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DON’T DRINK THE WATER!

By 1LT Chris Post

So your initial zombie survival plan was a success and you’ve gone into hiding in a remote area of the wilderness. Not far from your cabin is a clear lake that looks as though it has never been touched by human hands. You enjoy a cool, refreshing drink. Then you die.

No, it wasn’t a zombie hiding in the water. It was something much smaller, but just as lethal.

Everyone knows that it’s a bad idea to drink untreated water in an urban environment, but what many fail to realize is that it is equally risky to drink water from apparently pristine wilderness locations.

Why? The simple answer is protozoa. If you had a high school biology class you might remember watching these little guys through a microscope as they swam around in a drop of scummy pond water. The fact is they can live in clear water too.

There are a number of kinds of protozoa, but there are several in particular that do nasty things to people.

If ingested, cryptosporidium and giardia lamblia can cause diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. If you aren’t able to treat these symptoms, you will rapidly dehydrate and die. What’s worse, protozoan contamination is transmitted through human and animal fecal matter, so if you’ve got diarrhea you are likely contaminating your area with more of the little creatures.

Even more frightening is the fact that chemical treatment with iodine and chlorine has only limited effect on removing protozoa from the water. Your best bet is to filter your water and then boil it.

16 comments

  1. There is a new invention called a lifestraw it lightweight and easy to store and it filters out any and all bacteria from dirty water its very popular in third world countries

  2. Oh my town is infected with zombies right now their trying to come inside my house and sell me useless things no one wants lol

  3. Is there a way to remove wormwood residue, ash, or oil from water? One third of the worlds water is predicted to be contaminated with it, or at least they call the star(meteor/bomb) wormwood. It would be nice to be prepared for this eventuality. Revelations 8:10-11 Maybe a HUGE meteor hits a HUGE field of the stuff with a long dragging motion kicking a lot of it into the air or water in a critical place. Many men died of the waters because they were made bitter.

  4. I have never understood why moving into the wild where you have no walls, easy defenses and such is a great idea.

    Urban survival:

    1) Build a fenced in area where you can be zombie free,
    2) Water for short term can be acquired from water heaters in basements and garages. Boil if your uncertain.
    3) set up a rain collection system and a roof top garden.
    4) pillage buildings during the day for canned, dehydrated food, and beverages.
    5) build a cross bow or Ballista, or some reusable form of killing zombiesfrom a distance and snipe zombies all day long
    6) No zombies start working on expanding your areas. Can your extra food that you grew.

    • One major reason is population density: the more people in an area, the more zombies there will be in the area. And urban areas boast the greatest population density. Zombies can quickly surround and overwelm you. And if your shelter/defenses are strong enough to keep the zombies out, you are now going to experience to hardest seige warfare ever. Your are going to be besieged by an enemie who never hungers or thirsts, never fatigues, and never suffers from low morale. And then there is another threat: other humans. Bandits and other survivers who will do anything and everything to survive and will not think twice about killing you or your group. And, what if, the government decides that the urban area your in is not worth the loss of human life of sending in troops to clean the area of zombies and decide to bomb your area. This can easily all be avoided in the remote, unpopulated areas of the earth.

  5. That’s why I watch Survivorman. Always states how dangerous untreated water is. And how important FIRE is.

  6. Wouldn’t most people with a healthy immune system be immune to such affects you know people who don’t live in a clean freak house like most of america today.

    • You make a great point. if we all lived in the 3rd world and were used to drinking mud water, like you obviously have grown accustomed to, we will all stand a better chance to survive. This makes me want to consider giving up all the luxuries I have today such as: running water, electricity, supermarkets, the people around me in my family..seeing as i dont want to grow too fond of them since they will all most likely try to eat me..eventually..

  7. Well.. My theory is yet to be proven wrong. I’m American of Mexican desent. I have gotten lost in the desert before and my method of collecting water when there is a body of water present has not harmed me at all. It is an unconventional method I created myself ( I think I am the first) and I’d like to share it. If you can, who ever may read this, pass it on. Blog about it if you can. I myself have yet to receive a reply to my membership email so I can not do so.
    Also, the Miami cannibal incident should be researched. How the homeless man is doing should be of top priority. Not because it is the “right thing” but because he could have already infected the hospital staff and release back onto the streets. (he is homeless). THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A CLASS 2 OUTBREAK!! EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE AWARE AND BE PREPARED..! The CDC has said there is so such thing as a zombie virus. Yet a year or so ago they created a zombie survival plan. The CDC even making a statement about the Miami incident should be taken into consideration. Ignorance is bliss. Until of course you hear the sirens, moans, screams, gunshots and smell fires. BEEE PREPARED….!.!!!

  8. Ricardo Cardenas

    Besides protozoa, there are certain types of bacteria that transform into endospores. It makes them resistant to boiling water and most common household cleaners. If bleach is used, it kills all the natural bacteria in the intestines(not the stomach, since there is just gastric acid) and probably burn down your mouth and esophagus before it gets there.
    Now, if people are transformed into zombies by a virus or a bacteria that has such capabilites, survivors should try to avoid contaminating the source of water by all means, that is if they want to stay alive.

  9. Good to know! But does this only apply to slow or non moving bodies of water? I was thinking that that drinking something such as a mountain spring would be fine, but I’m not sure after reading this!

    • Mountain springs and ice melt lakes are usually thought to be safe, but the thing is the protozoa spread through the environment in fecal matter and can be spread by just about anything that defecates. If there are animals in or near the water, then protozoan contamination is a possibility.

  10. Courtney Miller

    Should be noted that its a very small chance…. If you are near the source of water then it’s almost nonexistent, but if you are at a major river near the end point there are thousands of small streams that lead into it your chances pretty good you’ll get something.

    One last thing iodine/bleach should only be used in last ditch survival situations, charcoal/sand filtration and boiling should be the way you purify your water once you immediately out of danger. Iodine and bleach even in small amounts over time slowly mess your system up by killing the good bacteria in your stomach.

  11. Is it not obvious? A good way of getting good clean water would be to boil a pot of water with some sort of absorbent clothing covering it, collect the steam how ever which way you can, let it cool, strain the water and enjoy.

  12. Woah. Good to know

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