Drawing water from a lake

OP,

Help me understand. If the water is safe to drink today, then why wouldn't it be safe to drink tomorrow, or next week

I want to hear stories of people who smoked and lived to 90.

Pump from the lake through a filter into a 55 gallon plastic drum. Treat the water in the drum just like you would treat swimming pool water, clorine tabs in a floating dispenser. Then pump into your tanks.
Too many naysayers and not enough problem solvers. There is always a way, just keep looking.

Bumpyroad wrote:

BillyBob Jim wrote:

gbopp wrote:
How did we all survive childhood? Everyone drank from creeks and garden hoses.

Our parents and their siblings used to tell stories of how when they swam in the river here when they were kids, they had to push the turds out of the way back in the 1930's/40s. Turd Herding or Log Wrangling I guess you could call it.

they also used lead paint back then also. how did that work out?
bumpy

There is a notable change in juvenile criminal activity associated with the reduction of lead usage in fuel and paint. The affects are not obvious, but are lifelong and negative.

Bumpyroad wrote:

BillyBob Jim wrote:

gbopp wrote:
How did we all survive childhood? Everyone drank from creeks and garden hoses.

Our parents and their siblings used to tell stories of how when they swam in the river here when they were kids, they had to push the turds out of the way back in the 1930's/40s. Turd Herding or Log Wrangling I guess you could call it.

they also used lead paint back then also. how did that work out?
bumpy

Must have worked out decent taking into account that most lived into their late 80's, and some into their 90's. Maybe without the lead paint and turd herding they may have lived into their 120's?

They did not have to repaint as much either, because that lead paint really held up to the weather well.

maillemaker wrote:
This link might be useful to you:

https://www.berkeyfilters.com/collections/berkey-water-filter-systems?a_aid=5a5fbcc0b393f&a_bid=55078429

The above filtration units claim to filter out nearly all bacteria and viruses in addition to chemical and physical contaminants.

I don't think you are going to find many people who put untreated water into their RV holding tanks. This is simply an unnecessary and considerable risk in most of the world these days. Sadly most of the world has now become polluted in one way or another.

My RV is an ancient 1990 model. I have never sanitized the tank. There is a clear bit of tubing that runs from the water tank out to a vent that is integral with the fill nozzle on the outside of the RV. This is to allow air to escape when the tank is being filled. This little tube, which of course gets water and water vapor in it, continually grows gunk in it. Every couple of years I'll pull up the bed to get at it and run a small bottle brush through it to get the gunk out.

But, we never drink our onboard water, even when hooked up to city water. It's plenty clean enough for the toilet, hand washing, and taking a shower, but we always have cases of bottled water in the RV for drinking and cooking. We can buy 40-bottle cases of water from Costco for about $2. It's so cheap it's almost free.

If I was doing semi-permanent boondocking, I believe I'd add cases of water to my monthly food treks, and just drink bottled water.

If I had to use water from an unknown source, I'd probably investigate some kind of filtration system like I linked to above. I would filter before the water went into my RV holding tanks.

But, as others have asked, where is your waste water going? Unless your campsite has a septic system, is your waste water going to run off right into the lake you are pumping water from?

I hate buying bottled water. Most water, at least here in Canada is safe to drink.

The lake is a known source. I have drank straight from it with no ill effects. I do know water sitting in a tank that has not been treated can be unsafe.

I would want to have the water go through the filtration before the tank.

BillyBob Jim wrote:

gbopp wrote:
How did we all survive childhood? Everyone drank from creeks and garden hoses.

Our parents and their siblings used to tell stories of how when they swam in the river here when they were kids, they had to push the turds out of the way back in the 1930's/40s. Turd Herding or Log Wrangling I guess you could call it.

they also used lead paint back then also. how did that work out?
bumpy

swimmer_spe wrote:


That sounds like a good idea.

all that will tell you is how that one small sample tests at that point of time. and of course only for the contaminants that are tested for, since that will be somewhat limited. also required would be seasonal sampling to determine variance there. are there any farm fields that are periodically sprayed with pesticides where run off would occur?

it is obvious that you intend to do this regardless of what is said, so wrap yourself with bubble wrap and enjoy yourself. there is a difference between a troll and an intelligent responder giving meaningful advice, regardless whether you want to listen or not.
bumpy

gbopp wrote:
How did we all survive childhood? Everyone drank from creeks and garden hoses.

Our parents and their siblings used to tell stories of how when they swam in the river here when they were kids, they had to push the turds out of the way back in the 1930's/40s. Turd Herding or Log Wrangling I guess you could call it.

This link might be useful to you:

https://www.berkeyfilters.com/collections/berkey-water-filter-systems?a_aid=5a5fbcc0b393f&a_bid=55078429

The above filtration units claim to filter out nearly all bacteria and viruses in addition to chemical and physical contaminants.

I don't think you are going to find many people who put untreated water into their RV holding tanks. This is simply an unnecessary and considerable risk in most of the world these days. Sadly most of the world has now become polluted in one way or another.

My RV is an ancient 1990 model. I have never sanitized the tank. There is a clear bit of tubing that runs from the water tank out to a vent that is integral with the fill nozzle on the outside of the RV. This is to allow air to escape when the tank is being filled. This little tube, which of course gets water and water vapor in it, continually grows gunk in it. Every couple of years I'll pull up the bed to get at it and run a small bottle brush through it to get the gunk out.

But, we never drink our onboard water, even when hooked up to city water. It's plenty clean enough for the toilet, hand washing, and taking a shower, but we always have cases of bottled water in the RV for drinking and cooking. We can buy 40-bottle cases of water from Costco for about $2. It's so cheap it's almost free.

If I was doing semi-permanent boondocking, I believe I'd add cases of water to my monthly food treks, and just drink bottled water.

If I had to use water from an unknown source, I'd probably investigate some kind of filtration system like I linked to above. I would filter before the water went into my RV holding tanks.

But, as others have asked, where is your waste water going? Unless your campsite has a septic system, is your waste water going to run off right into the lake you are pumping water from?