Do you drink water out in the wild?

[lannyman8]

I just ripped this of the net:-

Granular activated carbon filtering utilizes a form of activated carbon with a high surface area, and adsorbs many compounds, including many toxic compounds. Water passing through activated carbon is commonly used in concert with hand pumped filters to address organic contamination, taste, or objectionable odors. Activated carbon filters aren't usually used as the primary purification techniques of portable water purification devices, but rather as secondary means to complement another purification technique. It is most commonly implemented for pre-filtering or post-filtering, in a separate step than ceramic filtering, in either case being implemented prior to the addition of chemical disinfectants used to control bacteria or viruses that filters cannot remove. Activated charcoal can remove chlorine from treated water, removing any residual protection remaining in the water protecting against pathogens, and should not, in general, be used without careful thought after chemical disinfection treatments in portable water purification processing.


it makes me feel much better about my pump now, i trust it even more than i did before......

hope this helps all.....

chris.............................

 

[John Fenna]

I'm not sure even fancy pump filters would remove farm chemicals.

If you look at the claims of some of the more expensive ones (such as lifebottle) they seem to cover most things.... but can we be sure?
Bring on the organic revolution!

 

[wattsy]

i've drunk water from streams in the lakes to no ill effect and springs are safe since they come from aquifers. lower down i just bring the water to the boil as soon as the water reaches a rolling boil all the nasties are dead no need to boil it for 10 minutes its a waste of fuel.

 

[Sniper]

The main reason why I chose my premac was because the Red Cross amongst other humanitarian organisations use the same system for their people who are first into disaster areas prior to the main supplies arriving such as bottled water and large filtration units. They have used these systems along with the military (although they use much larger industrial versions) for many years now and it is widely accepted as the most commercially suitable, safe and affordable.

 

[Harley]

The Lifesaver bottles are issued to the deployed UK military (one bottle between four men).

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/about01.html

 

[redandshane]

I am not so far from South Glos
In my regular spot I have dug out a spring a bit and usually just boil it its been filtered through the limestone
I am renowned by family and friends for being obsessed with a supply of water as I hate carrying too much
I certainly wouldn't drink out of the River Avon it has a long history of association with various industries none of which would make for good drinking water
I have a Millbank bag and tabs as well Hate the taste of tabs though
not a worry at the moment mind as there is plenty of snow

 

[Ronnie]

I drink out of burns in the Highlands, as long as I know there's no houses or steadings upstream. Where I grew up in Knoydart our water supply was straight out of the burn. We had a settling tank to remove large particulates, but no filtering or treatment of any kind.

The only risk we had was of large mammals dying in the water upstream. We'd walk the burn regularly in the Spring, when the regular die-off happens - and yes, we've pulled dead animals out of the water supply, but we've never got ill.

Someone once told me that the the oxidation produced by the water tumbling and falling and splashing off stones that you get in a fast moving mountain burn will kill micro-organisms as effectively as Domestos over just a 10' (vertical) head. I don't have a reference for this little gem however.

 

[Sniper]

The Lifesaver bottles are issued to the deployed UK military (one bottle between four men).

I was talking about the larger systems Harley, The systems they use for unit size purification rather than individual. Humanitarian aid workers use the individual units.

 

[Rumcajs]

Its odd to find sheep lying in streams but you see it more often then not, clearly the water wasn't good for the sheep to drink

Yes it was definitely water. There must have been some very strong poison for sheep to die on the spot after just few sips.


I probably wouldn't drink water in UK.
Back home, different story. Drank water from streams and rivers with no nasty side effects.
I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it, as I'm sure some of use can confirm it.
Take people in some parts of Africa for example. They can drink water that for us looks like it came straight from the sewer, yet they are fine. Same water would bring terrible consequences for us if we drank it.

 

[hogstable]

I bought a Katadyn filter because I always wanted one and bought one of Ebay.

Then I read an article about ceramic filters, being hard to trust because if they were dropped they could be cracked oops. Also I remember them being proof against viruses but then someone reckoned that the figure for the Katadyn was too big to keep them out.

Double oops.