“Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink” (the rime of the ancient mariner)
Because it’s so hot in the tropics you need to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated; but how safe is the water to drink?
Years ago I was trekking up the Peshawar valley in Pakistan and drinking the water straight from the crystal clean river that runs through it. A few days later I saw some of the locals squatting in the river and realised that they used it as a toilet. Not long after that I came down with amoebic dysentery and, a couple of months later when I returned to the UK, I’d lost 20% of my body weight and looked like a concentration camp survivor.
In Africa I caught Giardia from the water (the onset of which was accompanied by the infamous ‘eggy’ burps) and was almost unable to move for 36 hours while my body purged itself.
Here in Malaysia I have watched in astonishment as a fellow camper peed into the same river in which, 20 ft away, others were doing the washing up! I’ve found pesticide bottles dumped into rivers, sewage pipes from villages often empty directly into rivers, tapir (apparently) like to relieve themselves in the same rivers they drink from and run-off from farms can contain all sorts of nasties. The situation is even worse during the heavy rains, when surface excrement and other grot is washed off surrounding hills…and into the rivers.
All of this can make jungle trekkers understandably paranoid about cleaning the water they drink
…and yet, I have also drunk water directly from jungle streams (without filtering or purifying the water) without getting ill in the slightest.
So here’s the thing: if you get dehydrated in the tropics a whole host of associated problems will quickly follow and, without any water at all, you will die in a matter of days. If I was lost in the jungle and was unable to purify the water from streams I would still drink it, no question about that – however, if I was able to purify the water I would absolutely do so, no question about that either.
In this video I look at the basics of making water from streams safe to drink and show some tips and tricks that can be used in the jungle.
If you decide that you want to buy an off-the-shelf filter system instead (and rely only on that), make sure that it purifies as well as filters the water. For example, the gravity fed Millbank bag (basically a tightly woven, canvas sock) will filter water and remove a lot of the nasties, but it won’t purify it (i.e. you should still boil or chemically treat any water filtered through it).
Also, be aware that if your filter cracks or tears (e.g. a crack in the internal ceramic core of a Katadyn filter) then it won’t work properly. Filter systems can also get clogged up fast if used with very turbid water (so you may want to prefilter first through a cloth or bamboo-style filter).
Another option is to buy replacement filter elements and then rig up your own DIY (gravity fed) filter bag. I think Katadyn sell these, but I’m not sure. With more and more people using water filters in their homes, good (i.e. low micron) filter elements are becoming easier to source.
For me, I stick to chemical purification or boiling water as opposed to carrying filtration/purification systems but, at the end of the day, it’s a personal choice and some people prefer to take in a commercially available kit instead.
One last thing, don’t rely solely on being able to boil water: you may not be able to get a fire going and, in a tropical rainstorm, your fire will quickly go out….but then again, during a tropical rainstorm, clean drinkable water is simply falling from the sky!
Hi Paul,
This is a good tutorial about water and goes along the same lines as I have been using for years. I carry 2 58 army water bottles in my belt kit and have 1 in my day bag, the 1 in the day bag holds dirty water and I have clean in the belt kit. this way when I get the chance to stop and get a brew on I can then boil my “Dirty” to sterilise it (Big bubbles no troubles) then replace the clean I have used for my brew and then fill up the dirty via a millbank bag. I have also just got a LifeSaver bottle that states it can filter everything out including cryptosporidium and Giardia up to 4000ltrs. This is again for the same reason you have 2 methods if on the move or at a base camp.
Anyway just one thing you should mention is that Iodine is not good for anyone with a thyroid problem and should avoid it at all costs.
Thanks for the vids.
Lee
Hi Lee and thanks for the comment…I agree 2 (or more) water bottles is the way to go: I have one bottle in which the chlorine is doing its stuff and another which has already treated water in ready to drink.
You are right to point out the risks with iodine – people with thyroid problems, who are allergic to iodine and pregnant women should all avoid using iodine.
Thanks again, cheers! Paul
Just my two cents but I’d only trust a filter to help clean the water even if it states it will purify and remove bacteria. Boiling or purification tablets even on filtered water seems like a good idea to me. In a pinch, small amounts of chlorine bleach can be used to purify water too. http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oemergencypurifycalc.html
Aloha!
Hi XJ, all two cents worth are appreciated and I know what you mean about filters – there’s something reassuring about the taste of chemical purifiers or the sight of water boiling away that you miss with a filter and, if it gets damaged and you don’t notice, the filter might not be doing its job anyway.
Thanks for the post. Cheers! Paul
Hi Paul, again a nice video. I always enjoy, every time. (take my coffee and a siga and sit watching 🙂 in 2 mounth i go to thailand and country around thailand for 1 month. away from the big cities.
take care, Will
from the Netherlands
Hi Will,
Many thanks for the comment and hope the trip to Thailand gives you a chance to get into the rainforest!
Cheers!
Paul
Enjoying the videos so far. I live in Thailand and have been looking to do some bushwacking here. One item you may want to investigate for your water purification is a Steripen. Small, lightweight and uses UV to eliminate the organism’s capability to reproduce. I have been looking at some filtration devices as well and MSR has a very small product that pumps 3 liters per minute. Does not work on the viruses though so that is why I looked at the Steripen. Chlorination is a great way to purify but as you noted, turbidity can cause problems. Also the temperature of the water and pH levels have an impact on the efficacy as well. Crypto may be a little harder to eliminate with the chlorine, so that is why I am checking out the Steripen as a first line defense with chemical tablets as a back up solution in case of mechanical failure. Thanks again.
ez
Hi Ez,
thanks for the comment and the interesting points you make. I was reading a review of the steripen recently in the Malaysia Nature Society magazine and they seemed to give it the thumbs up and its certainly looks like a convenient item to use. I guess the advantages of chemically treating is you don’t need to carry a filter with you and it kills all the nasties but the downsides are taste and the necessity to remove any turbidity first.
Anyway, good luck with the bushwacking in Thailand!
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Everybody,
Well one of the few sites i like, and like to visit; in cyberspace unfortuanalty.
Otherwise; i woudl have strolled over for a cupper.
In regard to chemical threatment. There is a product on the market, for years…, and it works well. Again; after the first stage of filtering i.e. getting the big parts out.
It is called Aerobic 07, and can be purchased in the States. Here is a website: http://www.nitro-pak.com/products/water/water-tablets-and-treatment/aerobic-07-large-size
Now, i only get this website on, so people can check it. I peronally have never used it, i do prefer a mechanical filter but have not been in the jungle yet, so i do not speak of personal experience. But…before taking something in my body; i check things thourghly.
Aerobic 07 works of oxyginating water so thourghly all harmfull bacteria, protezoa, and other nasties get over oxiginated and die. No bad after tast, no health risks, or hidden allergic reactions taking trips in to hell.
Kind regards,
Robin
Hi Robin,
Thanks for the post and very glad you like the site.
I’ve never heard of Aerobic 7 so thanks for pointing it out – does anyone else have experience of using this product?
A friend of mine was showing me the aqua-straw (I think that’s what it was called) the other day which is a handy little filter that you suck up water with directly from the source. He said it worked very well (and he hasn’t got ill yet!).
A lot of people don’t like the taste of water purifying tablets but I don’t really mind that much (particularly if add some flavouring to mask it) so it would be good for them to know of some alternatives.
Thanks again,
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Yes technologie is moving fast, maybe to fast. The straw you state i know i.e. knew from BCC at Cardiff UK. In het 80/90 it was all ready availeble and i had one then, and used it on a trip in the Ardens. Well……i do not know the new models, but that was the last time is used a straw like that, i believe it was iodine based and terrible tasting…but….save.
I little while ago i bought this little handy waterfilter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjcLDXwzURo&feature=related
from pureeasy. It is the, i found out later, standard issue of the canadian army ceramic mini filter. I tried it in a little pool in the woods; worked like a champ. No foul taste, clear water, small, relativly cheap and cheap spare filters, high volume, light….
I love it, and no other waterfilter for me. Maybe in the tropics: Aerobic 07 after filtration; just to be sure…
Have a look on You Tube on this filter as this movie is a bit over the hill. I have one, and love it and if you can put a pocket on a parang machete sheath; i guess for the big part you are set in the jungle. Shelter, fire, (clean..) water, so getting throught the first 72 hours should possible.
Cheers,
Robin
Hi Robin,
I hadn’t realised the aqua straw had been around for so long! Guess I’m out of touch. The last water filtering device I bought was a Millbank bag which dates back to the last war, I think!
I know some of the ultralight trekkers are using the filter replacements for household purifiers and rigging them up in a DIY fashion, which is an interesting way to go.
Anyway, thanks again for the posts and for the Youtube link.
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul!
Great and useful video about water in the jungle, thanks! As I am most “familiar” to the jungle of south east Nicaragua, I learned a lot about using those bamboo stem as they are oddly not used by Nicaraguans who leave by the jungle for cooking and so. As a matter of fact, they mostly use bamboos for construction. I have a good friend there, by the Rio San Juan (he is a self-thought medicine-man), who told me that the huge bamboos one find in the jungle are non-natives as they were brought by the Spanish conquistadores for building their camp cabins. So the Nicas traditionally follow the steps of their invaders until now… I will go back there next december to give a hand to the Nicaraguan Jaguar Project Team and we will be for a while in the jungle, following tracks of El Tigre, as they call Panthera onca there: I will show them some of your cool bamboo tricks and let you know what they think of them. I might be surprised to learn some other uses, who knows? I will (!) and share them with you!
Thanks again for your super cool, humorous and so useful videos!
Hasta pronto!
Maxime
Hi Maxime,
Many thanks for the very interesting comment – it is very curious that the Nicaraguans don’t use bamboo for anything but construction….I have got to the stage where I’ve got almost over reliant on the stuff and use it for everything to the point where I feel a bit lost in a jungle without bamboo! You don’t always find it in the jungle over here as it needs a lot of sun (just like grass) and often it is found on hill sides and by rivers. The largest stemmed bamboo over here is also imported (from Myanmar I think) and is truly enormous and so thick that it is a real effort to cut.
The Jaguar Project team also sounds fascinating and a bit like the Mycat walks that are run over here (in the footsteps of tigers) – I’ve only ever come across leopards over here (which are often described as black panthers as their coat is so dark that you can make out the markings).
Good luck on the trip and thanks again for the writing.
Cheers!
Paul
All good stuff…tried and true…the one thing about watering that I never hear anyone mention…,but I have learned the hard way,(almost fatally)is to well hydrate before starting trek,then maintain a steady level of replenishment through out the active part of the day…I used to start journeys at a low level because I felt lighter,and would SIP off and on from time to time,thinking it would be sufficiant…that method almost topped me off twice…I am MUCH smarter about water these days!GREAT STUFF YOU BRING !,I really learned alot on you BOOTS vid.s
GREETINGS FROM LOUISIANA U.S.A. !
Hi A.B. Noone,
Many thanks for the comment and I completely agree with you about hydrating before setting off….I try and drink at least a litre (more if I can stomach it) before leaving camp and, as that’s usually near a river, can then refill the bottles.
I guess in Louisiana it gets pretty hot and humid just like here and it is easy to get dehydrated if you’re not careful.
Thanks again.
Cheers!
Paul