This sounds like a really dumb question, but last weekend was the first time we've camped at a site with a spring-fed water-tap. Not knowing what we were dealing with, and OH being both scientifically-minded and naturally cautious, we boiled all our water before using it, which used up a bit of gas (though most of what we used was for boiling anyway, for tea and cooking etc.)
So how 'safe' is spring-water to drink? Do we need campden tablets if we go again, or is that just being wimpy? Careful campers need to know...
As far as I'm aware (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!), if it's drinking water then it has to be tested regularly and therefore should be safe.
Our home water supply comes from the village spring. They just filter it and pass it through UV light to kill all the really horrid things. We drink it fresh from the tap and it's never made us ill yet!
------------- Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup!
The water supply at Badrallach is also from a natural spring, and we drank it straight from the tap for nearly 2 weeks, with no problems. It is treated in some way (UV?) and tested regularly, but not being from the area, it was a bit unusual to be drinking water that on some days was the colour of weak tea from the peat.
Chani is right. If it is called 'drinking water' it has to be tested regulaly and passed clean for human consumption. Sometimes you see taps (often in public toilets) labled Do Not Drink. This is becase the water has not been tested, not because it comes from a different, grubby source.
So if the site says it is OK to drink, then it must be. Some of the expensive bottled water you can buy, comes directly from a natural source and is not treated with chemicals.
No, but when I poured it into a saucer, I saw the Eye of Mordor...
Thanks for the very helpful replies, folks. Great advice!
There were no signs saying whether or not the water was fit to drink, just that it was fed from a natural spring. I think next time I go there we'll go for safety and take bottled water. It would only be for diluting orange squash or Ribena. Otherwise the water gets boiled anyway, one way or another, so we'd only need one large container.
Wimp ! Spring fed water is a delightful treat. Wish we could have that instead of the chemically treated disgusting stuff that tastes like swimming pool water which comes out of our tap at home ! If the site tell you it's drinking water then I really do think it will be quite safe, & probably safer than all the stuff you get out of the mains... each to their own though !
Quote: Originally posted by Gypsydoll on 16/9/2009
Wimp ! Spring fed water is a delightful treat. Wish we could have that instead of the chemically treated disgusting stuff that tastes like swimming pool water which comes out of our tap at home ! If the site tell you it's drinking water then I really do think it will be quite safe, & probably safer than all the stuff you get out of the mains... each to their own though !
Hehe! I'm absolutely with you, Gypsydoll, spring water does taste wonderful... except that this water isn't actually described as 'drinking water'. The site owners told us they drink it themselves, and have never had a problem, but had also never had it tested.
I'm just on the edge with this. I'm a pretty basic camper, and would love to embrace the wild, but a part of me is thinking how my weekend could be ruined if I take the risk and my guts go belly-up. I won't be camping there again until next year, so I may be braver by then!
Do I get the Tough Camper Brownie Badge if I leave the campden tablets behind?
You are probablaly wise to be cautious, Owl Friend, as the owners' tummies are used to any micro organisms in the water and yours would not be. So it would be OK for tea etc, but not for squash.
Once we stayed in an old farmhouse in Wales and the water came from a spring. It was always brown and sometimes had leaves floating in it - needless to say we didn't drink it !!
Sarah
PS If you are a friend of Owls, do you know Christopher Robin too ??
Local Authotities have a duty to test private water supplies. The frequency of testing is dependent on how many people are using the supply and what the supply is used for.
As this water is being used on a camp site, it falls into the more stringent catagory of testing and should be sampled once a month. I am certain that the local council will be testing the water at some location, even if it is not on the campsite as the supply may serve a number of properties.
In addition, all campsites need to be licensed by the local authority too. A condition of the license would be a 'relatively' safe drinking water supply.
There is always a risk with drinking untreated water. Even where the water is tested monthly, lots of things can happen to a supply between its tests.
I wouldnt drink it if it was discoloured though as is an indication of contamination. One of the best tests is your own eyes!!
This might clear it up for you. I know that where bottled water is referred to as "spring" water, it can pretty much come from anywhere as long as its an underground source, but mineral water has to be bottled from the source on a recognised water table.i.e. The hole in the ground that its coming from. (Used to work in a mineral water lab a few years back.). I also know that ANY source of water has to be tested by law regularly to prevent outbreaks of e-coli, which in the past has been linked to private water supplies.
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Topic: Spring water question...
Careful campers need to know... 
