Drinking Water from the Connecticut River

[IQuest]

I was wondering what others thought about doing this. We will be kayak/camping this weekend somewhere between the Wilder Dam and the covered Bridge in Cornish, NH. I'm trying to pack light and thought of saving some water weight by using my filter on day two for drinking water but am having second thoughts. With the landfill in West Lebanon upstream and knowing off all the debris that Irene washed away I'm not sure if my filter is up to the task. I filtered and drank some a few years ago when we camped in Newbury, VT but even then it was as last resort. I only drank about 16oz and mixed it with Tang. I'd like to know what others would do/reccommend.

 

[Billy]

Two words in your post sealed the deal for me....."landfill" and "upstream"

I'd pack water.

 

[Jay H]

Somebody more local can chime in but there are supposedly some boat launches that are close enough to convenience stations or so where one could even buy bottled water... (or a cache)

Jay

 

[Amicus]

That's a nice stretch, which I enjoyed when some friends and I paddled it on this same weekend, four years ago. We brought our own water and I wouldn't drink the River even if filtered. We used if for cleaning, but heated it first. There are several places where you could get water.

 

[Mike P.]

tributaries for filtering for drinking water?

I'd by okay generally washing in it as any landfill run-off would be in the ppm or smaller , hands maybe after boiled (contact lens wearer)

With any tributary you are taking on good faith that every home or camp along it has properly working septic systems & farms are keepng animal (large scale not just the random cow or horse) waste out.

Sadly, in most surface water you have other materials that have been absorbed into the water cycle inlcuding medications.

On a bright note, no fracking issues in our little corner.

 

[DougPaul]

I don't have any specific info on the water quality on that stretch of river, but if you must drink it I suggest that you boil it first. Most filters don't kill viruses.

Filtering (stops bacteria and protozoa) plus iodine (1 ppm kills viruses) also works pretty well.

However, neither method removes chemical contaminants.

In general, the water upstream of human habitation is likely to be cleaner than the downstream water.

Doug

 

[IQuest]

Well that settles it. The filter stays at home tomorrow. I wasn't too keen on the idea anyway.

Somebody more local can chime in but there are supposedly some boat launches that are close enough to convenience stations or so where one could even buy bottled water... (or a cache)

Jay

The site we're staying at is 1/4 mile from the Harpoon Bewery. I'm sure they will supply us with water amongst other things.