Why to not drink spring water

[THE PUNISHER]

Thanx you got a good pic/pics,i do not drink from springs unless i am drinking wild turkey 101,then the whiskey will kill the bad........

 

[JCavSD]

Not necessarily. Springs are often fed from near by, up slope surface water that could already be contaminated. Potable water wells are usually sunk into much deeper groundwater that has been percolating through the ground for years or more, but even deep well water can be contaminated with various chemicals and bacteria in certain locations. Drinking untreated water from any source is taking a chance.

Well said. Public drinking source water is split into three broad categories. Surface water, ground water, and ground water under the influence of surface water. Any ground water under the influence of surface water is potentially as harmful as surface water. If you pee in the top of a 20' column of dirt, would you feel okay about drinking the "water" that slowly oozes out the bottom of the column of dirt? Blah!

 

[tholiver]

Anyone read Two Little Savages? Great book by Ernest Thompson Seton (one of the founders of Boy Scouts). In it, it describes being able to dig a hole some distance from a pond (can't remember how far. Think 20 or so feet), and let the water fill the hole. Remove the water that first fills hole, and let the hole refill. Should be clear, pretty well (sorry for pun) filtered by the earth the water passes through. I wonder if anyone has tried this, or if its safe. I guess everything is relative. Probably safer than standing or other surface water. Not as safe as filtered. William

Les Stroud did that in a Survivorman episode, season 2 or 3 i think.

 

[BOOMSTICK]

I don't think I would ever venture to drink any untreated water. I have had a stomach bug from drinking untreated water before and it sucks. peeing out of both ends is no fun.

 

[Rotte]

I was hiking up behind Golden, CO last year.

Came upon a small spring just bubbling out of the ground. Cold and clear, I couldn't resist slurping some water right from the teat of mother nature.

I was standing there thinking that this was supposed to be the Rocky Mountain Water that they use to make Coors beer when my dog came up and pee'd right in the spring.

Kinda ruined the moment.

I don't drink Coors anymore either.

 

[JCavSD]

I was standing there thinking that this was supposed to be the Rocky Mountain Water that they use to make Coors beer when my dog came up and pee'd right in the spring.

Funny how nature can put things in the proper perspective for us.

 

[DWK2]

When I used to rent burros to help carry my backcountry gear, I noticed that they often liked to stop during creek crossings and take a whiz. Made me want to get water from springs or a portion of the creek above the highest trail crossing. [I still treat water, having had giardia twice and crypto once.]

DancesWithKnives

 

[el dub]

This is what you catch from polluted or contaminated water. Giardia.Giardiasis outbreaks can occur in communities in both developed and developing countries where water supplies become contaminated with raw sewage.

It can be contracted by drinking water from lakes or streams where water-dwelling animals such as beavers and muskrats, or domestic animals such as sheep, have caused contamination. It is also spread by direct person-to-person contact, which has caused outbreaks in institutions such as day care centers.

Called beaver fever in some areas

 

[Skimo]

I drank from a few springs as a kid, pollution wasn't a problem.