Post by Coolkat on Jun 5, 2017 9:40:01 GMT -8
I spent 7/8 days on Isle Royale in 2014 and our hiking route kept us on the shore more or less and so was always able to filter water straight from Lake Superior which made it possible for me to keep using my steripen. However, with the possibility of going back and doing an inland route I was reading about the water in inland lakes and this was the NPS website says...
Drinking Water
Potable water is only available in Rock Harbor and Windigo. All surface lake and stream water should be considered contaminated with pathogens. Drinking contaminated water can make you very sick. Water collected in the park should be boiled at a rolling boil for at least one minute or passed through a 0.4 micron filter. To be assured of no risk of contamination from small bacteria and viruses, all filtered water should be further treated with iodine or other approved chemical methods. By itself,chemical treatment is not an effective method of water purification. If you boil your water, bring plenty of stove fuel. If filtering, bring a replacement cartridge for filters that cannot be cleaned in the field. Please note: SteriPENs and other UV purifiers have not been manufacturer-tested for a common Isle Royale parasite and cannot be considered effective.
I know that there is a tapeworm egg that you need to be careful in the inland lakes but a filter should get that. What else is there that I should also treat filtered water with chemicals? Are they just being over cautious so they can't get sued or is there some really special bacteria/virus on the island that filters won't get?
I will if I have to but I don't really want to filter AND chemically treat my water.
Drinking Water
Potable water is only available in Rock Harbor and Windigo. All surface lake and stream water should be considered contaminated with pathogens. Drinking contaminated water can make you very sick. Water collected in the park should be boiled at a rolling boil for at least one minute or passed through a 0.4 micron filter. To be assured of no risk of contamination from small bacteria and viruses, all filtered water should be further treated with iodine or other approved chemical methods. By itself,chemical treatment is not an effective method of water purification. If you boil your water, bring plenty of stove fuel. If filtering, bring a replacement cartridge for filters that cannot be cleaned in the field. Please note: SteriPENs and other UV purifiers have not been manufacturer-tested for a common Isle Royale parasite and cannot be considered effective.
I know that there is a tapeworm egg that you need to be careful in the inland lakes but a filter should get that. What else is there that I should also treat filtered water with chemicals? Are they just being over cautious so they can't get sued or is there some really special bacteria/virus on the island that filters won't get?
I will if I have to but I don't really want to filter AND chemically treat my water.
