Water Treatment and Storage
This is another area where you can start with the cheap easy solution and purchase gear as you develop your hiking style. I avoid metal or Nalgene water bottles they are way too heavy (300g – that’s 300mls of water you could be carrying). Perhaps start with a couple of 1L used water or soft drink containers (they are free and very light) and then use tablets to treat the water. I still use old plastic bottles on hikes when I know I need to carry extra water.
I use a hydration bladder inside my pack with hose to drink from so I can drink on the go. I also use this system to treat my water using a filter. The full treatment system including water bladder and drinking tube weighs 303g. Be careful as some water bladders alone can weigh over 300g.
How much water - Keeping weight low
One litre of water weighs one kilogram and I’ll often drink 6L on a hot hard day, that’s almost as much as my entire pack and kit weigh! There are a few tricks to use for water management when I hike.
What’s in the water?
Things floating in the water or stained water from tannins (colouring from eucalyptus leaves like tea) are not normally an issue. I will sometimes use a clean t-shirt or my scarf to prevent 'chunks' from entering my water containers. The real stuff you need to worry about is the stuff you can’t see and these fall into the following 3 categories:
Water treatment methods
What I use
I use the Platypus Gravity Works 4L unit. I have also repurposed a mouth piece off an old hydration bladder and converted the clean water tank into a hydration bladder saving further weight. I love the Gravity Works 4L as I can treat water for a group of people in camp or just for myself. It can be slow at times but that probably just indicates it is time for a backwash clean - easily done in the field. No batteries are required so I can just keep treating water for multiple weeks on end.
This is another area where you can start with the cheap easy solution and purchase gear as you develop your hiking style. I avoid metal or Nalgene water bottles they are way too heavy (300g – that’s 300mls of water you could be carrying). Perhaps start with a couple of 1L used water or soft drink containers (they are free and very light) and then use tablets to treat the water. I still use old plastic bottles on hikes when I know I need to carry extra water.
I use a hydration bladder inside my pack with hose to drink from so I can drink on the go. I also use this system to treat my water using a filter. The full treatment system including water bladder and drinking tube weighs 303g. Be careful as some water bladders alone can weigh over 300g.
How much water - Keeping weight low
One litre of water weighs one kilogram and I’ll often drink 6L on a hot hard day, that’s almost as much as my entire pack and kit weigh! There are a few tricks to use for water management when I hike.
- Water loading: drink a lot of water when it is available. For example, before I start hiking each day I drink at least 1L in camp (assuming you camp near water). Then I’ll carry only as much as I need to get to the next water source. For example, I’ll carry 2L if there is water at the lunch location or perhaps 3L if there won’t be water till camp. Always be careful and do your research about water availability and weather conditions, there is nothing worse or more dangerous than running out of water.
- I always leave a lot of water in my car so I know I’ve got that when I return
- If there won’t be water at the campsite I like to have 4L for dinner and breakfast in camp (2L for dinner and 2L for breakfast per person). However, I can get by on just 2L (1L for dinner and 1L for breakfast per person). Don’t forget the water you need during the next day to get to the next water point. So you may need to carry up to 8L depending on conditions (2L day hike, 4L in camp and 2L next day hike).
- Do your research on water availably and local conditions through talking to local rangers and websites such as www.bushwalk.com. Some of the more popular hikes in Australia have installed water tanks at each campsite, but check with rangers or locals that tanks have water. Most of these tanks have signs stating “not safe for drinking” - I always treat water just to be safe
- Always treat your water no matter how pristine the stream, lake or tank looks. I’ve seen many a dead animal upstream of the most beautiful waterfall or dead possums in water tanks. An important part of happy safe hiking is risk management. Vomiting and diarrhoea are not only unpleasant they can become a serious risk if you are isolated and become dehydrated. Don’t risk it, I treat every drop that I drink.
What’s in the water?
Things floating in the water or stained water from tannins (colouring from eucalyptus leaves like tea) are not normally an issue. I will sometimes use a clean t-shirt or my scarf to prevent 'chunks' from entering my water containers. The real stuff you need to worry about is the stuff you can’t see and these fall into the following 3 categories:
- Protozoan – these are things like Giardia and Cryptosporidium and can cause terrible diarrhoea. These nasties are quite large microorganisms (1-20 microns) and are removed by most filters on the market and tablets.
- Bacterial – these are things like E. coli (Escherichia coli) and salmonella that you have probably heard of and can come from human or animal poo or dead animals. Even the most pristine of streams can have a dead possum upstream. These nasties are smaller than the protozoa at 0.1-10 microns – many filters work to 0.2 microns, which should keep you safe. But some of the better ones now filters down to 0.1 micron.
- Viral – these are tiny little things and can be much harder to treat. Viral infection of water is more of an issue in developing countries rather than hiking in Australia unless you are down stream of a sewerage treatment plant. These little nasties are in the order of 0.005-0.1 microns and need to be treated with chemicals or UV treatment (ultraviolet).
Water treatment methods
- boil the water – this is a great way to get rid of all the nasties but it takes a long time and requires a lot of fuel. But if all else fails this is your fall back plan (boil for at least 1 minute)
- Chemical treatment tablets – these are simple, relatively cheap and very light weight. However, for full treatment you need to wait 4 hours and the taste can be a bit off-putting.
- Filtration – there are a great range of filters on the market now that work in different ways. I like to avoid battery operated things as they can run out of battery. I think filters where you have to sit there and pump the water are a bit annoying and I prefer the gravity type filters but they can be a little slower. The newer method is a filter you just put over your bottle and squeeze the water through. These look great but I haven’t used them.
- UV treatment – these are great as they treat down to the virus level, but they require batteries (that are heavy and can run out) and the water needs to be relatively clear as the UV will be less affective in dirty water
What I use
I use the Platypus Gravity Works 4L unit. I have also repurposed a mouth piece off an old hydration bladder and converted the clean water tank into a hydration bladder saving further weight. I love the Gravity Works 4L as I can treat water for a group of people in camp or just for myself. It can be slow at times but that probably just indicates it is time for a backwash clean - easily done in the field. No batteries are required so I can just keep treating water for multiple weeks on end.