HFinster wrote:Anecdotes do not a scientific paper make. There are smokers who've lived past 100. Should we conclude from this that smoking is safe? Visual inspection cannot guarantee that your water is pathogen free, period. You can drink water from a sewer and not get sick. You can drink water from a sewer and die. Mr. Shlimmer has not found a way to avoid Giardia, Cryptosporidium, E-Coli, Hepatitis, Polio or any of a number of other water borne infections. He has simply laid out a numbers game. That he's playing it himself is foolhardy. That he's enticing others to do the same is unconscionable .
I quote:
Erik Schlimmer said: But, has Giardia really infested our once pure waters? I calmly answer, "No, it has not" But ask nearly any outdoor proffesional and you will receive a harried, Oh yes it has" So why do I veer from the educators who teach the "industry standard" of treating every drop of backcountry water? Because I've done my homework.
The supporting evidence for not treating backcountry water breaks down into five logical, myth-busting arguments.
HFinster, welcome to bplite. Erik Schimler is talking about "Backcountry" water. Water away from the cities, away from where people are in large numbers.