What is a "low price and safe way to purify spring water" that an outdoor professional teaches?

ByAlan Levine

In the outdoors in the outback such as mountains and forests, natural water that does not pass through water purification facilities such as rivers and lakes may be overflowing in front of our eyes, "If you drink this clear water, there is not pathogenic bacteria and it is delicious So maybe you may be tempted by the temptation. Basically, it is "scientifically dangerous" to drink raw water that is not purified. However, on the other hand, there is no scientific basis for the idea of ​​extremely "dangerous if you do not drink using a high-grade water purification filter to drink live water". Outdoor information site Outside Online.com shows you how to drink raw water scientifically and safely.

Evidence-Based Medicine in the Wilderness: The Safety of Backcountry Water - Wilderness & Environmental Medicine
http://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(04)70498-6/fulltext

Actually, Slate, You Really Should Filter Your Water | Outside Online
https://www.outsideonline.com/2279401/actually-slate-you-really-should-filter-your-water

Wes Siler, who runs Outside Online.com, said in his column: "Frankly, when you are enjoying outdoor activities, when you drink water from the water source in the place, you should handle it with a filter I claim it. As an example to warn about that, I first introduce Mr. Siler's friends stories. The friend camps in California in 2017 and then a disease caused by putting a parasite infected with water etc. in the body, a chronicGiardiasisI have been infected with. A friend who has been infected can not go to the toilet every time he is attacked by unpredictable diarrhea throughout the year. This indicates that there are parasites and pathogenic bacteria in raw water regardless of the times.

Bywanderingchiara

On the other hand, some insist that raw water is safe. Biologist Ethan Linck says, "The pollutants contained in the water of the backwater source are very rare and are described in a paper written by Thomas R. Welch in 2004, Many are safe, I do not always clean up the water when I do the outdoors in the US and Canada ", insisting that the raw water is safe.

Mr. Welch's paper used for this claim examines the quality of mountain water in California. Among them, only a trace amount of harmful parasites are contained in the raw water surveyed for water quality, and the degree of contamination as drinking water is about "when we drink about 7 liters of a person we lose physical condition", so " It is extremely unlikely that pollutants will be contained in the water of the water source. "

ByJim Dollar

In response to Mr. Linck's argument, Mr. Siler argues that the idea of ​​"safe tap water by quoting Welch's paper" has no epidemiological evidence. "In a paper by Mr. Welch in 2004, there is no epidemiological evidence that the water source in the US is essentially described as safe and it is okay to drink," Siler said Claim.

Mr. Siler said that not all water sources in the outback are the same water quality as the water source investigated in this paper and rely on "only one water quality of California water source on the West coast investigated in the results of this paper" Since it did not investigate across water sources in other regions such as the United States and Canada, "It is wrong to make the result of this paper the same water quality as the water source on the east bank side of the United States, which is about 4000 km apart I claim it.

"We need to know that the degree of pollution of pathogens causing poor condition is fluid.The degree of pollution depends on rainfall and temperature around the water source, weather, seasons and behavior of animals The degree of pollution of one water source investigated in the paper will change each month every year. "

Bychapstickaddict

Meanwhile, it is said that there is no epidemiologic basis for the extreme thinking that "drinking water using a water purification filter that costs more than about 10,000 yen ($ 99) to drink raw water in the backland". As a way to drink raw water in the outback with reasonable expenses, Mr. Siler said in 2009 "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(America Disease Prevention and Control Center) "(CDC) indicated water purification guide"Drinking Water Treatment Methods for Backcountry and Travel Use(Outback and drinking water treatment method for travel) ".

Drinking Water Treatment Methods for Backcountry and Travel Use | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(PDF file)https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/drinking/Backcountry_Water_Treatment.pdf

According to the guide indicated by CDC "By placing the tablet of Chlorine Dioxide (chlorine dioxide), which is on the market for about 54 yen (50 cents) at outdoor time, into the fresh water, the parasites and bacteria harmful to humans , Ameba and viruses etc. can be prevented ".


In addition, "If you have a stove, you can effectively kill sterilization almost free of charge by heating raw water."


According to the CDC, "According to CDC, when a child drinks raw water as it is and becomes giardiasis, the growth of the body and mind is hindered, developmental delay, and malnutrition may be linked to serious problems" I warn against drinking raw water as it is.

Bylisadonoghue (away)