When Hiking Think Water Purification Instead of Bottled Water
Mountain streams may look clean and pure. Unfortunately from a biological perspective, they may not be. Years ago, the general rule was if the water source was suspected to be contaminated, treat it by boiling or adding chlorine or iodine. Now, the general concurrence seems to be that all water supplies should be treated or purified.
Individuals have various tolerances to water contaminants and pollutants, and individual tolerances may differ over time. So the safest, surest and most convenient practice is to treat all outdoor water.
Bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms that can cause a variety of harmful illnesses in our bodies may contaminate water sources. Though most water-borne diseases are treatable, prevention is definitely preferable. When going hiking in the mountains, water purification is one of the problems.
The most common forms of hiking water purification are: boiling, filtering, and chemical additives.
Boiling is the simplest and the most effective hiking water purification, but not a method commonly practiced by hikers, because it needs building a fire or using a stove. It also makes the water unpleasantly warm for immediate consumption. Boiling also does nothing to eradicate any particulate matter sustained in the water or chemical contamination.
Filters that are used in hiking water purification methods are effective at eradicating most biological contaminates, particulate matter, and some chemical contaminates. Filtering has the benefit of treating water for immediate drinking, but has the disadvantages of extra weight and the possibility of failure or clumping. When filtering is the primary method of water treatment, it is a good idea to have a backup chemical treatment.
A variation on the traditional hiking water purification is the bottle filter. These are handy and easy to use. Water is placed through the filter by squeezing the bottle as you consume. They probably are not the best tool to purify a volume of water for a meal preparation, but they operate quite well to satisfy your thirst while hiking. Find a water source; fill the bottle, place the top back and you are ready to drink.
Chemical treatments have the advantages among all the hiking water purification methods of being very handy and very effective at treating bacteria and viruses; however, they will not remove particulate matter, may not eradicate all the microorganisms present in the water, and need a time delay, usually anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes or more, before the water is safe to drink. The most popular chemical water treatments are chlorine, iodine, and oxidizing agents. With all chemical treatments, the amount to add and the time to wait should be heightened as the water temperature decreases and/or contamination levels increase. Also remember to loosen the cap on your water container and pour some of the treated water onto the threads of the cap to remove contaminates that may be trapped in there. The best way is to use several hiking water purification methods when going to the mountains. This is will ensure that your drinking water is cleaner and safer.