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Query: Dirty water - Water Aid appeal

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Query: Dirty water - Water Aid appeal

Postby jeral » Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:33 pm

A person has to drink water "teeming with parasites and bacteria - no choice". Wouldn't boiling it put paid to those? Or maybe some appeal money goes to teaching that... Makes you realise how lucky we are to have water on tap.

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Re: Query: Dirty water - Water Aid appeal

Postby jaybird » Thu Nov 22, 2012 1:06 am

Your question about boiling the water got me thinking. Wateraid was one of the first charities that I donated to regularly & still do because I thought that water is such a basic need that nobody can live without. I looked at this website which seems pretty good explanation wise:

http://www.advancedwaterfilters.com/faq.php?q_id=10

It does say that boiling, as you say, kills bacteria and parasites. But it would be very difficult to boil absolutely every drop of water (for washing and cleaning etc) and it could only take a very little water to become infected with nasties. Our water is disinfected by various methods before we get it and maybe the wells that Wateraid help to install filter and/or disinfect the water before the people get it. Anyway, the website is interesting and informative.

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Re: Query: Dirty water - Water Aid appeal

Postby jeral » Thu Nov 22, 2012 1:47 am

Thank you very much for the link jaybird.

Exemplifies how my "boil it" thought is so far away from the overall reality for ending up with safe water that we take for granted. The various possible pitfalls and/or costs for an area that doesn't have fresh stream water.

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Re: Query: Dirty water - Water Aid appeal

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:19 pm

In addition to what jaybird says, in order to boil all drinking water you need access to

1_ a fairly large pot
2. a storage container such as a food suitable jerry can
3. quite a lot of fuel

It is number three that is quite literally the killer as I understand it - people who don't have access to clean water are often suffering the double whammy of extreme fuel poverty

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Re: Query: Dirty water - Water Aid appeal

Postby jeral » Thu Nov 22, 2012 9:34 pm

Hmm. It's as if all flowchart options reach an arrow saying "Go back to start" - which ho hum = hence Water Aid.

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