I drink from streams all the time, and to date have never been ill. Even once on Blubberhouses moor I drunk some slightly muddy water, but still was fine. Best way is to drink from a fast moving part.
I drink from streams all the time, and to date have never been ill. Even once on Blubberhouses moor I drunk some slightly muddy water, but still was fine. Best way is to drink from a fast moving part.
I rarely carry water these days for runs on Dartmoor, preferring to drink and have a head-dunk in streams. Tastes awesome, and no sign of scrapie yet.......
No problems drinking from this Beauty:w00t:
Hills and Guinness!
I'm sure theres another thread with this same topic, but I've never any problems drinking water on the fells as long as it's flowing freely, avoid drinking water where farm animals are grazing, eg an enclosed field full of cattle with a stream flowing through it or close to outlet of a small tarn/lake where campers regular pitch up, some in the Lakes are full of nasty bacteria like Angle Tarn.
Likewise I've been drinking from streams for years and have never been ill. Obviously, use your common sense, but if you choose a fast flowing stream high up in the hills then you're unlikely to go wrong!
I think there is a thread elsewhere, I've been at the wrong end of getting water from the wrong part of a stream. If you do drink from a stream try and get good fast flowing water, which is preferably bubbly so you've got good oxygen content which can kill off a lot of the bacteria. And I would say if you can don't drink from the outlet of a tarn. When I was ill it was from water near the outlet of Griesdale Tarn, so there's another one to avoid, I would have thought Styhead would be another one to avoid, that seems popular with campers too.
We also have untreated spring water at home. However I think that the problem is that most people don't have much resistance because tap water is so pure these days. You can get poorly from drinking water contaminated by grazing animals but again you build up a resistance. I always drink fast flowing water on open fell and a tarn inlet rather than outlet. If you are camping its always worth walking up stream for a few hundred metres to have a look.
I drink from streams now and again, but I often carry a drink in case I don't come across a stream that looks ok. I usually go for water that's flowing out of that mossy stuff. I'm hoping it acts as a filter for bits of floaty crap, but I'm probably wrong.
I will say this though; real, uncontaminated/untreated water tastes much nicer than tap water.
For one moment I thought there might was going to be a suggestion that this wasn't appropriate on the lines of the "Passing Water" thread.
I drink from streams all the time when I'm out. Ilkley Moor, Dales, Lakes, Scotland and the Alps.
Never had any problems and hope I never do.
The only one who can tell you "You can't" is you. And you don't have to listen.
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