thanks for the feedback everyone, and if you have any other thoughts, please do leave them in the comments below so everyone can benefit from your suggestions.
Things You Might Need This Week
As I write this, the rest of my family is finishing up preparations for yet another ice storm with ice, sleet, and heavy wet snow…as well as 60+ mile-per-hour winds. Nothing like a Vermont winter to keep you on your toes!
There is almost no chance that grid power will be on tomorrow, but with a little planning ahead, we’ll eat well, stay warm, and maybe even bake some homemade cinnamon rolls in our Off-Grid Emergency Oven.
If you’re January is shaping up anything like ours, these things might help:
Instafire Ember Off Grid Oven Review - This will run indoors or outside, on either twigs from the woods when camping (or on canned heat candles for indoor use). My husband calls it my daughter’s wood-fired easy-bake oven, and it’s simple enough to use that a capable 8-year-old can handle it. Since the power’s probably out today, odds are we’re baking in this right now…as the wind and ice rages outside.
Canning Water For Emergencies - There are tested methods (put out by the USDA and extension services) for canning water in mason jars indefinitely. Bottled water “spoils” after about a year, as the bottles start to degrade and leach chemicals into the water inside. In a glass jar though, the water’s good and fresh until you need it.
Best (and Worst) Portable Power Stations - These simple batteries will keep things powered and running, even if you live in an apartment or the suburbs where a generator isn’t an option. They can be recharged with solar panels (making them quick solar generators) or through a vehicle’s power jack, allowing your house and essentials to stay powered even when the grid is down.
Seasonal Preserving
This week, we’re canning chicken tikka masala and chicken korma, and I hope to have those recipes for you soon…but in the meantime, here are some winter preserving ideas to keep your larder full:
What are you harvesting, preserving, building, or exploring on your homestead this week? I’d love to hear about it!
Leave me a note in the comments…
Until Next Time,
Ashley at Practical Self Reliance
I think its important to note that all filters collect debris, and in a wet environment, will eventually grow their own bacteria, especially at room temperature. If you combine a great filter like the Berkley with the use of ozone-water or ozonated water, that water will not only be better tasting (ozone removes tastes and smells - almost all bottle water companies use it), it will help keep the filter itself free of bacteria. Ozone quickly reverts to oxygen, so no chemicals are left behind in the process of purification. A good example of devices that do this can be found at RovingBlue.com. Keeping the filter itself free of growing its own bacteria will help them last longer.
Ah yes, I read about this and of course the government wants to be involved in how we choose to drink clean water