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#89296 - 02/12/08 06:27 PM Re: water filter cross-over - "Scare tactic" [Re: OldScout]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Quote:
I will try to find that article at home and post the link. I think the test was run by a university and tested in the Yosemite wilderness.


Sorry, I assumed you were making a blanket statement reflecting a scare tactic on a global scale. Brum
_________________________



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#89297 - 02/12/08 10:29 PM Re: water filter cross-over [Re: Xelif]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
The area around the spring where my friend got giardia is a very popular camping area--I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was seepage into the groundwater!

From what I've read, giardia started with humans (a lot of people are immune but are carriers) and that's how it spread to the wildlife. At least some wild animals have been found to be carriers also, the mountain beaver of the northwest being one of those. You're right, though, it's not fair to blame it on the animals. But they are continuing the process that humans started.

The sites I checked for links to scientific studies were Katadyn and MSR. They may have something, but I sure didn't find it!


Edited by OregonMouse (02/12/08 10:30 PM)
_________________________
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

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#89298 - 02/13/08 08:39 AM Re: water filter cross-over - Weight versus safety [Re: Berserker]
Brumfield Offline
member

Registered: 12/23/07
Posts: 255
Loc: Expat from New Orleans, now in...
Berserker wrote:
Quote:
"After UV treatment, ceramic filtering, and chlorine dioxide treatment of the water, I then carry 32 ounces of my water in a clear plastic bottle on top of my pack so it's exposed to the sun's UV rays most of the day."

Brum, I see that you are doing some serious treatment to your water. I was just curious, are all these steps for just when you are hiking in Mexico, or would you use the same method in the US?


Brumfield wrote:
Hey, Norse Warrior! Before moving to Mexico I treated water while hiking in the southern states regularly. Louisiana is known for brackish swamp water and even the streams are not pure. Same thing in Florida, warm water tends to breed disease, just like leaving food out on a warm day, versus a cold day, does the same. Or as another example... would you prefer to store your open can of tuna cold or warm? YUK!

When hiking the colder climates in the states I sometimes drank out of the streams with no treatment, especially if near the origin or if I knew for sure there were no industry, towns, or resorts upstream.

I must admit, as a child I regularly drank out of the Louisiana creeks we were swimming in. I don't recall any major illnesses from doing that. Now, as I sit here writing this, I'm recalling that I also played barefooted in cow lots on the farm back then. When I was around five years old I got caught using half of a huge watermelon rind to scoot down the incline of a small, shallow cow barn drainage ditch . I thought my mom was gonna kill me with the hot water and chlorine bleach she used to scrub the leeches off of me. Maybe due to constant exposure I was immune to most everything coming out of the ground or water. Today, I tend to stay away from cow barn drainage ditches and homemade watermelon rind boats that don't float.

So that you'll know I'm not totally anal about filtering and treating drinking water, I'll share this with you... My mom lives about 70 miles north of New Orleans right next to the unspoiled Bogue Chitto River and the wild and beautiful Honey Island Swamp. She uses water from a well located on her property with zero filtration or treatment. The water comes up cold enough to mist a drinking glass.

I helped put the well down with a leased drilling rig. We drilled to a depth of 450 feet, and the last 100 feet were in pure white Sparta Sand. We stopped drilling while still in the Sparta Sand, which is also known as the middle Claiborne aquifer, then cap-sealed the well, and set the pump. The well has since produced quality potable water for the last 25 years, without fail year round. About a year after putting the well down I had the water tested at LSU, and found it to be of a better quality than many treated city water supplies. My children drank the water while infants and had no ill effects.

Due to the infamous Mexican Amoebas, I ALWAYS chlorinate and filter the water here when away from my home water supply. UV treatment is an extra step I take since the sunshine is free. If I need water at night that I've just chlorinated and filtered, I'll drink it without UV treatment. Brum

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