Eli5 How did travelers/crusaders in medieval times get a clean and consistent source of water
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There were a lot fewer people in the medieval times. And a lot less problems with agricultural runoff and industrial pollution. Cities were almost exclusively near the coastline or at least along huge rivers. Even things like well water being salty is just a problem after we drained the aquifers. So most running water were potable. And in some parts of the world with low population density this is still the case.
That being said there have been a shift in what is considered clean water. This again have to do with population density and globalization. An infected stream making a small village ill is not that big of a problem compared to an infected stream making a large city ill. And it is far more common now to get infected from drinking infected water and then travel far away, even to different countries and end up infecting the water supply there. So making sure the water is clean have become a much higher priority both because we can and because the consequences of not cleaning the water is so greater.
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