Unless a CG drains water out of their distribution system to prevent freezing, the water stagnates in their piping over the winter, from the point of entry (from the municipal street, for ex.) to the point of use (at your RV's pedestal). Over the duration of the winter, chlorine in the water dissipates leaving the water unprotected and the opportunity for biological "stuff" to grow. A campground should flush all of their lines at the beginning of each season. The photo below is the filter screen on our city water inlet at the beginning of the season a couple of years ago. It is a biological mass that should be harmless, but who wants to ingest slime like that into your system? Many in the CG had that go straight into their stomachs. :E
It would be a good idea to ask the CGs you visit early in the season if they flushed their lines. If they don't, don't use the water for consumption or use a good filter.
After finding this, I spoke to the manager for the local public water district (in Wa.) and he said he would go talk to the CG. He said he has spoken to them in the past and told them they need to flush every season, but obviously they aren't. Shortly after talking to the manager, I spotted the sign in the photo on the way into our CG. Don't know if that meant the issue was worse than expected or not.
Water filtration for an RV is a lot more complex than many think and you can't just grab whatever is one the shelf at Walmart or CW and think you are fully protected. I could go into a long dissertation on filter cartridges, but it would take too many pages. A couple of brief points - don't use an exterior filter that removes chlorine as this will leave your interior system unprotected. If you don't like the taste or smell of chlorine, use a filter under the sink. Only buy an NSF certified cartridge otherwise a manufacturer can (and they do) make exaggerated performance claims. Chlorine does not kill everything, such as Cryptosporium & Giardi for ex. When looking at micron ratings, you want to go by the "absolute" rating, not the "nominal". A filter that is bacteriostatic and has KDF or silver in it to kill bacteria is only there to stop bacteria from growing in it but will not stop bacteria from passing through it.
This photo is a 4-stage filtration setup I installed in our TT Under kitchen sink at back). It starts with a 50 micron sediment filter, then a 5 micron string-wound sediment filer, then a 0.9 micron Doulton ceramic cartridge and the last is an "ultrafiltration" cartridge of 0.2 micron. This is as good as or better than what is in bulk water refill stations in stores.
It would be a good idea to ask the CGs you visit early in the season if they flushed their lines. If they don't, don't use the water for consumption or use a good filter.
After finding this, I spoke to the manager for the local public water district (in Wa.) and he said he would go talk to the CG. He said he has spoken to them in the past and told them they need to flush every season, but obviously they aren't. Shortly after talking to the manager, I spotted the sign in the photo on the way into our CG. Don't know if that meant the issue was worse than expected or not.
Water filtration for an RV is a lot more complex than many think and you can't just grab whatever is one the shelf at Walmart or CW and think you are fully protected. I could go into a long dissertation on filter cartridges, but it would take too many pages. A couple of brief points - don't use an exterior filter that removes chlorine as this will leave your interior system unprotected. If you don't like the taste or smell of chlorine, use a filter under the sink. Only buy an NSF certified cartridge otherwise a manufacturer can (and they do) make exaggerated performance claims. Chlorine does not kill everything, such as Cryptosporium & Giardi for ex. When looking at micron ratings, you want to go by the "absolute" rating, not the "nominal". A filter that is bacteriostatic and has KDF or silver in it to kill bacteria is only there to stop bacteria from growing in it but will not stop bacteria from passing through it.
This photo is a 4-stage filtration setup I installed in our TT Under kitchen sink at back). It starts with a 50 micron sediment filter, then a 5 micron string-wound sediment filer, then a 0.9 micron Doulton ceramic cartridge and the last is an "ultrafiltration" cartridge of 0.2 micron. This is as good as or better than what is in bulk water refill stations in stores.
Lynnmor wrote:
Are you feeling lucky today?
Left is from my tank, center from hydrant, right after Camco blue filter. Water was flushed for some time before taking sample.
At least there's NO lumps!!! hahaha
Lynnmor wrote:
Are you feeling lucky today?
Left is from my tank, center from hydrant, right after Camco blue filter. Water was flushed for some time before taking sample.
It should be noted that while the colored water is certainly unappetizing, it could be safe to drink. It should also be noted that while the clear/colorless water is much more appetizing, it could be deadly to drink.
It should also be noted that the EPA, that is the Feds, do not regulate campground or municipal water supplies, that is a function of State governments via the Health Department. And those regulations vary by state, so that while it may be 10 campsites that trigger regulation in Washington State, it could be 25 elsewhere. In any case, we choose not to drink or cook with campground water, regardless. We use bottled water, either from a couple carboys brought from home or jugs from the grocery stores. We only go through a couple gallons for drinking/cooking, so it's not a big deal.
Interestingly, we stayed at once fairly fancy (and large) campground once where we were handed a sheet of paper along with the campground rules, with no comments on check in, that constituted the notice required by the state that the campground water system had failed the tests for fecal coliforms two months in a row prior to our arrival and advising folks to boil the water. Had we not actually looked at the stuff in that bundle of papers, we would have simply hooked up as usual. Instead, we ran off the fresh tank for showers and stuff.
But the water there looked like the "good" sample above.
