water treatment

[wvgrinder]

I have no clue about the water conditions on the FT. If anything, I just use a little bleach. Will that get me by?

[mistiaggie]

I recommend a pump filter of some kind. There are some tannin and silty waters, especially in cypress domes and canals.

[Mr. Clean]

You want to be careful with bleach in water with high color content. The bleach combines with the organics (color) to create cancer causing compounds. It won't bother you on an occasional basis, but I wouldn't make a habit out of it.

[lucidglassj]

You need some sort of filter. I use a coffee filter because of floaties and then iodine. Regular filter would probably be better.

[GeneralLee10]

In Fl my home state I use a First Need Deluxe. Way to many farms and houses around that use chem. for the lawn and so on. It will take black smelly water and make it taste better than bottle water any given day.

[bus]

In the tannnin water (Rivers such as St Johns, Upper Wekiva and Little and or Big Econ. etc.) I use a Khatadin Hiker Pro..and filter out the dirt and crawlies with a coffee filter...sometimes I will drop the pills in but the filter usually works. Like others have said. Too many houses and farms that lead to chemical run-off to not filter.

[lori]

Household bleach and iodine are not as effective as other methods. Bleach is not as effective as iodine, and iodine has health risks with prolonged use, is potentially a health hazard in itself if given to pregnant or allergic folks (and you don't know who's allergic until they've had a reaction to it).

From the CDC:


Crystalline iodine 4-8 grams used in a stock solution constitutes a human lethal dose if accidentally swallowed in a single dose. Keep out of the reach of children.
Water that has been disinfected with iodine is NOT recommended for pregnant women, people with thyroid problems, those with known hypersensitivity to iodine, or continuous use for more than a few weeks at a time.
Disinfection with iodine or chlorine is not effective in killing Cryptosporidium;
Disinfection with chlorine dioxide has a low to moderate effectiveness in killing Cryptosporidium;
Combination filtration and disinfection has a very high effectiveness in removing and killing Cryptosporidium when used with chlorine dioxide and an absolute less than or equal to 1 micron filter (NSF Standard 53 or 58 rated "cyst reduction / removal" filter).
Filtration has a high effectiveness in removing Giardia when using an absolute less than or equal to 1 micron filter (NSF Standard 53 or 58 rated "cyst reduction / removal" filter);
Disinfection with iodine or chlorine has a low to moderate effectiveness in killing Giardia;
Disinfection with chlorine dioxide has a high effectiveness in killing Giardia

In short - use a good filter or boil, if you are seriously wanting to avoid cyst borne parasites or giardia. Use a prefilter of some kind to handle floaties and avoid clogging the filter.

Micropur is adequate in most cases against all of these "bugs" in varying water temps - if you are willing to wait up to four hours in worst case scenario. There is a table that lists out water conditions (turbid or clear, different temp ranges and so forth) and how long to wait. I found the contents of the table: The following is a list of "wait times": EPA Water #1 (clear, 20 degrees C) and EPA Water #2 (dirty, 4 degrees C) wait 15 minutes to kill Bacteria and Virus microorganisms. EPA Water #1 (clear, 20 degrees C) wait 30 minutes to kill Cysts. EPA Water #2 (dirty, 4 degrees C) wait 4 hours to kill Cysts.


Source:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/travel/backcountry_water_treatment.html
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/kaytadyn_micropur_mp1_purifier_tablets.html

[grayfox]

I lived in FL for a while. I would highly recommend getting the 'Data Book' from the Florida Trail Association. Florida ground water can be very bad quality-even filtered.

Try to get water from reliable-community treated-sources. It is possible to cashe water for future use, but be sure to put it in glass containers that are well protected from animals. The water is so bad, and also saline in many places, that you need to hang your drinking water like your food in many places to keep animals from getting into it.

Hiking in Florida is worth the trouble. It is an amazing place.

[TheTwanger]

This is something I've always wondered about when considering hiking the FT. I've spent quite a bit of time across the sunshine state from Everglades to Gulf Islands. The multicolored freestanding water certainly is beautiful to the eyes, but for drinking :eek:? I think I would boil AND use a .02 Micron Filter when I could! lol

[Pedaling Fool]

The Indians drank it; I wonder how well their immune system adapted.

[grayfox]

The Indians drank it; I wonder how well their immune system adapted.

Actually, they didn't drink this water.

Here is a link to some interesting information on FL water quality: http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/index.php?project_url=wq_analysis

For the most part, water degredation did not become a problem until sugar prodction companies, and land speculators, started draining the Everglades.

Native Americans held water sacred, along with most things that are critical to life. An almost universal complaint from early times was that the Whites did not respect the land and the water.

Also, rising ocean levels and demand for fresh well water are salinating many water systems now. In the future, Florida will need to desalinate most of the water they will use. I would say that if you have any money to invest, you should put it into a company that owns patents on desalination technology--IMHO.