ELI5. After a hurricane if everyone had a “life straw” could they drink the ground water?
In: Biology
man that would be sweet but ground water can be nasty. life straws are awesome but they ain’t miracle workers so gotta be careful yo.
The water filters you find in life straw and similar products are designed to filter out larger particles like parasites and bacteria. There is generally no such issues with ground water because it is so deep into the ground. The problem with ground water is generally high salinity, minerals and toxins. These are smaller particles that can not easily be filtered out.
I don’t think a life straw can remove all reasons why water might be harmful. If you have a river and there is dust and maybe some metals, I suppose a good filter is plenty to get you good water. Especially if it is in a survival situation or on a hike.
But after a hurrican, there is nothing, that can not be in the water. Feces, dead people and animals, oil from cars and pipes, debris, that can hold all kinds of problems. I believe if there was a reliable way to turn that water into a drinkable state, I don’t think people would transport so much fresh water to catastrophe sites.
Yes… technically, life straws will filter out the bacteria and particles that can cause illness but they cannot filter out contaminants like some pollutants so it’s not the best option for flood waters
If there is no other clean water available then it’s better than nothing but it’s not the potion I would choose first
There is often raw sewage mixed with flood water. Maybe the straw would work but who would want to try?
Not that particular filter, no. You want something more [like this](https://www.msrgear.com/water-treatment/filters-and-purifiers/guardian-purifier/02370.html) if you absolutely had to drink the water after large flooding events. Even then, you should still avoid it if at all possible.
Everyone in a hurricane zone is told to stock up on water for this exact situation. Not the day before, not one day after. At the beginning of hurricane season.
As someone that was home when water started coming in the house, a lifestraw is not going to help with that kind of water. It is a mix of salt water, chemicals from peoples garages, fertilizers, pesticides, animal and human feces. It is absolutely disgusting.
Life straws can’t filter out all viruses and some chemical contaminants. The company does have a product that can filter out viruses.
If the water came from storm surge, it could be pretty salty. Filters won’t desalinate. Filters do a good job with contaminants that will make you sick like bacteria and protozoa, but most won’t filter viruses (some do – they are usually considered purifiers and Life straw isn’t that). You could use chemical purification (usually chlorine dioxide) to ensure all the viruses are killed.
Life straws are rated for sediment and most bacteria. They cannot filter out salt water, chemicals, and viruses. So no, they can’t.
Life straws are for unclean sources of water for hikers and those in 3rd world countries. Not for hurricanes.
Edit: Also even with life straws and all, its still not recommended to drink from standing water. Always go for a moving source when possible.
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