How to judge outdoor water safety?

With the improvement of living standards, more and more people are starting to travel outdoors and camp in the wild. In these activities, we often encounter various waters, such as lakes, rivers, or streams. Although these waters are beautiful, they also have many potential dangers. So, how to judge the safety of outdoor water sources? This article will take you to explore it together.

Common types of outdoor water pollution

There are various types of outdoor water pollution, mainly biological pollution, chemical pollution, and physical pollution.

• Biological pollution: It is a common type of outdoor water pollution, such as microbial pollution such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.
• Chemical pollution: chemical pollution such as industrial wastewater, pesticide residues, heavy metal pollution, etc.
• Physical pollution: physical pollutants such as mud, leaves, and animal feces not only affect the taste of water quality but may also carry pathogens.

How to correctly judge whether the water area is safe

Observe the water quality

Water quality is one of the most basic and important ways to personally judge whether the water area is safe. Generally speaking, we can judge the quality of the water area by observing the watercolor and the plankton in the water. If the watercolor is turbid, it contains a lot of suspended matter and silt, which usually means that the water quality is poor and it is not suitable for activities. If you see dead fish or some unusual creatures in the water, you should also be careful, which indicates that the water quality may not be very good and it is safer to stay away from the water area.

Pay attention to the speed and depth of the water flow

The speed and depth of the water flow are also important factors in judging whether the water area is safe. Water areas with too deep depths are not only prone to drowning accidents for swimmers, but also difficult to search and rescue. In case of emergency, there will likely be difficult rescue situations. If the water flow is too fast, there may be dangerous areas such as dark water and floods downstream, so you need to be cautious. If we want to swim in such waters, we must wear a life jacket to ensure our safety.

Pay attention to the surrounding environment

When you encounter water areas, you must pay full attention to the surrounding environment to ensure the safety of the surrounding area. You should pay attention to the terrain and landforms around the water area. If the water area is surrounded by rapids, waterfalls, canyons, and other rugged terrain, these areas are usually high-risk areas and should be avoided as much as possible. Pay attention to whether the vegetation around the water area is too dense, whether there are extra hooks or fishing lines, etc. If so, you need to avoid the area. More importantly, you should also pay attention to the presence of animals. If you find large wild animals or venomous snakes nearby, you need to leave the area immediately.

Methods for dealing with unsafe water sources

Boiled

Generally, pots and stoves are essential for outdoor camping. At this time, the easiest way to purify water is to boil the water, which can kill most of the bacteria, viruses, and parasites in the water.

It should be noted that as the altitude increases, the boiling point of water will decrease. Therefore, it takes 2 to 3 times longer to boil water at high altitudes to kill most of the bacteria.

However, boiling water cannot remove impurities in the water. If you want to drink clean water without impurities, you need to use another outdoor water purification tool, such as a reverse osmosis water purifier.

Water purifier

There are many kinds of water purifiers on the market, and only the reverse osmosis system can remove all substances in the water. Therefore, you only need to buy a portable reverse osmosis system, such as the ITEHIL portable reverse osmosis water filter.

The ITEHIL reverse osmosis water filter uses PP cotton + activated carbon and RO membrane for multiple filtrations, with a filtration effect of 99.9%. At the same time, it can filter water sources in different environments, which is very suitable for outdoor camping.

When using a reverse osmosis water purifier, it is necessary to regularly replace the water filter cartridge of the water filter to ensure drinking water safety and extend the service life of the water purifier. The specific replacement time can be based on the instructions.

Ultraviolet rays

Ultraviolet water purifiers can disinfect water by radiating ultraviolet rays to meet drinking water standards, but they are highly dependent on batteries and have no way to deal with impurities in the water.

Water Purification Tablets

Both iodine and chlorine dioxide can be used to purify water. Most of these water purification tablets are cheap and portable, which are very suitable for light travel enthusiasts.

However, iodine has limited insecticidal ability and has a peculiar smell, while chlorine dioxide takes a long time to purify water, which cannot meet the needs in emergencies.

Overall, there are two major obstacles to drinking clean water outdoors. One is to remove impurities in the water, and the other is to remove invisible diseases such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites in the water. Therefore, you need to drink clean and safe water. The best way is to use a reverse osmosis water purifier to filter and boil it before drinking, which is safe and healthy.