Dangers in Our Drinking Water From the Rivers & the Lakes

Although rivers and lakes are freshwater systems, drinking from them naturally without treating their water through filtration and disinfection processes is never a good idea. Since you cannot always detect contaminants by the appearance, smell or taste of a water sample, it is best to refrain from drinking any surface water at all before it has been treated.

Pollutants

• Any body of water is constantly in motion, potentially bring in contaminating biological and chemical pollutants at any moment including waste from animals, boat toilets, sewage, oil, pesticides, gasoline, heavy metals and acid rain. Thus, for water to be considered safe to drink, it must first be filtrated and disinfected.

Algae

• Algae threatens rivers and lakes when they bloom as well as when they die. As they bloom, algae block sunlight exposure necessary to help cleanse water naturally, as well as necessary for aquatic plants under the water's surface to thrive. As algae decay, they decrease the water's oxygen supply, causing fish to die or flee. One type, blue-green algae, even contaminates water sources with a toxin that is potentially deadly to people.

Diseases

• Ingesting bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites and more found in surface water from rivers and lakes most commonly cause illnesses like giarda (small intestine infection), cryptosoporidium (diarrhea-inducing infection) or other gastrointestinal diseases. These illnesses are characterized by symptoms including gas, nausea, weight loss, diarrhea and loss of energy. Among other possible conditions resulting from contaminated water intake are liver damage, kidney damage, weakened immune system, nervous system disorders, cancer and birth defects, In severe cases, drinking contaminated water can even lead to death. However, contaminants rarely present an immediate impact on a drinker's health from a single instance of intake. The most dire effects are more likely to begin following repeated ingestion of the same harmful contaminant.

Treating Surface Water

• When partaking in outdoor activities for extended periods of time, it is necessary to remain hydrated, which means it can become necessary to drink water from the natural sources around you. In order to minimize the dangers, you should take measures to disinfect it yourself. To do so, you should first choose water from the clearest area available to you, free of material like debris, clay, silk and tiny organisms that could clump and impede disinfection. Your best bet is typically to gather water from between the surface and the floor of the water source rather than either extreme, or to allow murky water to filter through a piece of cloth before doing anything else with it, and then bring the water to a boil to kill any harmful organisms that remain. You may also use filters or chemicals such as chlorine or iodine tablets from a sporting goods store, in accordance with their specific instructions, to disinfect water before drinking.