Luckily, I've never had to dealt with a confirmed case of beaver
fever; probably because I do extensive planning to identify only
the most reliable and cleanest sources of water.
Useful indeed, I already knew all that but never did the article, here in Brazil we have to be careful with water as well, a lot of wild animals and man handled animals too (cows), so the water is not always clean...Dangerous to enjoy without any guilt whatsoever...
This one time in Bolivia back in 2007 I drink like 50ml of tap water just to kill time, and that gave me 15 days of diarrea...Fortunatelly with funny situations and nothing too serious...
Cheers
Paulo
I did my graduate school disertation on waterborne pathogens (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, bacteria) and have been toying with the idea of writing an article like this. You did a great job. The article is comprehensive and accurate.
Thanks for the feedback. I tried to balance it between comprehensive and yet remain simple and succinct enough to be useful for someone who has no knowledge on the subject.
I have see people on trails filling their water bottles directly from brooks and rivers and I shutter. I tell them when I can not to do so. We have a MSR miniworks EX water filter that we love and has always worked for us. We have never gotten sick from water filtered through that.
Thanks for the feedback. I saw your article on diabetes - making sure your water is safe is even more important for people with diabetes. Glad to hear you are treating your water.
So I have been told that several consecutive feet of whitewater exposed to unfiltered sunlight will have the effect of making water safe to drink. First of all, is that necessarily true (realizing that your comments about suspended sediment applies) and is the effect due to the DNA alteration, or does the uv from the sunlight have another effect?
This can be true but there are several caveats. The UV dose delivered by the sunlight is dependant on several factors such as
- latitude (closer to the equator is better)
- elevation (higher is better)
- season (summer is better)
- time of day (mid-day is better)
- depth of water (shallow is better)
- atmospheric ozone coverage (Antarctic hole is better)
The best way to do this is to fill something like a foil covered cookie sheet and place it in direct sunlight on a flat surface around lunchtime. This would allow you to spread out the water at minimal depth in a reflective environment. The time required will vary based on the other factors. As an example this would need about 15 minutes in the tropics at mid-day if the water was relatively free from other impurities.
The disinfection mechanism is the same (DNA damage).
I did not include this in the article as it is not something that can be accurately quantified or consistently relied on.
Sarah Simon - May 9, 2012 11:50 pm - Voted 10/10
Nicely doneGlad to have my fears confirmed. ;)
Enkidu - May 10, 2012 12:14 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Nicely doneThanks for the vote. Hope you found some of the information useful.
lcarreau - May 14, 2012 8:54 am - Voted 10/10
Re: Nicely doneLuckily, I've never had to dealt with a confirmed case of beaver
fever; probably because I do extensive planning to identify only
the most reliable and cleanest sources of water.
But, there's always a first time.
Enkidu - May 14, 2012 9:56 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Nicely doneThanks for the vote. Planning (not just where water is concerned) is the most important step to ensuring a safe enjoyable trip.
PAROFES - May 14, 2012 8:53 am - Voted 10/10
VeryUseful indeed, I already knew all that but never did the article, here in Brazil we have to be careful with water as well, a lot of wild animals and man handled animals too (cows), so the water is not always clean...Dangerous to enjoy without any guilt whatsoever...
This one time in Bolivia back in 2007 I drink like 50ml of tap water just to kill time, and that gave me 15 days of diarrea...Fortunatelly with funny situations and nothing too serious...
Cheers
Paulo
Enkidu - May 14, 2012 9:57 am - Hasn't voted
Re: VerySounds like a case of crypto or giardia. Thanks for the vote
ExcitableBoy - May 14, 2012 1:35 pm - Voted 9/10
Well doneI did my graduate school disertation on waterborne pathogens (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, bacteria) and have been toying with the idea of writing an article like this. You did a great job. The article is comprehensive and accurate.
Enkidu - May 14, 2012 2:07 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Well doneThanks for the feedback. I tried to balance it between comprehensive and yet remain simple and succinct enough to be useful for someone who has no knowledge on the subject.
lcarreau - May 14, 2012 9:06 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: Well doneThat would be me! Ddaaa - ooooh !
Enkidu - May 15, 2012 11:59 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Well doneThat would be me when my wife drags me along to pick out window coverings
lcarreau - May 15, 2012 9:12 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: Well doneLolli - May 14, 2012 3:55 pm - Voted 10/10
Very good!Useful information! Thanks.
Enkidu - May 14, 2012 6:15 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Very good!Thanks for the visit and vote
NW - May 15, 2012 11:20 am - Voted 10/10
Good articleI have see people on trails filling their water bottles directly from brooks and rivers and I shutter. I tell them when I can not to do so. We have a MSR miniworks EX water filter that we love and has always worked for us. We have never gotten sick from water filtered through that.
Enkidu - May 15, 2012 12:04 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Good articleThanks for the feedback. I saw your article on diabetes - making sure your water is safe is even more important for people with diabetes. Glad to hear you are treating your water.
cammed - May 16, 2012 5:28 pm - Voted 9/10
Nice Read, but question..So I have been told that several consecutive feet of whitewater exposed to unfiltered sunlight will have the effect of making water safe to drink. First of all, is that necessarily true (realizing that your comments about suspended sediment applies) and is the effect due to the DNA alteration, or does the uv from the sunlight have another effect?
Enkidu - May 16, 2012 9:39 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Nice Read, but question..This can be true but there are several caveats. The UV dose delivered by the sunlight is dependant on several factors such as
- latitude (closer to the equator is better)
- elevation (higher is better)
- season (summer is better)
- time of day (mid-day is better)
- depth of water (shallow is better)
- atmospheric ozone coverage (Antarctic hole is better)
The best way to do this is to fill something like a foil covered cookie sheet and place it in direct sunlight on a flat surface around lunchtime. This would allow you to spread out the water at minimal depth in a reflective environment. The time required will vary based on the other factors. As an example this would need about 15 minutes in the tropics at mid-day if the water was relatively free from other impurities.
The disinfection mechanism is the same (DNA damage).
I did not include this in the article as it is not something that can be accurately quantified or consistently relied on.
cammed - May 17, 2012 1:12 am - Voted 9/10
RE: Nice read, but question..Okay. There I have it. Thanks for the information.
John Climber - May 19, 2012 11:16 am - Voted 10/10
Thanksfor confirming something that we all knew but that so much people prefer to ignore during their backcountry activities...
Enkidu - May 19, 2012 12:57 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: ThanksYou are welcome, and thank you for the visit and vote.