Although the water you collect may look clear, drinking untreated water will expose you to a variety of bacteria and parasites that can cause illness.
How do these pathogens reach water supplies? It is often borne by humans and animals (and their waste) who kill, work, bathe, defecate, and even die or have their remains thrown in lakes and rivers, both in the wild and in urban areas with poor sanitation practices.
Giardiasis is a key waterborne disease found in the United States’ wilderness. It’s a protozoan parasite that can cause severe cramping and, worst of all, violent diarrhea in any outdoor environment.
Such waterborne diseases found in the wilds of the world include dysentery, cholera, and a variety of worms, viruses, and bacterial infections. The most common symptoms of these illnesses are similar to giardiasis in that they are mostly intestinal in nature.
When you’re dehydrated from a survival situation or from backpacking for a few days, diarrhea will escalate the problem and even endanger your life.
It is much preferable to treat any water you drink from the wild or from dubious sources than to risk becoming sick. The only exception is if staying hydrated is critical to your survival. In that scenario, you must consume untreated water.
If you would like to learn how to gather and hunt for food in a survival situation, be sure to check out our Spearfishing For Beginners and How to Hunt with Slingshot articles.
Thank you for the survival tips; they’re just what we need. That would be great if one could write how efficient the procedure is or how much of the water comes out clean.