Starting out?

I am planning to camp wild on Dartmoor this summer. I am thinking of an area just north of Postbridge. I would like some advice on how I can make any water I come across safe to drink. Should I be boiling, using chemical purification or just using common sense to decide if's safe to drink as it is?

 Thanks for any advice.

Anastas.

Never felt the need to chemically treat water on Dartmoor as long as it's from a moving source and I'm well into the Moor away from any farms, but I always filter it. An Aquagear Survivor does the job.

If you are thinking of taking water close to Postbridge, I would definitely boil it or treat it with chlorine or iodine.

kalo taksidei"

That's easy for you to say!

Thank you for all the replies.

 I didn't know to take water from a fast moving section of a river, but I suppose it's obvious really.

 Anastas.

You might needto filter the water here like!!!

One of the things about dartmoor is that the whole lot is grazed. And that's the problem really... animal feces getting in the water... So being above the farms is not a help. The speed of the water might not tell you how much animal feces has got into it... there's probably always some risk on dartmoor. That risk is going to be higher where there's been alot of animals or camping in the catchment and/or when it's raining or has been raining because of surface run-off.

The remoter water sources are usually safe (with the usual poviso about dead animals upstream etc)

N of Postbridge is a busy little spot, so I'd tend to treat the water, but only if you plan to drink it on the move.

I use an Aquafilter - low tech/cost but does the job

Coffee/tea supply gets sorted during boiling.

Depends how 'immune' you are. The main issue is cryptosporidium I believe.  Some folks innards (sometimes) can deal with it some not.  I work outdoors/live in the country and am probabbly reasonably inoculated against a lot of bacteria. 

I've drunk untreated water on the moor -  just did so for 4 days.  If it's not from a spring or higher up a stream/leat, and I'm feeling suspicious I boil for cooking/tea and use chlorine tabs for drinking water.  (I used 3 litres worth of chlorine treated water in 4 days - rest was untreated or boiled for tea - it was coming sideways from the sky this afternoon!) 

Get yourself a travel tap from backpacking light then decant into a seperate water carrier (I now have a 2L Platypus Hoser but on my first wild camp I used an empty 2L pop bottle).

I tend to also boil most of the water I use any way (pot noodle, boiling my breakfast egg and making a flask of coffe) and pick it up from fast running streams where possible, however, whilst on dartmoor I picked up water from a clean looking puddle and drank it straight from the Travel Tap just to try it!

AtlasLion wrote (see)

"den kserw an tha se kanei auto. Ala den kserw ti allo na sou pw

kalo taksidei"

That's easy for you to say!

padstowe wrote (see)

den kserw an tha se kanei auto. Ala den kserw ti allo na sou pw

kalo taksidei

Mole wrote (see)

I've drunk untreated water on the moor -  just did so for 4 days.   

Stomach fine still

Anastas

I would treat/boil the East Dart water I think, but have drunk water from Winney's Down Brook (grid squares 62/63 81) untreated many a time.

Don't sue me if you get the trots though

Mole wrote (see)

Depends how 'immune' you are.

I think you have to of had it, get some immunity. Something that you would remember well...

 Having said that, I would lying if I said I never drink untreated water off the moor.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I think I will be careful and filter, then boil the water I find. Don't want the runs my first time wild camping!

Regards, Anastas.