Brackish water?

[Billy1]

I'm planning to walk the Norfolk Coastal Path trail in a couple of weeks and had a couple questions about brackish water...

1) How do you tell if water is brackish? Is there much risk of getting a water borne illness by tasting a bit before purifying, and then spitting it out? What about drinking a very small sip? I'd like to know before putting it through my filter so I don't break it, and I don't really want to stop to keep boiling water just to test if the water is brackish or not.

2) Is it even possible to tell by taste? I always assumed it would be, but after watching a program (Alone) where a guy got ill and suspected it could of been from brackish water, I thought to myself: Well surely he would of tasted the salt while drinking it? Or is this not the case?

Cheers

 

[mick91]

I'm planning to walk the Norfolk Coastal Path trail in a couple of weeks and had a couple questions about brackish water...

1) How do you tell if water is brackish? Is there much risk of getting a water borne illness by tasting a bit before purifying, and then spitting it out? What about drinking a very small sip? I'd like to know before putting it through my filter so I don't break it, and I don't really want to stop to keep boiling water just to test if the water is brackish or not.

2) Is it even possible to tell by taste? I always assumed it would be, but after watching a program (Alone) where a guy got ill and suspected it could of been from brackish water, I thought to myself: Well surely he would of tasted the salt while drinking it? Or is this not the case?

Cheers

In my experience you can taste brackish water. If it tastes even slightly salty go upstream. Its unlikely you'll get ill from tasting, although in theory you could, it's unlikely. If in doubt carry some steritabs to use for test bottle water

 

[OldJimbo]

[QUOTEIs there much risk of getting a water borne illness by tasting a bit before purifying, and then spitting it out? What about drinking a very small sip?][/QUOTE]

Microbes are small but plentiful. Taking a taste of water is the same as knowing that supermarket chicken holds vast amounts of bacteria but insisting on licking some to check it out. My grand-daughter loved to go under waterfalls on the beach and swim in creeks but I was always careful to choose just what water she dipped into. This is serious stuff! I'm a smoker but I bet I could tell upon approaching your residence if someone inside had giardia. So use a filter or boil, because after smelling the gases from giardia you'll spare no expense to avoid that in the future. All of the hallucinations etc. with Brant on Alone are not about salt but about early onset nasty bacterial disease.

 

[Billy1]

If in doubt carry some steritabs to use for test bottle water

Ah of course, I don't know why I didn't think of that! Thanks

So is taste the only method of finding out then? Are there any other tests, or things I can look for?

 

[mick91]

Ah of course, I don't know why I didn't think of that! Thanks

So is taste the only method of finding out then? Are there any other tests, or things I can look for?

Yep. You can get dip strips to test salinity in any pet shop. People use them for salt water aquariums. Or use a hydrometer. You can pick them up in wilkinsons cheap

 

[Billy1]

Taking a taste of water is the same as knowing that supermarket chicken holds vast amounts of bacteria but insisting on licking some to check it out.

Are you sure about this? Surely there wouldn't be that amount of concentration of bacteria in a large body of water than there would be on a raw supermarket chicken? I also remember reading somewhere that the quantity of water consumed was a big factor in the likelihood of getting ill?

 

[Billy1]

Yep. You can get dip strips to test salinity in any pet shop. People use them for salt water aquariums. Or use a hydrometer. You can pick them up in wilkinsons cheap

Ah that's great, thank you!

 

[mick91]

Ah that's great, thank you!

No problem. They're only a couple of quid and well worth having in your bag. Hydrometers are fragile, but reusable. Dip strips are single use but take up no space. Its a trade off

 

[Native Nathan]

I suspect every river is different but on average in the UK, How far from the mouth of a river would the Brackish water start and how far up would it be.

I live in-between the River Tyne and the River Wear both of which empty into the north sea and are very Tidal.

Any Ideas?

 

[British Red]

Are you sure about this? Surely there wouldn't be that amount of concentration of bacteria in a large body of water than there would be on a raw supermarket chicken? I also remember reading somewhere that the quantity of water consumed was a big factor in the likelihood of getting ill?

Clearly the more you drink, the greater the probability. However the impact of contracting giardia, leptospirosis or other disease is the same.

If salinity is the issue, it's very different from water borne diseases. Only distillation or reverse osmosis can remove salt from water. If the water is esturial or tidal it will be brackish and, for your purposes, unusable.

 

[mick91]

I suspect every river is different but on average in the UK, How far from the mouth of a river would the Brackish water start and how far up would it be.

I live in-between the River Tyne and the River Wear both of which empty into the north sea and are very Tidal.

Any Ideas?

The wear is fresh pretty much from the A19 bridge upwards. Mind you drinking from the wear is an exciting prospect!

 

[OldJimbo]

Are you sure about this? Surely there wouldn't be that amount of concentration of bacteria in a large body of water than there would be on a raw supermarket chicken? I also remember reading somewhere that the quantity of water consumed was a big factor in the likelihood of getting ill?

Lots of us old-timers over here used to drink water from creeks - and eventually got a bit of a shock on finding some dead animal lying in the water upstream.. We almost never became sick because of the dilution effect of the creek, and because our bodies and gut bacteria killed the stuff in the water. Only with less dilution would our bodies have been overwhelmed. With bacterial parasites remember that once they set up shop, then they multiply., since you are their promised land. The problem with parasites is that since they want a wonderful life inside you - they are equipped to defeat the body's defences and other bacteria in the gut.
If you've ever made yoghurt, the you have probably been astounded at how fast a bit of a teaspoon of live culture from the yoghurt you are eating can colonise a big pot of milk. If you make sour-dough starter, the mostly you'll be focused on the yeast (fungi) - but lots of the flavour in the bread is due to bacteria which also multiply fast.

 

[GGTBod]

I suspect every river is different but on average in the UK, How far from the mouth of a river would the Brackish water start and how far up would it be.

I live in-between the River Tyne and the River Wear both of which empty into the north sea and are very Tidal.

Any Ideas?

The River Tyne is as salty as sea water right up to Wylam Weir, i was jetskiiing last year at the mouth of the Derwent near Scotswood and it was just as salty as when i splashed myself in the face kayaking on the east side of Wylam Weir, on the west side of the weir it is freshwater to source at Tynedale and Kielder, not sure where the River Wear turns fresh though

 

[mick91]

not sure where the River Wear turns fresh though

Trust me fresh is a relative term with the wear mate. I've had more than my share of mouthfuls of that water messing about in it as a kid, and it doesn't half get it's revenge.

 

[GGTBod]

I can imagine, the Tyne is delicious west of Wylam once i filtered it through my Lifesaver bottle

 

[cranmere]

Brackish just means that it contains a little salt and that in itself will not make you ill provided it's only a small amount, however if it tastes salty it's best to be cautious and not drink it. What makes you ill is bacteria or viruses in the water and you can get that in everything from sea water to spring water.

 

[Billy1]

Brackish just means that it contains a little salt and that in itself will not make you ill provided it's only a small amount, however if it tastes salty it's best to be cautious and not drink it. What makes you ill is bacteria or viruses in the water and you can get that in everything from sea water to spring water.

It's more the fact that I'm worried about ruining my purifier by putting salt through it