Drinkable Water from Green Stock Tank

[Bronk]

I don't know, Matty. I've filtered water in little puddles in the rocks and it was orange going in and orange coming out of the filter. I've also filtered green algae water in a stagnant pool. Green going in, a bit less green going out. Never got sick from either.

In Florida I was camping at a place that had a shallow pitcher pump well...I filtered the water just to be safe. I left the bottles sitting in the sun and after about 20 minutes the water had turned orange. The only thing I can think of is that the sunlight caused rust from tiny particles of iron from the well pipe. I have no doubts that you could end up with green water after filtering.

[Swordpen]

Do not drink orange water in Arizona, its probably "tailings" cyanide form previous mining operations.

I'd drink straight from a stock tank, than that stuff!

[Spirit Walker]

Do not drink orange water in Arizona, its probably "tailings" cyanide form previous mining operations.

I'd drink straight from a stock tank, than that stuff!

In Wyoming, on our first thruhike, there were a couple of dead cows in the water at Bull Springs, so we kept going. (The spring has been enclosed since.) At the junction with the highway several miles farther, our map showed a water source. We got there and sure enough, there was a stream of water, flowing down the hillside. Then I noticed that all the willows along the stream were dead. Oh oh. Jim took a small taste, and sure enough, it was heavy metal runoff from mines above.

Bottom line, if there is no healthy plant life at the water source, don't drink it.

[AggieAl]

I live in southern NM and I would suggest that you consider taking the Steripen with you and using a bandana or sock or something to filter it.

We are in our third year of a drought and things will be very dry until you hit the Gila's. After you leave the Gila's it will be dry. Northern New Mexico should be fair.

It is likely that you will need to use a stock tank at some time.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

[zukiguy]

Lots of the water here in FL will go into a filter and come out the same color. The tannins from cyprus leaves stain the water a deep brown. I haven't seen a filter yet that will take out the color (hiker pro, sawyer squeeze, first need, sweetwater, etc). Carbon element or not it's coming out looking like iced tea but it tastes fine and won't hurt you.

Dousing stock tank water with bleach (or Aqua-Mira) will probably make it safe if you use enough. It's basically the same green algae that turns my pool green. Problem is however, bleach "kills" by being an oxidizing agent. It reacts with the organic matter to break it down (breaks down the cell walls of the nasties to kill them). So if you have a ton of algae in the water it will take a lot of treatment (bleach: sodium hypochlorite) to break down all that material (like shocking your pool). There's no real way to measure how much you need in the field without some kind of sophisticated tests so just dumping in a bunch of bleach to sanitize tank water is kind of a "crap shoot".

[SunnyWalker]

I am jumping back into this thread I started long time ago. I am returning to re-start the CDT this April 2014. When I left to go in 2013 I took with me a Sawyer Squeeze and it performed marvelously. I had in storage at home or in bounce box: MSR Sweetwater filter, chemical treatment, and Steripen. Favorites are Sawyer and MSR Sweetwater. Least favorite: Chemical treatment and Steripen. Easy to use: Sawyer squeeze and chemicals. Ones I trusted least: chemicals and Steripen. One that was hardest to manage: Steripen (you must have the right width of mouth of your water container for the Steripen to fit into. Also you must have the correct batteries and this can be a mgmt difficulty. AND, it seemed slower then the Sawyer or the MSR. You ask, "What's your hurry?" Well, you have to be there.)

Thank you for all the feedback on this post. It really helped me. Continue on if you wish!

[bamboo bob]

I used a Gravity Filter in NM last year on the CDT. It worked great once I understood how to use it properly. I avoided cow water by tanking up and carrying more than I wanted to. But it was really no big deal. I;m a Gravity Filter convert for sure.

[SunnyWalker]

Hey bamboo bob, do you have a log online? If so, where at as I'd like to read it!