If you're out for a hike and feeling thirsty, you should reconsider drinking water from that nearby running spring. Even a little bit of spring water can be dangerous.
An expert has warned against drinking spring water or other untreated water. For obvious reasons, spring water can be deadly. Springs are breeding grounds for bacteria.
Speaking to Cleveland Clinic, registered dietitian Gillian Culbertson explained: "Spring water and other sources of untreated water flow through rock material and come into contact with organic material that is a breeding ground for bacteria. Without proper filtration and decontamination, it can make you very ill."
Expert Warns Against Spring Water
The expert explained that the water brings a big risk. He said, "When you choose to drink water that hasn't been properly tested and filtered, you're taking a big risk. If you're looking for an alternative to drinking water straight from your faucet, there are safer ways to do it."
However, you don't have to worry about any bottled water in the store since it's been tested. But you should avoid just getting water in nature. "We know that things do happen and can happen that can affect the quality of municipal water," the dietitian said. "But it's rare. And I'd venture to say that drinking raw water is much more likely to pose an imminent threat than the possibility that your locally treated water is contaminated."
If you're planning to drink from the source then you should use a water filter. You should also boil your water and avoid drinking any water with a funny smell or taste. This comes a few years after a man almost died after drinking water from an unfiltered spring water. Australian native Chris Capper almost died in 2021 after contracting a lung infection called nontuberculous mycobacteria disease. It ended up eating a third of his lung away.
He tragically told The Daily Mail Australia, "It feels like [doctors] are waiting for him to die' because they know so little about his condition, while he also said that medics have compared it to 'modern day tuberculosis.'"
