Can You Drink Lake Water When Camping, Traveling, Or In A Survival Emergency?
As we all know, when camping, traveling, or in survival emergency, you cannot drink water directly from a lake, pond, stream, or river. Even if the water looks clear and tastes clean, it may still be polluted. Water contains a large number of pathogenic bacteria, parasites, and bacteria (such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia, Aspergillus flavus, Escherichia coli, and amoeba/amoeba).
What Will Happen If You Drink Lake Water Directly
Drinking water directly from the river is dangerous because it can lead to diseases such as Giardia lambic and dysentery. Giardia Lambie, sometimes called “beaver fever”, is a very common intestinal parasite. The pathogen is a protozoan derived from animal or human feces that causes diarrhea, stomach cramps, gas, bloating, and symptoms about 1-3 weeks after exposure to the parasite. Symptoms can last 2-4 weeks or longer. Long-term and/or severe infections can lead to reactive arthritis and damage to the cells lining the gut.
How To Make Lake Water Safe To Drink
Untreated water is of uneven quality and its safety can never be guaranteed. We can use the following methods to treat our water and make it safer.
Method | Pros | Cros | |
Boiling | 1. Bring the water to a full boil for at least 1 minute. 2. If the kettle is automatically turned off, make sure the water has been boiling for 1 minute. 3. Boil water for at least 2 minutes to disinfect if the altitude is more than 2,000 meters (6,500 feet). 4. Let the water cool. Always store clean water in a clean container used for storing food or water. | It can destroy bacteria, protozoa, and even viruses | 1. It will not purify severely polluted or chemically contaminated water 2. You need to carry utensils 3. You need enough fuel |
Filter | remove giardia cysts, the absolute aperture of the filter must be 1 micron or smaller | Giardia and other protozoa can be removed | Replace the filter element |
Ultraviolet (UV) treatment | Using ultraviolet light to neutralize bacteria, protozoa and viruses | Ultraviolet light is very effective against protozoa, viruses,and bacteria, | Batteries are used and particles are removed from the water first |
chemistry | Chlorine dioxide and chlorine tablets | Chlorine tablets kill bacteria and viruses, and chlorine dioxide is found in all microbes | 1) Long time (30 minutes) 2. Chlorine tablets are ineffective against Giardia 3. Chlorine dioxide requires more field testing |
iodine | iodine | It kills bacteria (think E. coli), viruses, and giardia， | 1. Health risks to pregnant women and persons with thyroid diseases 2. Cryptosporidium cannot be eliminated 3. It doesn't taste good |
Can You Drink Lake Water With a Life Straw
Yes, the life straw water filter adopts a 4-stage filtration system: Coarse filter +PP cotton + activated carbon +0.1um hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane, 0.1um-The life straw removes 99.99999%+ of harmful such as viruses, parasites (giardia, cryptosporidium, etc.), microplastics, and harmful substances (pollution, odors, chlorine and organic chemicals, etc.). Compared to other 0.2-micron size straws on the market, WAKI’s Life Straw Water filter is the best choice for outdoor activities, perfect for leisure, hiking, and camping. It is also a good companion for your scientific research, domestic and foreign travel, and emergency preparedness.
