Drinking Rainwater with Tiny Bugs Swimming in It

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hiya Steve! There is no point convincing those who are accustomed to doing things their way for a long while, irrespective of medical innovations.

Yup ... there's no point convincing those who are accustomed to living in fear, and who hate to see anyone who doesn't accept their "Board Certified" demand that everyone else live in fear.

[SaltyMonkey]

Two Words:

Chernobyl
Fukushima

Add your own here:

_______________

[Blue Stocking]

This may come as a surprise to some, but there ARE places in the world where the water supply does not have to be treated, diluted, concentrated, chemicalized (if that's a word), acidified, phosphatised, or anything else,--before its consumed.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

This may come as a surprise to some, but there ARE places in the world where the water supply does not have to be treated, diluted, concentrated, chemicalized (if that's a word), acidified, phosphatised, or anything else,--before its consumed.

Our community water supply is one of them.
It greatly exceeds state standards on all counts.

There's not a single river here and all water comes from rain, filtered through a great sand pile called Whidbey Island.

Not all water on the island is potable, but we are in one of the good spots.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Two Words:

Chernobyl
Fukushima

Add your own here:

_______________

And your point is??

I don't think anyone is suggesting that one should be drinking water running out of the Fukushima reactor site, monkey. So, what are you getting at?

Jim

[JK n Smitty]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

And your point is??



I don't think anyone is suggesting that one should be drinking water running out of the Fukushima reactor site, monkey. So, what are you getting at?



Jim

Also, I don't think boiling water would eliminate radiation either?

[Ambler]

I think appropriate filtration is the key. Ceramic 0.2 micron elements will remove pathogens, particulates, etc. Carbon elements will help to remove chemicals, plastic container tastes, etc. Reverse Osmosis elements help remove salts and other things in solution. Distilling process gives pure water. Rainwater isn't always pure as it is subject to pollutants depending on where the rain has developed, travelled and fallen. Stream and tank water is rain plus pollutants both organic and inorganic. So consider using the appropriate filter or boil it to cook the pathogens before consuming.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Ambler

I think appropriate filtration is the key. Ceramic 0.2 micron elements will remove pathogens, particulates, etc. Carbon elements will help to remove chemicals, plastic container tastes, etc. Reverse Osmosis elements help remove salts and other things in solution. Distilling process gives pure water. Rainwater isn't always pure as it is subject to pollutants depending on where the rain has developed, travelled and fallen. Stream and tank water is rain plus pollutants both organic and inorganic. So consider using the appropriate filter or boil it to cook the pathogens before consuming.

When I was a soldier in the jungle, a canvas filter bag was good enough for us.

[s/v Jedi]

We have been using a Seagull IV filter for the past 11 years for our RO-, rain- and piped water. Board certified it is, this filter

[Blue Skye]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

We have been using a Seagull IV filter for the past 11 years for our RO-, rain- and piped water. Board certified it is, this filter

Haha, love it

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

And your point is??

I don't think anyone is suggesting that one should be drinking water running out of the Fukushima reactor site, monkey. So, what are you getting at?

Jim

Trolling monkeying about

[Dale Hedtke]

Mike OReilly makes good point about open water sources. Lake Superior water is wayyyyyyyy cleaner than virtually all other bodies of water I think. We fill our tanks with it when we are away from shore too.

My question is: doesn't all water have bugs in it? Isn't it just a matter of how many and what type? Of course rainwater isn't pure water. It picks up components from the air. Isn't that the same air we breathe? Hmmmm.

[s/v Jedi]

It is more complex than that. In the Caribbean, rainwater can be the purest water one can find but it can also contain African disease virusses. It all depends on the kind of rain.

When the tropical waves pass over the Atlantic from Africa, many of them have heaps of Sahara dust. Rain takes this with it and there have been cases of cattle getting sick with disease from Africa this way.

In the summer we get the ITCZ and coastal fronts with violent thunder squalls. The rain that comes with that is very clean, 2ppm on my tester.

The other extreme was when the volcano at Montserat had erupted in 2003... the rain was orange and I needed an acid wash to get the stains off the deck.

A good "under the counter" filter for consumption water is the way to go imo. The Seagull filter may be the best but isn't easy to get anymore and there are plenty others (Camping World has kits with the tap included).

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

It is more complex than that. In the Caribbean, rainwater can be the purest water one can find but it can also contain African disease virusses. It all depends on the kind of rain.

This is kind of point I was trying to make earlier. Think, and be aware of what you're actually doing. Apply the cautionary principle to unknown sources of water, but don't go all paranoid and mindless. Rain water is usually pretty pure -- but not always. So too with some open-water and ground-water sources. Some of it is as clean as you can find. Most others should be treated with suspicion.

Think for yourself. It's not that hard. Lean towards conservatism when in doubt, but just like with other risk assessments, we're all better off is we understanding the real risks, as opposed to blindly following carte-blanche rules.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by liveaboardL

We all know that it's unhealthy to drink water with bugs swimming around in it. This is common knowledge.

Uh, no, we don't all know this, and it is not common knowledge. In fact, water with bugs swimming around in it is almost certainly not seriously tainted. After all, the bugs can survive. What you REALLY don't want to drink would be water that bugs cannot survive in!

Indeed, during survival training I was taught that if you found surface water with bugs swimming in it, it is probably safe to drink. Of course, you want to filter the water as best you can before drinking it. But if you happen to swallow a bug it is unlikely to cause any serious harm. In general, most insects can be consumed with little damage to the human digestive system.