Drinking dam water

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AngerManagement said:
If it is about living or dying - I would be happy to drink any water...

If it is a long term situation, then the concerns of Arsnic etc comes into play.

As a kid with my old man, when out droving; I often had to get a billy of water from a soak. Yep a muddy water spot full of cow shite and piss and who knows what else.

A drop of carbide would settle the muck ( when we had it) and then pour off the clean stuff, boil and strong tea to kill the taste. A second billy would sit over night and the muck would settle without the carbide (Love that stuff but hate the taste), and the morning tea was black and strong with some suggar to get you started.

Only so much stuff you can carry on a pack horse when working in the bush.

You an go overboard with lots of teck stuff; but if you are in that much strife that you are about to die of thirst and there is no water about. Then that tecnical gear is all wasted.

KISS = Do your planning and manage your water in teh first place. If it is running short, then lots of basic tricks to keep you going and to allow you to get back.

If your planning always for the extreme, then your basic planning may need looking at.

I like the water straws and some of the small hand de salination pumps, when doing any long kayak trips, as you do not always have space. But it can be hard work to get more than what is required for a good drink.
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Agreed. Preparation preparation preparation.
If it's life or death do what you must.
Like I said in an earlier post - I always keep a 20 litre drum of water with me in the car.
That'll keep me going for a few days at least.
Terry
 
I don't want to carry on too much about the life straw but since having a few over the last 5-6 years and how many times it saved me from walking out dry' it's a must have for any hunter or prospector, it takes up no space easy to use' by memory up to 1000L.

If your water bottle is large enough to allow the straw to fit inside you can fill your bottle/thermos up with dirty water and drink with the straw later.

With the life straw there's really no need to overload on water as long as there's a water source, and theres other means of carrying water later after your lost with a condom in a Beanie or sock, and still be able to draw water out of the condom using the life straw.

I realise most are already aware but some don't realise the benefits of something simple.
 
Luke_Z - I too have read about the condom in a sock trick. However, every pack of condoms I've ever seen has contained lubricated condoms. I'd hate to drink the lubricant... However, slipping a rubber johnnie over the muzzle of a rifle to keep the sand out makes 100% sense. :)
 
I would just drink the what ever I could get my hands on IF I had too, to worry about arsenic and the like, you have to be alive first :D

Generally speaking short of a dead animal in the dam, that water is probably better than most metro water tanks most have these days ;)

Those straws do look good though, but I would rather either carry enough water for the day, OR go on shorter walks lol
 
Life straw is a very handy item if you are going into an arid area for a length of time.
For the majority of us whom only go out into the bush for 2 or 3 weeks, nothing beats
fresh water in a jerry or two.
 
boil your water and then filter it and always skim it off the top where there are no leaves or bacteria growing or heavy metals like lead mercury etc. laying and try not to stir up the water when going so

ive drank dam water before from many dams dirty and clean without even boiling it and so far never had a problem with it you can call me a dirty guy but saves carrying water around with you or in the car but I do carry a 5l water container just in case as a back up
 
Be careful some dams get poisoned to stop weeds growing in them. They use the same stuff in irrigation channels. Not safe for humans or cattle/sheep going for slaughter.

Cheers, DD
 
A Lifestraw is probably the easiest, simplest way of drinking contaminated water in a survival situation. However the first rule of survival is to not put yourself in that situation in the first place. i.e. planning. But as they say "shit happens"

I was survival trained when in the Australian military, the biggest single tool I was taught, was, COMMON SENSE (CS).
CS - To plan for the event.
CS - To take the appropriate equipment & supplies.
CS - To tell someone where and for how long you are going.
CS - To minimise risk.
CS - To have the basic knowledge if things go wrong........
and, DON'T PANIC

Although mandated in the U.S. military, I agree with this as a basis; The Rule of Threes

In an extreme situation ASSUME you cannot survive for more than:
3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter
3 days without water
3 weeks without food.

and, that is the order in which your efforts need to focus if in a survival situation...........
 
Ended up getting a sawer mini filter.
Haven't tested it yet.

http://www.survivalsuppliesaustralia.com.au/products/sawyer-sp128-mini-filter.php
sawyer-sp128-mini-filter-2.jpg
 
condor22 said:
However the first rule of survival is to not put yourself in that situation in the first place. i.e. planning. But as they say "shite happens"
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Kinda getting annoyed at people saying this.
Isn't going out into the bush in Australia prospecting near shafts and snakes and spiders and heat ect putting yourself in a potential survival situation?

I'm trying to learn about ways to improve my chances of survival if shite happens and I'm not some idiot who wanders into the bush with a bottle of powerade and thongs.
 
LC76 said:
condor22 said:
However the first rule of survival is to not put yourself in that situation in the first place. i.e. planning. But as they say "shite happens"
Click to expand...
Kinda getting annoyed at people saying this.
Isn't going out into the bush in Australia prospecting near shafts and snakes and spiders and heat ect putting yourself in a potential survival situation?

I'm trying to learn about ways to improve my chances of survival if shite happens and I'm not some idiot who wanders into the bush with a bottle of powerade and thongs.
Click to expand...
Mhmm

I drank some water the other day straight from the creek I swore I'd never drink from. I didn't even get a gut ache so the purity is probably much better than I though until you get downstream. The townsfolk drink it too which i didnt knows, so I attempt it and was pleased..well it shoukd be alright anyway as its melbournes drinking water too

Certainly not a mucky puddle though without a filtering system

First rule of survival should be surround yourself with dangers and lack of supplies and start from there like bear grills or the french battalion. What's the point of survival if there's nothing to survive from. Its all good on paper but being put in the situation is as real as it gets.
 
Chewy said:
Better not to chance it I reckon...make sure you take plenty of beer with you instead. :D
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:lol: :lol: :lol: On that note i'm going to have a beer now, I recon that filter would be good to have in anyones kit, I just hope you don't have to use it unless it converts dam water in amber ale :lol: :lol:
 
Chewy said:
Better not to chance it I reckon...make sure you take plenty of beer with you instead. :D
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Oh yes.. I certainly wasn't suggesting everyone try to drink the water from a creek.

I drank the water from the clear tributaries of The Yarra River, not far from where the 'Natural Spring Water' bottled water in supermarkets comes from. We have the trucks constantly going through town getting the fresh water here. Though I do get a stomach cramp everytime I drink that brand bottled water... I think its thier 'purifying' chemicals.. Alum salts anyone?
 
AtomRat said:
Though I do get a stomach cramp everytime I drink that brand bottled water... I think its thier 'purifying' chemicals.. Alum salts anyone?
Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Beers better for you then :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Havinago said:
AtomRat said:
Though I do get a stomach cramp everytime I drink that brand bottled water... I think its thier 'purifying' chemicals.. Alum salts anyone?
Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Beers better for you then :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...
I'm not really a drinker of potatoe, vegemite n grape rot fluids of any sort ;)

Always ends up with a violent teeth hitting yell of Ralph for me.. RAAAAAA!...BWWRAAAA!
 

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