Water and Waste Solutions on the Ark

What did Noah and his family do about fresh water and waste disposal while aboard the ark? There are some surprisingly simple solutions!

Clean Water

Rainwater collected from the roof could be funneled to large, strategically placed storage tanks to provide fresh water on the ark. A system of spigots and bamboo, or even copper pipes, could have delivered water throughout the ark.

Liquid Waste Removal

The large animal cages could have been connected to a valved drainage system, which would prevent backflow and channel urine into a central liquid waste container spanning all three decks. There are at least two ways the liquid waste could have been lifted and dumped into the sea through the vertical shaft.

First, a bucket system powered by the animal treadmill could scoop and dump the waste. The second option would be to use high pressure created by waves in the moon pool to force the liquid waste through a pipe and dump it into the sea.

Solid Waste Removal

After mucking large animal stalls and scraping droppings from the small animal collection troughs, solid waste could have been placed into wheelbarrows and moved to a vertical conveyor system. Powered by an animal on a treadmill, this device would dump the waste into a vertical shaft that opened to the sea.

Start planning your trip to the Ark Encounter, and see for yourself how Noah and his family could have cared for each of the animals aboard the ark.