Water Purification

M

mikeal

Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
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I'm going on a 3 day hike in a few months and am starting go gear up a bit. I don't really want to buy anything I don't need but I also don't want to carry 25 pounds of water. There will be plenty of water (South Florida, East of Lake Okeechobee) but most of it is standing marsh/swamp and the rest is agricultural runoff. Oh, the whole area used to be an Air Force base in the 30s and there is currently a major aircraft manufacturing facility to the North. Not exactly pristine .

So what purification system do you folks recommend? I don't mind boiling or tablets for the beasties, it's the contaminants I'm worried about.

Did I mention that I'm cheap?
 
Are viruses an issues, or are you just concerned about bacteria/protozoa/crypto?

Also, how clear/clouded is the water there?
 
Agricultural runoff is BAD. Florida is poluted as hell. Bring water.
 
Boiling is one of the safest methods of treating water, although it will not remove chemical/industrial pollutants. You could treat the water with iodine tablets, but that won't kill crypto (crypto has a protective cyst around it).

I would watch out for stagnant water because it is a collection point for everything possible to be washed into it. Is there foam on the shore? Water doesn't foam, that also indicates contamination. Also, because of evaporation, the pools become more and more contaminated.

Personally, I have a Katadyn Hiker Pro that I carry with me.
 
RobbW said:
Are viruses an issues, or are you just concerned about bacteria/protozoa/crypto?

Also, how clear/clouded is the water there?
Click to expand...

I would want to be sure of viruses as well.

The water is never that clear. The streams are actually water management structures and the water is brown. Whether it is brown from tannins or nastiness is debatable. The lakes and marshes can be clearish (sometimes.)

I'm thinking Fiddleback is the voice of reason here. I would want to bring along a backup purification method in case I do something stupid with my water supply, though.

Any ideas on the easiest way to carry 2.5 - 3 gallons of water?
 
What we do:
Strain the water thru a bandana to remove debris. Micropur does kill crypto and viruses, but it takes 4 hours for full purification, so plan for that.
The husband likes to use a bladder for carrying water.
 
man, with ag runoff, I'd go for distillation pot. I use iodine and emergenC for any Sierra runoff below a peak runoff stream (I know, I live dangerously, but at 8000 feet I'm just not as worried about horse crap). Old school and simple, but it's all fast moving clear water.

down here in the valley, I carry water as much as possible, if I find a not-too-ag runoff creek, like Putah between berryessa and winters I run a microfilter and iodine/emergenC and try not to drink too much of it.

virii/bacteria/protozoans are easy, any number of things will do the job. It's the chemical contaminants I worry about.
 
If virii are a concern, UV treatment like a SteriPEN will treat small amounts quickly, MIOX (MIxed OXidants) will treat large batches, but it takes time.

With chemical contaminants though, I'm out of my league. Ag runoff can be nasty stuff. Sure, distillation will work, but it's not very handy out in the woods. Same thing with reverse osmosis. I'd want to talk to an engineer at one of the filter firms.

Any way to float water in, or cache it beforehand?
 
For your situation you're looking for a purifier, not a filter, as per EPA. Something that will get rid of the nasty critters but will also take care of viruses, heavy metals, pesticides, etc. Obviously UV's not going to cut it as they won't remove the heavy metals and pesticides.

I believe that General Ecology's First Need water purifiers take care of heavy metals and pesticides, but you'll have to check it out further. It may be the only backpackable one on the market right now that may fit your need. From their website: "General Ecology water purifiers utilize our unique, proprietary "Structured Matrix" chemical-free technology to offer the highest level of water purification instantly without chemicals, pretreatment, double pumping or hold time. General Ecology's water purifiers remove viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, plus many organic and inorganic chemical and aesthetic contaminants at the highest "purification" micron level (0.4 microns absolute) to provide great tasting water while protecting against water related disease. First Need Deluxe Water Purifiers like all General Ecology Water Purifiers are certified to meet EPA Microbiological Purification Standard against cysts, bacteria AND virus! "


I use a SteriPen Adventurer UV purifier, MSR Miox, Pur (now Katadyn) Hiker Pro, Sawyer Water Bottle Filter and Katadyn MP-1 chlorine dioxide tabs. None of those are going to do what you're asking for.

Just found this article about the Lifesaver bottle purifier, that may fit your needs, but you would have to look into it more, as I don't know it's stats:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354735,00.html
Nevermind! With price conversion it comes out to about $500!

Check out this website by the US Army from their comprehensive testing on commercially available purifiers and filters. It's the best study I've seen to date, but it's about 2 years old now and there have been quite a few new purifiers and filters since then:
http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/WPD/CompareDevices.aspx

As far as how to pack water in, I would go with water bladders, as they are light, inexpensive and nearly indestructable. Platypus makes their Water Tanks in 2, 4 and 6 litre sizes and they usually cost about $14-$18. Just keep in mind that water weighs more than 8lbs/gallon, so 3 gallons will be over 25lbs.

Koyote: Where do you hike around the Putah Creek area? I was just checking out Solano Park for some family camping.
 
RobbW

I hadn't even thought of caching it. That is a good idea, even if it seems like cheating. It's a good excuse to get a GPS too...

Kage

Great info, Thanks. The First Need XL Portable Water Purifier looks like it runs around $100, which isn't bad.
 
One of what? That page shows 3 devices. Which one do you have and have you used it? I would like to have a purifier but wading through all the tech specs is mind boggling. I'd like to hear some first hand reports.
 
I use the bottom one. Nice and compact and well scrutinized by the London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine. Essentially: two tubes and a pump. One tube filters nasties the other nerfs with chemicals. Filling several pints to a bladder can be a chore because of the size of the pump, but then it's compact. A trickle filter could be rigged better for that kind of task, but then you'd have to have patience rather than the have the pump for other times. You can bin off the whole unit when you're done or get a pair of new tubes [about half the price of a complete unit]. I've been using these for years.

cln030023cg8.jpg
 
Just last weekend my wife and I were backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail on Minnesota's north shore. I carry a Sweetwater Guardian pump filter with a SiltStopper addition to the hose. This keeps the main filter from clogging too soon. Must be working great because we pumped water straight from a beaver pond and are feeling giardia free.
 
Not sure exactly whats in the water down there, but PUR makes a water pitcher filter that removes a lot of contaminants,microbes etc. I've used them camping & what I like is you can leave the pitcher behind and just use the insert, which fits into a widemouth Nalgene bottle. Use some sort of a prefilter if the water is high in sediment though. I haven't used one backpacking yet but have a few in our Bug Out/SHTF supplies.The pitcher & filter would be easier to carry than
water. I use a Sweetwater filter backpacking but I don't need to worry about chemical contaminants where I hike.....
have a nice hike though...

http://www.purwater.com/#/contaminants
 
All of the systems that claim to remove contaminants are based on active charcoal. These work well provided the charcoal is not used up. One way to evaluate this (not definitive), is to run some city water through your filter. If the charcoal is still active, you should notice a difference the flavor as the charcoal has removed the chlorine present in the city water (won't work if your city uses ozone or other treatments).

It is doubtful that you will run into a heavy metal problem with your drinking water unless the water has a very low pH (<5) and your lake is subject to acid rain. Pesticides can be a potential problem. Some things to consider - when was the last rain event? Are there a bunch of dead fish washed up on shore? Pesticides usually enter the water in pulses after a heavy storm and soon after their application to the fields. The pulse is sometimes associated with a fish kill. The new pesticides being used in NA today have a fairly short life span in the environment so you won't be subject to a major dose unless you are taking water right during or after the pulse.

A combination of treatments is the best approach. Many of the cermic water filter systems have a charcoal filter incorporated within them that can be useful for pesticides or metals. However, their filter elements don't always remove viruses. Back this up by adding a couple of chlorine disinfection tablets to the filtered water and you should be good to go!

Personally, I usually go with just the filter, but I'm usually camping in pretty pristine areas where the biggest concern is giardia.
 
I keep a Survival Straw in the front pocket of my Spec Ops sheath at all times.

http://campingsurvival.stores.yahoo.net/sustcowapusy.html

campingsurvival_1893_24367694


I do not understand just how it works but the thing just keeps working and I have not gotten sick yet.

I still hump in my primary water source. I still strain, Clorox and boil all the native water I drink unless I REALLY need a drink BAD. When you are desperate the Survival Straw sure beats drinking Survivor Man style, from a muddy hoof print with bare lips.

For sure the more steps you take to insure the purity of your water means the less you have to fear from taking home the gift that keeps on giving.

:D
 
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