Should I boil rain or well water?

[Eric Kimball]

I just moved to the northern part of the Yucatan peninsula. I'm just starting a bunch of seeds and hoping to use rain water. I'm not sure whats' in the tap water but it sometimes has small green particles in it. I've had a few mold problems using the rain water. Would it be a good idea to boil the rain water? Theres also a well on the property but locals say it's not safe to drink and it smells kinda funny. Any info or links help as I am now limited on seeds. Thanks in advance -Eric

[Orkine]

You may have to test your well water to determine what is going on and what you need to do to be able to use it.  Rainwater should be relatively clean unless you have some poor air quality.

Boiling no doubt will help kill of most pathogens, don't know how expensive it may get but cost will be a consideration with boiling.
A possible alternative or complementary approach is to expose the water to sunlight for for several hours then filter it.  Sand and activated carbon which is often easily available.  I know this is done for drinking water but I assume if it is good for drinking water, it could help with seed starting.
 

[toadshade]

As long as you are not drinking it I am sure it is fine for the plants.  Anything in the water would just become nutrients for them.  I definitely would not drink it though without doing some sort of treatment.  I am biased since I am a licensed water treatment operator.  But a carbon filter and UV treatment is relatively easy and cheap these days.  And that would be the minimum I would do for consumption.  But for plants, they'll be fine.

[Eric Kimball]

Thank you! The air quality is good as it's mostly flat here but locals have told me the rain is sometimes acidic and it's best to hose down the leaves with tap water after any rain. I've seen several people do it. I will be installing rain gutters that lead to a big barrel. Until then I'll run some tests on boiled vs non boiled well water. I'll upload results if theres a difference

[JF]

Spend 70,000 pesos on a filtering system go to acuaclyva  and forget about boiling water