Water Filtration Help

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Escape Goat
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Water Filtration Help

Post by Escape Goat »

Hey all,
I've searched the forum, found quite a bit of knowledge on water filtration but I still have one question. I wanted to know if anyone has a link to a website showing pictures of different locations and if filtration is suitable of said water.

My first event was the Winter Event this year - I spoke with Ian who filled his water bottle up straight from the little stream at Nant Syddion whlist I was faffing around with a Sawyer filter....he said he knows the area and has never filtered there before. Someone said it's safe to drink, I had a filter so I filtered anyway and filled my bottle. I'm not always going to have someone tell me that the water is safe and just drink it, and consequently during my solo Snowdonia route that Jeff made me I did indeed run out of water because I seen looooooads of sheep by any water at all...

ImageLlyn Cowld by Escape Goat, on Flickr
(So much water, no confidence to filter)

ImageScreen Shot 2019-07-16 at 18.38.33 by Escape Goat, on Flickr

Sooo much more water... all the little streams that went into this had sheep stood around, like the aqua cartel!



Hopefully there's a decent website to educate me further so I can take less water bottles to wales and ultimately less weight on the bike! :-bd
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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

Ask yourself some simple questions to help decide.

Is there livestock on land nearby? Yes - filter
Am I downstream of a path / track / road that crosses the water? Yes - filter
Am I downstream of a dwelling? Yes - filter
Is the water fast flowing or still? Still - filter
Am I near a previously used camp spot? Yes - filter
Could there be run off entering the water from cultivated fields? Yes - filter

It's not sure-fire but will give you a good indication. Generally the higher you are, the safer the water will be. Forestry is usually a good bet in Wales / England and there's so little livestock in the Highlands that it's usually considered safe away from the honey pots but the bottom line is - if in doubt, filter out :-bd
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middleagedmadness
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by middleagedmadness »

For the weight of my befree and that it's a bottle I can store water in I always filter no matter where ,I've had a upset belly ( the week after I attempted the bigbear and was on the WRT ) and it wasn't pleasant but I put it down to my gloves being covered in muck when on the bigbear and ingesting a little bit of sheep poo that way
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Escape Goat
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Escape Goat »

I guess
middleagedmadness wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:05 pm For the weight of my befree and that it's a bottle I can store water in I always filter no matter where ,I've had a upset belly ( the week after I attempted the bigbear and was on the WRT ) and it wasn't pleasant but I put it down to my gloves being covered in muck when on the bigbear and ingesting a little bit of sheep poo that way
Bearbonesnorm wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 6:54 pm if in doubt, filter out :-bd
I guess I was supposed to ask, is it safe to filter water from any stream even if the aqua cartel are hanging around (sheep) I wouldn't ever be brave enough to just drink, but I guess the question was is there water I shouldn't filter and just skip and not drink, or is filtration ok for any stream even if you are not sure if sheep are around?
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BigdummySteve
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by BigdummySteve »

I think mam has it right, carry a filter which is so easy that you use it every time. I too have a befree filter and it’s as quick as filling a water bottle.
After last years epic sickness on the South Downs way I’m a lot more careful.
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Escape Goat
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Escape Goat »

I always have a filter on me, but I don't know if i can filter any stream water and it will be safe.
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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

I always have a filter on me, but I don't know if i can filter any stream water and it will be safe.
Pretty much Allen. Most filters inc the Sawyer will remove the stuff that's most likely to make you ill in the UK. Also worth remembering what Mam says, often the culprit isn't water but crap on hands / gloves / bottles etc.
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Lazarus
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Lazarus »

water filters dont kill viruses they only remove the rest of the stuff so as noted above all you can do is minimise risk using some rules of thumb.

Granted the chances of a virus in water is slim in the uk but you need a water treatment system- uv pen light or some tablets-to be 100% sure.

a pump will work in standing a low water levels where as the bottle requires some depth. the chance of you being in the uK and only able to filter a puddle are slim IMHO

the best choices are
https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... 0-6l-p7645


or for a pump
https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... lter-p6473
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Escape Goat
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Escape Goat »

Thanks for that. I've taken all this advice on board, as long as I have a filter system, clean hands, clean ish bottle then I'll have a good chance of staying hydrated and healthy.

Thanks all!
survivor
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by survivor »

I've got some water treatment tablets from army rations I've used. Does the same advice above cover their use or do they chemically make anything drinkable all be it not very tasty?
lune ranger
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by lune ranger »

If you filter water from a running stream in the UK uplands the chances of getting sick are next to zero.
You could get a pump filter that deals with viruses and make that chance actually zero. katadyn, MSR and others make them but they are relatively big (approx can of RedBull), heavy-ish (300-400g) and spendy (>£100)
As said above - get a simple bacterial filter. Stow it in an accessible place and use it every time from flowing clean looking water and you won’t get sick.
If you are going through hell, keep going.
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lune ranger
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by lune ranger »

survivor wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:51 pm I've got some water treatment tablets from army rations I've used. Does the same advice above cover their use or do they chemically make anything drinkable all be it not very tasty?
MOD issue Puritabs are chlorine.
You need visibly clean water.
You need a contact time (ie how long before you drink the treated water) of 15min.
If the water is very cold treatment time is longer, say 20min, but the chances of the water being infected are lower.
They taste minging.
If you prefer chemical treatments, AquaMira
Make a virtually taste free mixed oxide liquid treatment. This was my (and a bunch of other military medics) preferred treatment for suspect water in Afghan, used alongside a Frontier Pro in-line filter that goes onto a Camelbak hose. That’s very much a belt and braces approach for high risk water and no way needed in the UK
If you are going through hell, keep going.
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survivor
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by survivor »

lune ranger wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 10:31 pm
survivor wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 9:51 pm I've got some water treatment tablets from army rations I've used. Does the same advice above cover their use or do they chemically make anything drinkable all be it not very tasty?
MOD issue Puritabs are chlorine.
You need visibly clean water.
You need a contact time (ie how long before you drink the treated water) of 15min.
If the water is very cold treatment time is longer, say 20min, but the chances of the water being infected are lower.
They taste minging.
If you prefer chemical treatments, AquaMira
Make a virtually taste free mixed oxide liquid treatment. This was my (and a bunch of other military medics) preferred treatment for suspect water in Afghan, used alongside a Frontier Pro in-line filter that goes onto a Camelbak hose. That’s very much a belt and braces approach for high risk water and no way needed in the UK

Thanks for that. They were from a French ration with Troclosene Sodium as the ingredient but probably the same thing as the British ones.
Handy to have though.
lune ranger
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by lune ranger »

Troclosene Sodium....

Think that’s a chlorine releasing compound of sorts.
Usage should be the same.
If you are going through hell, keep going.
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RobLyon
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by RobLyon »

I was going to ask for a review of this but I think I know the answer. It's a lot heavier and takes 3x longer than an MSR trailshot and the plastic looks a bit fragile. But i'd guess better filtration and longer filter life.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1X-Pure-Easy ... 1438.l2649
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psling
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by psling »

I spoke with Ian who filled his water bottle up straight from the little stream at Nant Syddion whlist I was faffing around with a Sawyer filter....he said he knows the area and has never filtered there before.
Ask yourself one question - have you seen or spoken with Ian since...................... :shock:


Being serious for a moment though, there's some good advice above. I try to target faster flowing water above agricultural land where possible; at lower levels I knock on doors and ask for a fill-up :cool:
We go out into the hills to lose ourselves, not to get lost. You are only lost if you need to be somewhere else and if you really need to be somewhere else then you're probably in the wrong place to begin with.
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Escape Goat
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Escape Goat »

psling wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 12:54 pm
I spoke with Ian who filled his water bottle up straight from the little stream at Nant Syddion whlist I was faffing around with a Sawyer filter....he said he knows the area and has never filtered there before.
at lower levels I knock on doors and ask for a fill-up :cool:
Providing there are doors in mid Wales.....
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RIP
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by RIP »

psling wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 12:54 pm Ask yourself one question - have you seen or spoken with Ian since...................... :shock:
:grin: . TBH he's hard to see anyway if he's riding - too fast, all you get is the sonic boom afterwards.

re mid-Welsh doors: there's quite a few even in the remote bits, although a drawback is the actual building behind them has fallen to pieces :sad: .
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whitestone
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by whitestone »

As Stu says, get above human activity (habitation and byways) and so long as there's no obvious animal activity in the immediate area you should be fine. Nothing's 100% certain though and nothing's 100% "safe" only a vastly reduced risk.

I don't know of any map that shows "good' sources of water and even if there were it could be immediately out of date if an animal falls down dead just a few metres upstream.

Just for the record: our domestic water supply is untreated spring water. We've been here 17 years and not had a single instance of illness. It did fail the last council inspection - it's slightly too acidic. The farm I grew up on also was on an untreated supply and none of us had any illness though my brother has now moved on to mains water and the original supply is farm only.
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middleagedmadness
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by middleagedmadness »

RobLyon wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 12:32 pm I was going to ask for a review of this but I think I know the answer. It's a lot heavier and takes 3x longer than an MSR trailshot and the plastic looks a bit fragile. But i'd guess better filtration and longer filter life.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1X-Pure-Easy ... 1438.l2649
It's got the same size filter as a trail shot or befree , personally anything to do with health I'd buy a known brand , at least you know it's been cycle tested correctly before being put on sale
padonbike
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by padonbike »

Bearbonesnorm wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 6:54 pm Ask yourself some simple questions to help decide.

Is there livestock on land nearby? Yes - filter
Am I downstream of a path / track / road that crosses the water? Yes - filter
Am I downstream of a dwelling? Yes - filter
Is the water fast flowing or still? Still - filter
Am I near a previously used camp spot? Yes - filter
Could there be run off entering the water from cultivated fields? Yes - filter

It's not sure-fire but will give you a good indication. Generally the higher you are, the safer the water will be. Forestry is usually a good bet in Wales / England and there's so little livestock in the Highlands that it's usually considered safe away from the honey pots but the bottom line is - if in doubt, filter out :-bd
Totally agree with every word :-bd Excellent advice!
Lazarus
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Lazarus »

But i'd guess better filtration and longer filter life.
I got one and its totally rubbish and did not survive the first trip , does not seal well so you lose more of what you filter than get . I gave up and just drank unfiltered water as i would have either died of boredom or lack of water using that.

Not worth owning [ and i think i paid less than a tenner for mine.

I cannot emphasis that enough DONT BUY
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Escape Goat
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Escape Goat »

whitestone wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 1:23 pm

I don't know of any map that shows "good' sources of water

That would be a hell of a website to update! But my question was rather than that, just examples of what good water sources could look like and what bad sources could look like.
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by RIP »

"That would be a hell of a website to update!" - funnily enough there was a laudable project mentioned Here a while ago on just that theme. It went a bit quiet though :wink: .
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP

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Escape Goat
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Re: Water Filtration Help

Post by Escape Goat »

RIP wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:40 pm "That would be a hell of a website to update!" - funnily enough there was a laudable project mentioned Here a while ago on just that theme. It went a bit quiet though :wink: .
:lol:
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