Liner For Organic Farm

by Michael Chroman
(Hilo, Hawaii)

I have a water catchment tank which I use the water for irrigating an organic garden. Should I be concerned about potentially toxic chemicals leaching from the liner of anything but a food grade liner (e.g. Doughboy)?



Hi Michael. I have never heard of a food grade liner, but that does not mean they do not exist.

Over my many years of installing I put up several pools for the purpose of raising fish and never had a problem. We also did a couple for catchment purposes.

My best friend lives in Hawaii, as you do, and above ground pools are very common for catching the rain water and using it for everything except drinking. He lives out of town and goes in once a week to buy a few groceries and re-fill their bottles of drinking water.

Most everything he eats is from his garden and from his fruit trees. They use their above ground pool water to water everything and even to bath in. He has never mentioned to me that one particular liner might be better than another.

I would be very confident to suggest that by the time the pool is full of water any harmful chemicals used in the liner manufacturing would be so diluted as to not being a problem. Kids swim in these pools right after they are installed without a problem, and we know how much water they can drink.