Water Safety: How to Purify Drinking Water

Rule of thumb: All hikers should assume that any water source they come into contact with is contaminated. Hikers should also carry their own safe water with them and treat any water that must be obtained.

Have you heard of Giardia? It's a tiny parasite (germ) that causes diarrheal disease giardiasis. It's found on the surfaces of soil, food or water that has been contaminated by feces (poop) from infected people or animals. You can get giardiasis if you swallow Giardia germs.

The Ontario Ministry of Health recommends to boil the water for 1-2 minutes or purchase a filter specifically designed to remove Giardia (Bruce Trail).

I've been lucky to collaborate with Global Hydration & Aquatabs this month. Global Hydration is a manufacturer and distributor of water treatment systems for 20 years. They have been providing solutions for safe drinking water in times of emergency and also help new, established brands enter the Canadian market. So far, they represent over 1,500 products - including Aquatabs.

I tried out the Aquatabs this past weekend and loved the tablets! They are Iodine free, super compact (the size of a b12 vitamin) and fast acting after 30-minutes of treating the water. I now carry them with me at all times on the trail to protect my water against bacteria and viruses.

These tabs are highly effective in killing micro-organisms found in the water such as E coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Giardia cysts, Vibrio cholera, Roto virus, and Noto virus (Aquatabs).

Each tablet is individually sealed in foil to prevent leaks. I also learned that Aquatab is the world’s leading brand of water purification tablets entrusted by major aid agencies, NGO’s and peacekeeping forces worldwide.

In addition to the tabs, I bought the GravityWorks Platypus Filtration System.

This product filters out all bacteria and protozoan lifeforms including Giardia and cryptosporidium (Outdoor Gear Lab). It doesn't require any pumping and is the easiest/fastest way to get filtered water in the backcountry.