Untreated, unfiltered water — and it is so popular

[Hobbes]

In San Francisco, "unfiltered, untreated, unsterilized spring water" from a company called Live Water is selling for up to $61 for a 2.5-gallon jug — and it's flying off the shelves, The New York Times reported.

Startups dedicated to untreated water are also gaining steam. Zero Mass Water, which doesn't sell raw water but sells tech that allows people to collect water from the atmosphere near their homes, has already raised $24 million in venture capital, the report says.

http://www.businessinsider.com/silicon- ... ion-2018-1

So, Bay area peeps, here's a business possible opportunity: rent a party bus and drive people up to the Sierra. Arrange a series of day hikes following streams and melting snow packs. Provide lunch and a complimentary, branded Sierra cup (Do these even exit anymore? Anyone still have one?) so that clients can "dip & drink". Imagine the health benefits that would accrue for those actually drinking from the source of all/most California water. It could be a huge hit.

Who knew that while generations of backpackers have studiously tried to avoid contracting giardia and other potential pathogens lurking in Sierra water sources, they should have been "diving" right in without fear. Hmm, I've been doing that forever; can't remember the last time I filtered water. (I do take along chlorine tablets, but almost never use them.)

Man, I can't believe I'm so far ahead of current trends that I've actually circled around to the rear. Next thing you know, the hot concept will be to have an ice cold beer (or two) after a hard, sweaty hike. The things kids do today - so new, so unique, so 'with it'.

[markskor]

Who knew that while generations of backpackers have studiously tried to avoid contracting giardia and other potential pathogens.... Hmm, I've been doing that forever; can't remember the last time I filtered water.

Same here, above 6,000', have not filtered my water Sierra in over 20 years, but always have been conscious of where I am and what is available - called drinking smart.

[Cross Country]

I avoided treated water for the first 18 years and got intestinal problems a little bit a few times. Then I got really sick one time and treated my water for the last 15 years.

[bobby49]

Thirty years ago I was around too many backpackers who were getting sick from giardia, and I saw the treatment that they endured. I just decided that life was too short, so I've always been pretty serious about water treatment. So far, knock on wood, I've never gotten sick from giardia.
The one exception was in Army training camp in 1970. We had been out wading through the swamps, and a few days later I had all of the classic symptoms. My physician treated me and then told me that he didn't know exactly what it was, but that it probably wasn't going to kill me. I don't think that they knew very much about giardia back then. For the first third of the treatment, I was afraid that I was going to die. Then for the second third of the treatment, I knew that I was going to die. Then for the last third of the treatment, I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to die.

[CAMERONM]

I got Giardia a year ago, and I was pretty cautious, above 8,000. ft. So go ahead, test your stomach if you like. A few pills take care of it.

[rlown]

Where and when would be helpful..

To be complete: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiasis

[creekfeet]

As someone that lives in the Bay Area, this doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I never filter my water in the Sierra, but that's because I know exactly where I'm taking it from. The whole notion of paying exorbitant prices for allegedly unfiltered water seems beyond stupid. Granted there's no shortage of places in the world, and even this country where you don't want to drink the tap water. When I lived in Moab no one would drink the tap water because of all the uranium tailings in the area, and instead opted to fill up at Matrimony Spring on the side of Highway 191. That was some prime water, filtered only by rocks. But for those people in the Bay, if Hetch Hetchy has to remain dammed, you might as well take advantage of having that pristine Sierra water piped in.

[Tom_H]

I drank unfiltered until the late 70s when Giardia started getting worse. At various times I've used Iodine, Chlorine, and filters. I still drank straight from high altitude springs if the water was coming straight out of the hillside.

[Lumbergh21]

What's the expression, a fool is born every minute? Seems like every second might be underestimating it. I'll probably lose all credibility as being duped by the government, the man, or whatever, but I work in the drinking water profession. For everybody who wails about the dangers of chlorine (and just about any other treatment that has been demonstrated to work through scientific study), how would you like to measure the healthfullness of your water based on the cholera death rate? Going back 100 years, water was considered above average in California if the Cholera death rate was less than 3 per 10,000 people. When's the last time anyone died from Cholera in the US? Include amoeba and other waterborne parasites, and I laugh at people willing to pay big bucks for water that includes the natural biota necessary for a healthy body. No thanks, I'll take my water free of Norwalk virus, typhus, cholera, cryptosporidium, giardia, etc.

[Hobbes]

The conceit of every generation is the belief their experiences are unique. Others have expressed this observation a bit more eloquently:

"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."