Water Treatment

[bsmit212]

With so many different water treatment methods out there, is any one of them more affective and/or healthier for you than others. And by healthier I am referring more to like long time use of the chlorine drops, for example, cause you to get sick or health issue down the road?

 

[Grandpa]

The problems to obtain clean water come from so many different directions. Inorganic constituents, such as heavy metals, Micro-biological, Pesticides, volatile organics and radiological such as radon 222. A person needs to look at those problems likely to be encountered on any given trip. Even then, some of these problems are difficult to remove, shy of complete distillation.

Boiling and chemical treatments will kill the biological entities but do nothing for most of the other problems. Even in high mountain springs, water may contain naturally occurring inorganics such as arsenic or radiologicals such as radon. To simply "filter" the water is not enough to remove these inorganics or even some of the biological viruses.

In my opinion, the safest method and simplist is an Iconic Adsorption filter system which uses activated carbon to attract and hold pathogens as well as filtering to a fine degree. Seychelle, Katadyne, MSR all use such systems. They don't just "filter". Steri-pens, aquamira drops, or any of the other chemical treatments just don't do anything to alleviate the non biological impurities.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Chlorine has been used for many years as a disinfectant, as has iodine. Aside from issues with iodine and thyroid, I'm not aware that either would make you ill from either short-term or long term use.

That said, I just came back from a 7-day hike on the AT and used only a Katadyn Hiker water filter. I generally use filtration fopr what I will use fairly soon, whereas for water I'll have stored for a while I use Aquamira tablets, since they will have time to kill the bugs (if any).

I talked to a number of thru-hikers when I was out and it was about 50/50 between filter users and those who didn't use anything (or at least that's what they said, anyhow).

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Referring to Grandpa's comment. I'm not particularly worried about Radon, since I believe that the numbers used to establish safe Radon exposures are grossly exaggerated.

They were developed studying Uranium miners, who had massive peak exposures to not only Radon, but other radionuclides.

Most places in the east (unless disturbed by mining), or surface contamination, heavy metals are also not a real problem, especially for short term exposure. Organic contaminants can be handled with activated carbon.

Personally I'd rank risks as follows: Bacteria > Parasites >> Viruses >> Heavy Metals, and organic contaminants (outside of pesticides from treated fields) >> Radioactives.

This is for most of the Eastern US. Local conditions might vary siginficantly- ask locals or do some research if need be.

 

[Michael]

Good points above. The take-home is that looking for a one size fits all solution is often simplistic. Every product has strengths and weaknesses, and you're best off with the product that best fits your local needs.

In my area, for example, you're generally fine boiling or treating with chemicals. That's because wee critters are our number one concern. So if you're careful to kill them, the water's good to go.

But that's definitely not the case everywhere. In some places, that'd be a really good way to get some sort of heavy metal or petrochemical poisoning.

 

[Gondor]

I generally will use water filter to filter all the nasty stuff from the water. If I'm not sure the water is relatively clean I will add a few tablets of Chlorine-Dioxide after filtering.

 

[Barney]

Water filter is what I will always use. I can't remember when I used water purification tablets. But in the case of some disasters you may want to have these at your side.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


A reverse osmosis filter also works well on most contaminants. However, I have only seen them used for domestic use, and cannot verify the effectiveness of any made for portable use.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Re Reverse Osmosis- I'm not aware of any man (or woman) portable units. You need a pretty high pressure to force water through the R.O. membrane, and I expect that any hand pump that develops that sort of pressure will have very low volume.

Might be wrong- new stuff comes out all the time.

 

[Grandpa]

After all I have said above, I stick with my katadyne hiker pro. It will remove all but the smallest virus' and much of the heavy metals. The bad stuff like PCB's etc still have some pass by but for all intents and purposes, it and the Seychelle's and the MSR's are the all round best. I have a listing from Seychelle on their iconic adsorbtion system showing percentages of removal if anyone is interested. Katadynes and MSR's rates are about the same. Chemical treatment is good only for biological.

 

[steves]

My Mini works has been verry verry good to me. No stomach nastiness and great looking and tasting water.

 

[ppine]

Unless I am camping at low elevations near cities, I don't worry about radon, PCBs, or the other myriad parameters which contaminate water. In the backcountry it is all about biology. I used to do water quality studies all over the West for mine sites, and the water quality in remote areas is remarkably good. The exceptions are contamination by humans, livestock and concentrated populations of wildlife like beaver.

 

[Theosus]

I use the Sawyer inline and a second bag. I set it up as a gravity system, and it tastes great with no waiting.

 

[LinuxRacr]

For water treatment, I use the First Need XL water purifier with an in-line MSR Silt Stopper pre-filter. The pre-filter prolongs the life of the main filtration cartridge. I also have a Camelbak Hydrolink water filter adapter kit so that I can pump directly into the hydration bladder straw from the filter, so I don't even have to take it out of the bag!

Here are some of the other features:

• Structured Matrix 3-stage purification technology provides natural and ecological removal of contaminants down to 0.1 micron nominal (0.4 absolute)
• Purifier is certified to EPA Guide Standard for microbiological purifiers against bacteria, cysts and viruses; removes giardia and cryptosporidia
• Also removes dirt, unpleasant tastes and chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides
• Easy-grip, ergonomic handle provides comfortable pumping; double-action pump is field serviceable
• Use the included gravity feed kit for hands-free purification without pumping
• Fast flow rate of 1.89 liters per min. lets you enjoy clean, great-tasting water in no time at all
• XL purifier's large capacity lets you purify up to 150 gal. before needing to replace the canister
• Direct Connect attaches unit snugly to many wide-mouth and narrow-mouth water bottles and hydration systems, sold separately

 

[LinuxRacr]

Here I am last year at RMNP pumping water out of a stream:

 

[tramp]

sawyer mini. i can use as is or set up inline. filter water into bottle through coffee filter , add 2 drops bleach per liter and a pack of crystal light lemon/lime and run the filter inline. works good.

 

[sampaater]

Removing particles
Flocculation
At some of our treatment sites we add a solution to the water to make the particles bigger and easier to remove. This is called flocculation.
Filtering
To make sure we produce the purest water possible for customers, the water is then put through two more filters to remove the invisible particles:
Rapid gravity filters
The water is passed through a tank full of course sand. The sand traps particles as the water passes through.
Slow sand filters
The water is then slowly filtered through large beds of much finer sand. This removes any remaining fine particles before the water goes for final treatment.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...

Depending on where I'm going, I carry one or two 2-liter bottles of water, plus water in my 1 liter bottle which has a filter in it. If I have to drink from a doubtful source (and most of them are)...I'll pre-filter with my bandana, then put it in my filter bottle for drinking. This has served me well, so far.

In my younger years, I would drink right from many streams, and had no problems...However, I've since found out what was ACTUALLY in those streams...and now I would NEVER drink that water without pre-treating it...!!

If the water would be deemed really bad (rarely), I would additionally opt for water 'purification' tablets, or boiling it...!!

 

[sampaater]

it's good idea rather than carry a water filter with us carry 2 or 3 water bottles.

 

[Jackie Cooper]

When I come out, I usually take a diercon water filter product to filter out bacteria or others, and with a stove which boil out filtering water. it is safer and more convenient to take the bottle water.