Drinking water safety

[GeorgiaBears]

Speaking with another camper they were saying that they NEVER drink water from a hose hookup at a campground due to the high risk of contracting an intestinal parasite. I spoke with my doctor and he concurred. Aside from packing in water jugs, any way to protect against this? Should we fill up our fresh water tank at home and use that? I heard that was nasty too. Now I'm totally paranoid but really don't want to have to buy water jugs.

[CSMRetired]

There is a thread on this somewhere, just can't remember.
There are a lot of tips / how to's

In our situation if we get water from the refridgerator door, the water is double filtered. Coming in to the coach and again at the refridgerator.
Some folks buy an add-on water filter and connect at the hose. Some folks use a bleach solution at the faucet to clean the connection really well. Some folks bring water jugs, us, we use the CG faucet with no concerns all said and done.

You can clean your fresh water tank as well, there are also threads about that.

just my .02

[Kaadk]

I trust the on-board water filter to handle that for me. Other's have external filters they hook up. And other still bring bottles. It's all a personal preference.

Just think about this way: Would you drink water from a tap in a house next to the campground? Because essentially most are on the same city water or pumping from the same well water.

[CSMRetired]

Found the thread

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ter-14263.html

There may be more, but this one has several comments

[Triguy]

I posted this to a filter question, but it applies here, too.

One of the links covers what filters what.

I use both internal and external filters (Camco) because the well water at home and at some of the parks we go to have a high iron content so the external one that I use (100micron) removes that for me while the better filter within the trailer (1 micron) does the rest of the job.

However, others just use an external filter. Make sure that it filters what you want, though.

Water Filter Filtration

My trailer's OEM water filter is a Water Pur CCI-10-CLW Clear Water Filter Housing and uses a CCI-10-C filter. Everything in standard 10" length will work in that housing. What you want is a low micron cyst filter with as high a flow (in GPM) as you can get. I've bought the F1 model from this place before... RV Water Filter Store: Standard Filter Canisters for Whole RV

[Pipeman]

We have been camping for 35 years plus now. Mostly dry camping but we do stay at campgrounds especially when traveling out west and back every 2 years. Two years ago I picked up a parasite nicknamed beaver fever(giardiasis). Great weight loss bug. I lost 20 lbs in 12 days. Anyway, it was my fault, because the campground tells you to boil the water prior to drinking it. We've stayed there many times before and never boiled the water. My wife and I used bottled water but I used their water for brushing my teeth. I got caught. That's the only time in all those years. Now it's bottled water for everything but showering and washing dishes. When dry camping I fill 60 gallons on the 5er and a 50 gallon container in the bed of the TV and bring that with us. When on site I'm able to fill another collapsible container with another 50 gallons. It depends on our length of stay, which is not less than one week on whether or not I use the 2nd portable container. So I guess you can say we use both means for water but don't drink it from the tap. We do have an on board filter but it didn't catch the bug.

[Mtelkman]

I suggest the OP read up on micron ratings of filters and the size needed to effectively remove parasites. Camco filters won't help you.

[IllinoisCheesehead]

We've never drank the water from the taps in our trailer only because we've never bothered to do the whole fresh water tank/line sanitation process. For drinking water we always filled up water jugs from the spigots spaced through the campgrounds and never thought twice about picking up parasites from drinking it.

Is the concern that the water itself may contain parasites or that it would become contaminated at the spigot, hose, etc? I know certain places require backflow preventers on all the spigots to help protect the water supply.

[IllinoisCheesehead]

Originally Posted by Mtelkman

I suggest the OP read up on micron ratings of filters and the size needed to effectively remove parasites. Camco filters won't help you.

That was my initial reaction, too. Trying to recall from my saltwater aquarium days, to filter out everything, you needed a TFC membrane reverse osmosis filter. Anything higher than about 0.2 micron rating would still potentially let nasty stuff through. So at 1 micron, there's a still a lot of stuff getting past the filter. RO filters are about 0.0001 micron. Unfortunately RO is slow and wastes a LOT of water. Not practical for whole RV applications, but you could put one in with a small pressurized holding tank just for drinking water.

[GeorgiaBears]

Does anyone know how to sanitize the lines?

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaBears

Does anyone know how to sanitize the lines?

No more than 1/2 cup per 15 gallons is suggested.

1 gal. of solution ( water plus ½ cup bleach) would treat a 15 gal. water tank
2 gal. of solution (water plus 1 cup bleach) would treat a 30 gal. water tank
3 gal. of solution (water plus 1 ½ cup bleach) would treat a 45 gal. water tank
4 gal. of solution (water plus 2 cups bleach) would treat a 60 gal. water tank
5 gal. of solution (water plus 2 ½ cups bleach) would treat a 75 gal. water tank
6 gal. of solution (water plus 3 cups bleach) would treat a 90 gal. water tank
7 gal. of solution (water plus 3 ½ cups bleach) would treat a 105 gal. water tank

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...sRsnEAeQwNLQJA

[ChooChooMan74]

Here is a question. There can't possibly be separate water systems on the campground for the campers, the cabins (if equipped), and the snack bar. Public drinking water is regulated. Bottled water isn't.

As for that one post who went to a campground and was told to boil the water, how many people have experienced a campground like that??

[Oaklevel]

Not the correct answer but we have never filtered our water at campgrounds (30 years) & never had any issues Often it is city water is the same water you would drink at a restaurant when out. We are on well water at home & it is not filtered for bacteria etc either. Yes issues can happen but it like playing the lottery & we have never won it either nor been hit by lightening. If alot of people got bugs drinking the campground water they would be out of business quickly but it does not hurt to be careful.


The campground that we stay at at Myrtle Beach provides filtered water for drinking at filtering sites to get the salty taste that the city water has.

[caper]

Here is a question. There can't possibly be separate water systems on the campground for the campers, the cabins (if equipped), and the snack bar. Public drinking water is regulated. Bottled water isn't.

As for that one post who went to a campground and was told to boil the water, how many people have experienced a campground like that?

You are correct that there is only one water supply but some CG do not have people living on the property and do not have a canteen. The do have non-potable water supply and therefore you would have to boil the water before using. The water might be drinkable but not inspected so they can not say the water is safe to drink.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaBears

Speaking with another camper they were saying that they NEVER drink water from a hose hookup at a campground due to the high risk of contracting an intestinal parasite. I spoke with my doctor and he concurred.

this is such BS! your doctor is probably thinking of backpack campers and probably has never camped in his life.

when's the last time you've EVER read of people sick at a campground, from drinking the water?
when's the last time you've heard of anyone in the U.S. contracting a parasite from drinking campground water?

as a formerly avid backpacker, YES, you can get giardia from drinking water in remote areas if it isn't filtered/treated properly.
but nearly every campground will have some type of treated water.

what is true, is that our society has been brainwashed when it comes to drinking water.
if my grandparents were still alive and i told them that people BUY bottled water at prices that are more expensive than gasoline, they'd be shocked.
they would have wondered what was wrong with regular tap water, that's almost free.
we've been drinking campground water, including our FW tank water(i know shocking isn't it?)for over 30 years now and have NEVER had any problems. no intestinal issues ever.

and finally, it's been proven over and over again, that most people end up preferring regular city water over bottled water, in blind taste tests.

i'll get off my Soapbox now.

[Broadway Joe]

X2
Almost all water supplies are tested for quality, well water is something else. I don't have all the experience of some of the campers on this site, but a little common sense, looking at how the campground is maintained and following basic hygiene will serve you well.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by ChooChooMan74

Here is a question. There can't possibly be separate water systems on the campground for the campers, the cabins (if equipped), and the snack bar. Public drinking water is regulated. Bottled water isn't.

As for that one post who went to a campground and was told to boil the water, how many people have experienced a campground like that??

Thousand Trails Orlando, with 800+ sites has had NUMEROUS Boil Water notices since Nov 30 to just day before yesterday. They are having a rash of broken water mains and with each break comes the Boil Water Notice.

[5er_tom]

We have had only one water issue in our 40+ years of camping. In 1974 at Crater Lake, OR, they had a sewer pipe burst and soil the fresh water. They did not mention this to anyone until many, many folks, us included, got sick.

We don't hesitate to hook up to the campground water. I will only add water to our on-board water thank if the CG is on city water. Never campground well water.

Perhaps we have been lucky, or someone else has been unlucky.

[brian19889]

Originally Posted by bikendan

this is such BS! your doctor is probably thinking of backpack campers and probably has never camped in his life.

when's the last time you've EVER read of people sick at a campground, from drinking the water?
when's the last time you've heard of anyone in the U.S. contracting a parasite from drinking campground water?

as a formerly avid backpacker, YES, you can get giardia from drinking water in remote areas if it isn't filtered/treated properly.
but nearly every campground will have some type of treated water.

what is true, is that our society has been brainwashed when it comes to drinking water.
if my grandparents were still alive and i told them that people BUY bottled water at prices that are more expensive than gasoline, they'd be shocked.
they would have wondered what was wrong with regular tap water, that's almost free.
we've been drinking campground water, including our FW tank water(i know shocking isn't it?)for over 30 years now and have NEVER had any problems. no intestinal issues ever.

and finally, it's been proven over and over again, that most people end up preferring regular city water over bottled water, in blind taste tests.

i'll get off my Soapbox now.

Well said.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by brian19889

Well said.

X2