Contaminated drinking water

In a wilderness survival situation, its important to know what kind of diseases and parasites you could be exposed to. The lake in the video is called Steinhagen Reservoir, also known as Dam B, which is located in a rural part of East Texas. The location of the lake is important, because there are people living in the area that have home septic systems. During periods of heavy rain fall, sometimes these sewage systems can become flooded, and raw sewage is washed into the local streams and lakes.

Because of the possible risk of contamination with sewage, there could be a wide range of diseases and parasites in the water.

Some possible parasites and diseases include:
Protozoan
Cryptosporidiosis
Giardiasis
Typhoid
Polio
Hepatitis A

During a break down of society, (hurricane, earthquake, nuclear strike, plague) its very possible that water and sewage treatment facilities will go offline.  Because of this its important that each household have their own way to treat water.  Whether this is by a slow sand water filter or chemicals, each family will be responsible for providing safe drinking water to its members.

To discuss this article and video, visit this thread in the wilderness survival forum.

Disclaimer: The author of this article is not a medical professional. Before drinking any water from lakes or streams, it should be properly treated to remove any diseases and parasites.