Most people know that there are microscopic organisms in backcountry water that can make you sick. But how prevalent are these organisms?

Many people have tolerances to certain types of organisms in water and thus think that they don’t need to treat any of their water! However, there are many protozoa, bacteria and viruses that can cause severe illness.

Here are a few of the most common and threatening organisms, advised by Ray Brooks.

Protozoa
Protozoa are the most common disease causing organisms in backcountry water. They are also the largest and easiest to remove with microfiltration. However, they are the hardest to kill with chemicals.

Cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium is a type of protozoa that is found in 97 percent of the rivers and lakes found the in the United States. In 1991, two studies found cryptosporidium present in 65 – 87 percent of U.S. surface water samples.

Giardia. Giardia is just as common as cryptosporidium in backcountry water. It’s estimated that 2- 5 percent of people have giardia at a given time in the U.S. In fact, from 1979 – 1988, an estimated 4,600 people were hospitalized per year as a result of giardia. The CDC reports during 1991 – 2000 show that giardia was a cause of 16.2 percent of reported infectious outbreaks spread through drinking water.

If you become infected with giardia or cryptosporidium symptoms can be very intense. They include watery diarrhea, abdominal cramping, weight loss, fever and vomiting.

The hard part about identifying protozoan infections is that they typically have a long incubation period. It typically takes 5 – 28 days before symptoms appear. Until 2005, people had to let these infections run its course. However, now a drug called Alinia can help.

You can also treat water with Katadyn or MSR microfilters to remove protozoa. Chlorine dioxide is also helpful in killing cryptosporidium.

Bacteria
Bacteria that is found in backcountry water that affects humans, is the same type of bacteria that is found in improperly processed meat. The method of transmission is the same – through traces of feces contamination.

Campylobacter jejuni. This is one one of the most common bacteria in backcountry water. C. jejuni can survive in high-altitudes. It can also survive in surface water for months at a time. C. jejuni can be carried by poultry, horses, cows, waterfowl, rodents, deer, elk and bears.

C. jejuni affects an estimated 1 million people every year. Symptoms include diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever. Symptoms usually arrive within 2 – 5 days of ingestion. Illness usually lasts a week.

E. coli. E. coli actually consists of four classes. These four classes cause gastroenteritis in humans. Symptoms include watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, low-grade fever, nausea and malaise. E. coli is usually found in the intestines.

Salmonella typhi. People affected by salmonella typhi know it by its common name – Typhoid Fever. There are about 400 cases reported in the U.S. each year and the majority of these cases originated from international travel. Typhoid fever can be life-threatening and it’s recommended that you get an immunization shot or booster before traveling internationally.

Cholera. Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The infection causes severe vomiting, leg cramping, water diarrhea and a rapid loss of body fluids. Without treatment, cholera can cause death within hours.

Bacteria can be removed from water through Katadyn, MSR filters and purification tablets.

Viruses
Viruses in water have only one source – human feces from infected carriers. The majority of outbreaks occur due to cross contamination. Outbreaks have also occurred from well or river water contaminated with raw sewage.

Enteric adenovirus & astroviruses. Enteric adenovirus is the most common virus found in water. It can cause respiratory problems but can also cause illnesses such as gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, cystitis and rash illness. Enteric adenovirus causes 5 – 20 percent of the gastroenteritis in young children.

Norovirus and the calcivirus group. Noroviruses symptoms include headaches, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear within 48 hours. Norovirus can survive in up to 10 ppm chlorine – well above the levels used in public water systems. You can, however, treat norovirus with chlorine dioxide at 1 ppm in 30 minutes.

Rotavirus. One of the hard things about rotavirus is that it has an incubation period of 2 days. Symptoms include vomiting and watery diarrhea for 3 – 8 days. They are usually accompanied by fever and abdominal pain. Children are particularly affected by rotavirus and account for the hospitalization of 55,000 children in the U.S. each year.

Hepatitis A. Hepatitis A can be very prevalent in water outside the U.S.. However, it can be present in backcountry water in our borders. Hepatitis A affects liver functions and can cause long-term problems. It’s recommended that you get an immunizations shot for international travel.

Enteroviruses. This family of viruses includes 62 separate viruses that can infect humans. Most of the viruses cause cold- or flu-like symptoms. However, some of them can cause Polio, aseptic meningitis and more.

To combat viruses in water, you should first use a microfilter, then treat the water for 15 minutes with chlorine dioxide.

Other concerns
Blue-green algae. Also known as Cyanobacteria, this algae can affect water’s color and smell. You should try and avoid cyanobacteria water, however, if you’re forced to use that water, try and filter water where the algae doesn’t seem to be as thick. Be sure to run the water through activated charcoal. Microfilters will remove the majority of the toxins.

Contaminated water. You’ve probably seen pools that have a skull-and-cross-bones sign in front of them. These pools are usually contaminated with metal deposits or chemicals. While activated charcoal will remove many organic chemicals, it probably won’t remove metals, salts, or carbonates.

Judy in Chicago had just purchased a new hose for her grandchildren to use as they played in the backyard during the summer.

However, she immediately returned the hose when she got home and read on the label, “Wash hands after use” due to the possibility of leached lead!

Findings
Many commercially bought water hoses contain dangerously high levels of lead which leech into the water flowing through them. In fact, according to Consumer Reports, water sitting in a garden hose that has been left in the sun can contain a level of lead that reaches 100 times over what is considered a safe amount.

Many garden hoses are made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) – a toxic plastic – and lead is often used as a stabilizer in PVC. The dangerous levels of lead in garden hoses could potentially cause lead poisoning, cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm. (Read the Natural News article.)

A few years ago, ABC did a report where they purchased 10 garden hoses from nation-wide distributors. They filled the hoses with water, sealed both ends, and allowed them to sit in the sun for a day. The water was then tested for lead.

Four of the 10 hoses were found to leak extremely high levels of lead into the water.

Filling your water storage with a hose
Many people use a simple garden hose to fill their water containers or tanks. This means that if you’re using an unsafe type of hose, you could be storing lead in your water tank!

Obviously, you don’t want to fill your emergency water supplies with lead! By purchasing a lead-free hose or a filter, you can ensure that this won’t happen.

What hoses are safe?
We’d answer that question by saying it’s OK to drink from a hose only if it’s labeled safe or if you flush it first. Otherwise, the water standing inside may contain worrisome amounts of lead and other chemicals that leach from the hose itself. Many hoses are made of polyvinyl chloride, which uses lead as a stabilizer…

When you buy a hose, choose one labeled safe for drinking. With any hose, flush it by letting
the water run for a minute or so before you drink. (Read the Consumer Report article.)

Water filters are very useful in just about every survival or disaster situation.  Drinking the water directly from a water source could put you in danger of getting sick or even worse.  There are many contaminants that can flow freely in water so it’s important to filter them out.

When you use a portable water filter, Water passes through, but bacteria and protozoa do not.

A portable water filter will have two tubes.  You will use one tube to stick into the water source, and the other tube will go into your container.  Next, you will pump the water through the filter and into the container.

They are lightweight and easy to put into your pack.  Some portable filters will actually screw onto the top of your water bottle.  Pumping the water can take some time.  The average filter will produce 3 liters of water in 10 to 15 minutes.

Having said that, clean water is essential to survival, so taking the time is so worth it.  If you are hiking and you find a good water source, don’t pass it by without filling up your water containers.  Otherwise you risk being far from water when you need it most.

Here is a short video where Jeff demonstrates a water filter in action:

When you buy a filter, make sure you test it out before you get into a survival situation so that you are familiar with it and how it works.

Most of all, enjoy the clean water!

Step 1: Before filling a water container makes sure you clean it thoroughly before any other steps. You can safely clean a Food-Grade water container with dish soap and water. Another way to clean it is by adding 1 tsp. of liquid house bleach to 1-quart of water. Make sure all soap residues is out before filling the container with water.

Step 2: Fill container with regular tap water, for your lager containers like a 15-30 Gallons you might want to use your garden hose. WARNING: Your standard garden hose could contain a lead lining and is not recommended for water storage. If you are unable to know if your hose doesn’t contain lead, please check with your local home improvement store to locate a Lead-Free or Food-Grade Garden Hose.

Step 3: When using your standard tap water, it will render a 6-Month Shelf Life. To maximize the water supply it should be treated with water preserver (Add 8 drops of for every gallon of water). That will render the water a 5-Year Storage Life.

Step 4: Be sure to place the date on the water container so you know when you filled it, and when you’ll need to fill it, again. If you used chlorine treated water, rotate every 6 months. If you used water preserver or tablets rotate as often as the package indicates. Please feel free to use the Water Storage document bellow for your water storage needs.

Step 5: Store in a cool, dark place. It’s ideal to store water in a location where nothing in the home will be damaged if the container leaks. It’s also helpful to remember that you can improve the taste of the water by pouring it back and forth between containers before use.

One of the most important items that you can have in your emergency supplies is a water filter. There are a variety of ways to clean water and make it safe to drink: boiling, distillation, reverse osmosis, deionization, chemical purification and filtration. In this post, I want to explain the basics of micro porous filtration or more simply said “how a water filter works”. At the end of the post, I have included some excellent reference articles from Wikipedia that include more detailed information on the topic for those that are interested.

Many people use water filters in their homes. They are attached to their faucets or sometimes are used with a water pitcher. Typically, these water filters use some sort of activated carbon filter, micro porous filtration or a combination of the two to purify the water. Portable water filters use the same methods to clean water. Portable water filters are used by hikers, the military, survivalists and other people that are in harsh environments. They allow you to clean suspect water and make it safe to drink.

Here is how a portable water filter works. Most portable water filters use a ceramic cartridge inside to clean the water. At one end of the filter, dirty water is brought in through a pumping action. The pump then forces the water through the ceramic cartridge. The ceramic cartridge is designed to filter contaminants that are 0.2 micrometers or larger. Basically, the filter will allow through water molecules and not much else. Major pathogens and contaminants such as Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporodium and other bacteria will be filtered out of the water. Giardia is commonly found in most back country water sources such as lakes, rivers and streams. Once the water is forced through this ceramic cartridge, it comes out the clean end of the water filter, purified and ready to drink. Pretty simple process. Most portable water filters will pump about a liter of water per minute, depending on the clarity of the water.

The advantages of a portable ceramic water filter:

• Allows for quick access to safe, purified drinking water wherever you find a water source.

• Removes debris from the water is it is filtered.

• Portable and simple to use and maintain.

What a portable ceramic water filter can’t do:

• Remove viruses from water sources such as hepatitis A and rotavirus.

• Remove chemicals all chemicals from the water.

• Remove salt from the water.

Portable water filters like the MSR Miniworks or the Katadyn Combi are great portable water filters and highly recommended. Keep in mind, that ceramic water filters, while designed for outdoor backpacking, hiking and military use, still need to be handled carefully. If dropped or damaged, the filter can get very small hairline cracks in it that will allow larger molecules to get through the filter and make it not safe to use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_filter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfiltration

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purified_water

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_water_filter