Water Treatment

One of the most important things during your mountaineering and trekking trips is to keep well hydrated. Safe drinking water is therefore essential. In remote or undeveloped areas, safe drinking water could be hard to get. The only water you might be able to get, could contain bacteria (such as e-coli, salmonella and cholera), viruses (which cause diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, meningitis, and polio) and protozoa (such as Giardia). All this stuff needs to be removed or destroyed to ensure that suspect water is safe to drink.

Water Purication Methods

Buying Bottled Water

Nowadays, you can buy almost everywhere in undeveloped countries bottled water. With buying water in bottles you will stimulate the local economy. Bottled water is compared to the water purication methods here mentioned below quite expensive.

NOTE:Always check the seal of the bottles you have bought - sometimes the bottles are filled with water from the local tap.

Boiling Water

Boiling water to kill all the germs etc. is a simple and very effective way to purify your drinking water. When you boil the water, boil it for at least 1 minute and an additional 1 minute for every 1000 feet you are above sea level. Boiling water is a time consuming and costly solution to clean your water. In addition it is not always practical (if you are away from camp) and the water could taste a bit flat.

Using Chlorine or Iodine Tablets/Droplets

Using chlorine or iodine tablets/droplets is a cheap and convenient method. Convenient because it is light and you only need 1 tablet/droplet for a liter of water. Note that using chlorine or iodine in cold or cloudy water, you might want to make the standing time longer or increase the dosage. Be aware that chlorine will not kill viruses and iodine does. After treating the water, it will taste after chlorine or iodine, but you can neutralize this by using special tablets. Note that you cannot use iodine for a longer period of time as it is a poison.This method is useful for travellers who only need to treat water occasionally. Trekkers on short treks. Iodine/Chlorine tablets or droplets always come in handy as a back-up to other methods.

Using a Bottle Purifier

A bottle purifier is very effective to purify your water. This method is very economical for long term use, quick and convenient. It is as bulky as a normal cycle-type drinking bottle. The carbon element designs remove chemicals and tastes (inc. iodine). An disadvantage is that a bottle purifier does have high initial costs.A bottle purifier is practical for travellers and trekkers on longer trips, when bottled water is unobtainable, and boiling is impractical.

Microfilter

This method has similar advantage as the bottle purifier. However it is not 100% effective against viruses. So if you suspect viruses, then it should be used in conjunction with iodine. In addition it is heavier and bulkier than the bottle purifier because it contains a ceramic element that can break.A microfilter purifier is suitable for trekkers and backpackers on long expeditions or travels who want a long term method of water purification.

Below are some samples: