Water Purification

Try below link. Life's straw. It's a handy water purifier. A microbiological purifier. I heard they works just like a straw.

http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/lifestraw-f-intro.htm

Check any good camping store. They have water filters with purifiers, plain filters and tablets you can add to the water. Some have UV lights. Small but expensive. I've used these all over and haven't had a problem.

Stay away from ice in your drink. Most people forget it's made usually with local water.

Stay away from ice in your drink. Most people forget it's made usually with local water.

Not only the ice in drinks but also any uncooked foods, salads and such which are washed inthe local water as well. While in Africa a couple of years ago we were also told not to get water in our mouth while taking a shower. I also carred plenty of hand sanitizer, washing your hands in the local water, you could probalbly still pick up something.

in a pinch.

use a few drops of bleach from the laundry

it works, is readily available, and could save you from having your ass fall out.

I doubt this is high on others recommendation list, but if I were thirsty and i didn't have that straw or whatever..

I prefer the lime

NSS,

As JE in Chicago indicated, laundry bleach (typically 5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite [NaOCl]) can be used to make many water sources safe.

Depending upon the "degree of dirtiness" of the water to be treated, you would use anywhere from 1/8 to 1/2 a teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water, mix it up, and let it stand for approx. 30 minutes before use.

The US CDC has some guidance on using bleach to clean and sanitize surfaces and disinfect drinking water after an "emergency". You can review their guidance at:

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/bleach.asp

According to the USEPA, you can similarly use household tincture of iodine (from a first aid kit or medicine chest) to disinfect filtered and settled water You would add five drops of 2 percent tincture of iodine to each quart or liter of clear water. For cloudy water add ten drops and let the solution stand for at least 30 minutes.

The EPA information regarding using iodine, as well as several other disinfection methods, can be reviewed at:

http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/faq/emerg.html

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Just my $0.02...

I have used the iodine and it was effective.

Also took it as a preventive to saturate my thyroid when the chernobyl cloud was starting its world tour.

This is good advice, if the straw deal gets lost stolen or contaminated.

milo

Yes, there are many types depending on size, needs and constituents you want to remove. Some are even built to fill from taps and keep in the fridge, some fit on taps. Many contain activated carbon, and some nicer systems use membrane technologies like reverse osmosis. Water pruification can range from very small and mobil to full sized municipal treatement plants, desalination plants are water purifiers.

a solar still www.desertusa.commag98/dec/stories/water.html

or a ultraviolet light + a Brita filtered pitcher

Oops!I hate when I do that here is correct link

www.desertusa.com/mag98/dec/stories/water.html

Always carry a Distilliation Kit with you or buy Distilled Bottled Water from Established Supermarket or Pharmacies. Boil all the tap water before using them. Make sure you have them passed through at least a 3-stage filters thats polyfibre filter, activated carbon filter and ceramic filter.

A friend of mine who frequently travels to areas of the world that the drinking water is in question told me that he drank milk.

I've was told to drink beer. Seriously, the alcohol kill bacteria.

umm probably not at the concentrations you find in beer.

Joe,

Good luck on your trip. I don't remember how I came across this product, I thought it was another post here in CR4, but maybe not. Check out this filter;

http://static.monolithic.com/edcircle/waterfilter/index.html

The purchase link is towards the bottom of the page, for the cost, you could make a whole village happy and healthier!

Tom

I am spending my retirement doing water purification and well drilling projects in ultra-poor 3rd world country villages.

If you are wondering about how to make sure the water you are drinking is pure, the suggestions in many of these posts are correct. The main issue is one of pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. These can be eliminated by filtration (typically to < 2 micron) coupled with either chlorination (1 drop of household bleach in 1 liter water; hold 30 minutes minimum) or UV disinfection (using eg: the Steripen). The worst water I have ever encountered was in Kenyan villages and I found that even it could be purified satisfactorily by use of ceramic filtration (available from REI or others) coupled with a final UV blast from my Steripen.

Much of the water purification work I am doing for the villages uses these same technologies.

Dont drink untreated (as above) water even from the city water systems. Rather drink, Cocoa-Cola , bottled water, or juices without added water.

There are some good answers already to your question. Most of the chemical additives, sold as tiny pills in camping stores, etc contain just very small amounts of iodine. Fill a 2-liter bottle with the "suspect" water , drop in a pill (or a very tiny crystall of iodine), and see what ppts to the bottom of the water overnight. Scary!! In a pinch, one can use tincture of iodine, but read the contents first and be sure it's ethanol and not some other alcohol as the solvent.

I have a new system that turns grey water into drinkable water at the rate of 5,000 gallons per day. The system is portable and will soon be able to be solar powered. It uses a filtration and irradiation system. Will be on the market soon. Patents have been approved and prototype is in production. We have tried to contact several relief agencies and US Govt agencies with little encouragement or progress. CARE in ATL has yet to show interest even though they have a budget of $656mm. This is cheaper than RO at about $.02/gal and uses about 90-95% of the water. There's little waste, 5%. It's not high pressure like RO so the energy usage is less. Filter need to be cleaned daily, but maintenance is minimal. Cost is around $100k depending on accessories.

If anyone has a need or knows any place I can get through with a govt or private agency, please call me @ 404/271-8851. Mike

I would suggest DOD, they are one of the more likely agencies to utilize less then proven technologies. And, before you get on the less than proven statement, we shoud recognize that everyone with a new product to sales claims their product is proven, and the agencies that serve the health and welfare of the general public really demand highly proven technologies because they backlash from using less than proven technologies, of which most will fail to provide service at the levels salesmen indicate, is too high a risk. DOD doesn't serve the general public usually, and definitely doesn't follow public standards, they use their own policies and standards (even laws) for everything. Another method would be to get small non-public utilities providers, smaller foreign relief organizations, or third world nations to implement usage as these organizations have lower standards and compliance requirements. You could go south of the border and maybe get something going with smaller resorts. demonstrate the technology for a few years in these ways, and then public agencies may become aware and accepting of the system. Alternately, you could run large, expensive research trials through highly reputable universities, and have them publish peer-reviewed scientific and/or engineering articles (this works also). There are some research funds (usually requiring some match) available through like EPA that may be applied for through the universities to evaluate the system.

Good info. Thanks, Mike

Better to pick a visible location tech it yourself and foot the bill then let the media sell it...

I was forwarded this question from my boss...

there are many different methods of purification that can be used in a potable water supply system. The methods vary, based on population size you hope to service. There are complex units, such as RO and Compact water units, which have I have used, with flow rates in excess of 200m3/h...

but their application is expensive and it requires a trained force to maintain the systems.

For the most economical application, regardless of water source - river, pond or well the best method I have found, is the application of a slow sand filter. They can be installed with a local work force, can be maintained easily, are a biological system resilient to most shock loads and can be powered by solar or hybrid energy sources. they have a long history of extensive removal rates for E.Coli, Guardia and other bacteriological and parasitic organisms in most cases averaging 95.8 - 99.7%.

I have recently redesigned a system I had done in Africa for use in Iraq. Very simple, very effective, and technology that has been in use for over 170 years. Why use a Rubik's cube when a ball and cup will do the trick.

Hope this helps.

No fair...spill the beans

I live in India which is called a third world country. Good safe bottled drinking water is easily /readily available at most places. Stick to it and u will not have any problems.

But what about food? - eat hot food, avoid salads, etc to avoid dysentry etc.

Most of the stomach upsets are caused due to bacteria, and we locals get immune to it. Most people comming from developed countries have not come across these strains of bacteria and hence are not immune to them and suffer when they drink the water.

Water softeners do not remove the bacteria which cause the stomach upsets. U require a to boil the water or expose it to UV rays to kill the bacteria.

Unless u eat and drink the local produce u will never get a feel of the place.

all the best - have a happy & enjoyable time.

S D Lashkari