How safe is river water?

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John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,108
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Oi! That's my dinner you're talking about !

I like tofu, I really do. You can have the dead something or other that Himself and the cat are having :)....I think the cat's winning though, himself's having black pudding and the cat food tin says chicken and turkey breast in a juicy gravy :rolleyes:

cheers,
M

Black pudding! Mmmmmm!
Yup he is deffo winning
Give me dead stuff every time :)
Sorry to diss your diner though...you would have trouble eating mine...I would have trouble eating yours :)
 

bearman

Full Member
Jul 18, 2010
190
0
kent
Wow - that has to be the ultimate guide!
I have saved that one too!

Still it seems to boil :)) )down to "do your research and treat as needed" again :)

Yes I'd agree with that. I think its up to the individual to use their noggin a bit, consider what contamination is likely and treat accordingly. As a child of the 'elf and safety era. I always seem to find myself doing a mini risk assessment when it comes to water; weighing up the possible risks, the severity of said risks and what control measures can be implemented to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. As to long term health risks, I think thats up to the individual to decide. Some activities Bushcrafters participate have an inherent risk attached, but for those individuals the rewards outweigh the risks. I am hiking in the Carpathians in April and will be drinking 'wild water' the whole way, because to me the chance to see the unspoilt countryside and the large mammels are enough to outweigh any possible long-term health risks.
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,108
2,836
66
Pembrokeshire
Yes I'd agree with that. I think its up to the individual to use their noggin a bit, consider what contamination is likely and treat accordingly. As a child of the 'elf and safety era. I always seem to find myself doing a mini risk assessment when it comes to water; weighing up the possible risks, the severity of said risks and what control measures can be implemented to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. As to long term health risks, I think thats up to the individual to decide. Some activities Bushcrafters participate have an inherent risk attached, but for those individuals the rewards outweigh the risks. I am hiking in the Carpathians in April and will be drinking 'wild water' the whole way, because to me the chance to see the unspoilt countryside and the large mammels are enough to outweigh any possible long-term health risks.

That sounds great - need someone to come along and treat your water for you?
 

bearman

Full Member
Jul 18, 2010
190
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kent
You're more than welcome John :cool: and the upside would be that if a bear happens to wonder into camp, i wouldn't have to outrun the bear....:)
 
Feb 15, 2011
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Yes I'd agree with that. I think its up to the individual to use their noggin a bit, consider what contamination is likely and treat accordingly. As a child of the 'elf and safety era. I always seem to find myself doing a mini risk assessment when it comes to water; weighing up the possible risks, the severity of said risks and what control measures can be implemented to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. As to long term health risks, I think thats up to the individual to decide. Some activities Bushcrafters participate have an inherent risk attached, but for those individuals the rewards outweigh the risks. I am hiking in the Carpathians in April and will be drinking 'wild water' the whole way, because to me the chance to see the unspoilt countryside and the large mammels are enough to outweigh any possible long-term health risks.

Absolutly, everyone is free to do as they please & make their own decissions based on their knowledge & experience, far be it for me to dictate any particular course of action......................................
Have a great time in the Carpathians, enjoy the rivers, though I believe the locals stick to Holy water, due to 'vampire risk'............
 

bearman

Full Member
Jul 18, 2010
190
0
kent
Absolutly, everyone is free to do as they please & make their own decissions based on their knowledge & experience, far be it for me to dictate any particular course of action......................................
Have a great time in the Carpathians, enjoy the rivers, though I believe the locals stick to Holy water, due to 'vampire risk'............

Yep that is true, the Vampire density is a concern, I intend to go on a mainly garlic diet and my walking staff is taking on a distinctly cruciform shape...
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
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S. Lanarkshire
All joking aside, I was working in the Western Highlands with a group of young teenagers. Out in the middle of a bit of moorland, nothing between us and America but a few hills and hundreds of miles of sea, and it started to rain. One of the boys put his face up to drink the rain and was roundly told off by his teacher because that was, " dirty water! "

Sometimes we take health and safety too far :sigh:

It's like most things, I reckon, good for you in moderation :D

M
 
Feb 15, 2011
3,860
2
Elsewhere
All joking aside, I was working in the Western Highlands with a group of young teenagers. Out in the middle of a bit of moorland, nothing between us and America but a few hills and hundreds of miles of sea, and it started to rain. One of the boys put his face up to drink the rain and was roundly told off by his teacher because that was, " dirty water! "

Sometimes we take health and safety too far :sigh:

It's like most things, I reckon, good for you in moderation :D

M

Too right there, campers & bushcrafters should always carry things to be able to collect rain, because it's prehaps the purest water we'll get & it won't even need treating...........................I'm talking far from major towns & cities of course.
The only problem is quantity, the UK being such a dry country & all.
 

Barn Owl

Old Age Punk
Apr 10, 2007
8,245
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Too right there, campers & bushcrafters should always carry things to be able to collect rain, because it's prehaps the purest water we'll get & it won't even need treating...........................I'm talking far from major towns & cities of course.
The only problem is quantity, the UK being such a dry country & all.

Why is rainwater any cleaner?

If it can carry sand from the Sahara then it's probably got as much chemicals in it as our rivers surely?

Pollution must be all over the globes atmosphere and in the clouds?

I'm no scientist so any explanations in plain English ta.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
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S. Lanarkshire
That's the winds that are dirty :)

Why we had a problem with Chernoble (sp?) the wormwood place, going up. We had east winds that week :rolleyes:
Thon moorland was definitely west winds though, straight off the Atlantic, even if it did feel like the Baltic :)

M
 
Feb 15, 2011
3,860
2
Elsewhere
Why is rainwater any cleaner?

If it can carry sand from the Sahara then it's probably got as much chemicals in it as our rivers surely?

Pollution must be all over the globes atmosphere and in the clouds?

I'm no scientist so any explanations in plain English ta.




prehaps I was a little optimistic, but I would rather drink rain than river water, but if I was in Birmingham or similar large town I wouldn't drink either. If you’re isolated from pollution sources, the rain is coming from a pristine ocean and will be pretty clean. If you’re in a built up area, or downwind of heavy industry, power stations etc, these things can be pumping out all sorts of chemicals – particulates, carcinogens, dioxins and even heavy metals. So like with everything,eise, use your common sense, if the rain is comming from a direction you know to be heavily industrialised, don't drink it, nor from a river comming from the same direction either, but if the rain is passing over relatively pollution free land or sea, then I think it's pretty safe to drink, The springs & streams of the uplands are just rain water, sometimes it is fitered by the sedements & rocks, sometimes it just pours out raw,.......after all the locals have been drinking it for years with no ill effects.........I have drunk from hill streams & collected & drunk rain water, and I'm still breathing,( admittedly with an oxygen bottle) & here to tell you about it..................................................................................................nurse!
 
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Feb 15, 2011
3,860
2
Elsewhere
Yep that is true, the Vampire density is a concern, I intend to go on a mainly garlic diet and my walking staff is taking on a distinctly cruciform shape...

You can never take too many precautions & don't forget to take a small mirror, because you never know who your're talking to.
 
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