Choosing The Right Water Source
By Scott Cimini on May 13, 2012, 8:29pm
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories.
Choosing the right water source when you're out on a long day hike or a backpacking trip is very important. Make the wrong decision and you will pay the price dearly. Below are some examples of water sources to avoid and ones that you should look for to get water.
Water Sources to Avoid
Here are some general rules of thumb that I use across the board, regardless of the water filter or purification system I'm using.
- Don't drink from puddles or other standing sources where there is no inflow and outflow.
- Avoid taking water from beaver ponds. Beavers are associated with the spread of giardia.
- Don't refill your water reservoir under a water fall or cascade because it will have more suspended solids in it that can interfere with water purification.
- Avoid taking water from a large river that is downstream from a town, industrial or mining activity.
- Avoid taking water that's running down a tread-way or water bar because it is also likely to have a lot of sediment in it.
- Avoid standing water sources, particularly cattle or horse troughs, that animals drink from.
- Avoid drinking a lot of orange or red colored water that has dissolved tannins in it. You're likely to encounter this in heavily forested areas, in late autumn.
- Avoid drinking water from a stream that runs though cultivated fields or animal pastures.
Good Water Sources
While you can't see what the quality of a water source is, you can hear it, and the sound of trickling water is what I look for when I refill my water reservoir. It doesn't matter if it's a larger stream or a very small one trickling it's way down a slope through a maze of roots and rocks. As long as there's a steady stream, and none of the other red flags listed above are present, I'm likely to trust it. After that, I'll purify it before consumption.
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories.
