http://www.nptrail.org/uploads/GiardiaMyth-Buster.pdf

This is the most interesting article I have read recently about it. I just drank from a spring above 3000 ft in the Catskills a few weeks ago. First time untreated thanks to the rules from Mike C! new book. So far so good.

I am not ready to throw away my water treatment tabs yet but I am thinking about exploring some more.

If you strongly disagree please post a source. Otherwise you might just be part of the hype.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/25134/index.html?skip_to_post=206960#206960

I wish I knew how many gallons of untreated water I've drank over 30 years and never got sick. I find myself treating now mostly because of my 5 yr old son. I don't know why, I guess because everyone else does.

Drinking untreated water is like riding through stop signs on a bicycle.

Nothing bad hardly ever happens.

"Drinking untreated water is like riding through stop signs on a bicycle.

Nothing bad hardly ever happens."


LOL! How true! But when it does happen, oh my!!!!!

I don't usually treat my water. I do carry aqua Mira drops but rarely use them. If I go with a group of 3 or more in an area like Grayson highlands VA that has livestock we will share a filter. I have never been sick and have never heard of anyone getting sick.

That said the plural of anecdote is not data so YMMV.

Maybe you should throw away the treatment tabs and get a filter instead? ;-)

Here's one thing which could happen while riding through the stop sign:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=52578&disable_pagination=1

I've drunk untreated water from streams, and I'll continue to do so from springs and high altitude streams.

wrong post, sorry

Edited by TylerD on 09/12/2011 12:15:46 MDT.

I've done the same, though now I have an in line filter so don't have to think about it, but it's more so I also don't have to drink any silt either and I don't have to worry about water from non-stream sources (ie standing water and the like).

There is now a lot of contamination of water in the areas flooded by Hurricane Irene and subsequent storms. We own land on Batavia Kill near Windham and Prattsville in Greene County, NY. Normally this is safe to drink, but raw sewage, oil, gasoline and other contaminants were swept into the stream. I've seen one picture that shows the house and foundation and most of a yard washed away; this includes the whole septic system except the tank. I've also seen pictures of roads washed away leaving raw sewage flowing into a stream from a broken pipe. NY and VT are recommending that wells be disinfected in the flood areas. So, even if you believe that you don't normally need to treat water, in the Catskills and Vermont I'd say treat even at 3000'. If wells are contaminated you have to wonder whether springs at some distance from the contamination sources could be contaminated, since they are presumably drawing from the same aquifer.

I wouldn't drink even treated water from lower elevation streams in Catskills, ADK or Vermont until any contamination has washed out; I have no idea how long that takes.

The article you site shows measurements at the outlets of large reservoirs. My recollection is that this is the safest place to draw water -- the water leaving has been disinfected by UV from sunlight and any contaminants are very diluted. Streams and springs might have a very different result.

Bacteria are probably a more likely cause of illness than Giardia (no references for this).

I posted something like this on BushcraftUSA. I got almost the complete opposite replies. The thread got pretty big, an interesting read on a lot of different perspectives.
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43010

I've decided I'll go back to not treating again like I used to. The water is pretty darn clean in my wilderness areas. I'll still carry the aquamira for those times when it seems needed or if I'm with someone who lets their dog trample the only water source we all must share.