I live near the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, Utah. Could I use it as a water source and process it through a PortaWell™ Emergency Water Filtration System in an emergency situation?
The Jordan River in Utah has as its source Utah Lake, and thereafter journeys approximately 50 miles through some of Utah’s most populated and developed areas before emptying into the Great Salt Lake. The water quality varies along its path varies but gets “very, very dirty and lots of signs of degradation at the bottom of the watershed”, as stated in a 2020 article in the Salt Lake Tribune. While efforts are being made to reclaim the river, its water quality is still suspect at best.
The Jordan River is indicative of many in large, populated areas where this type of surface water may be the only one convenient (proximity) to people in the event of a catastrophic emergency the shuts down all utilities for an extended period. People must have public drinking water supplies to survive. In a life-or-death situation the question no longer becomes:
By best water source, I mean
If you are concerned about water resources or water bodies for an extended emergency, I recommend scouting out your nearest source and get as much information as to possible pollutants.
One can argue, “but isn’t this what a portable treatment system is supposed to do—make dirty water into clean, reused water so I can drink it”?
Yes, but the more contaminated the alternative water source, the faster any filtration system will foul (clog up) or expend its chemical absorption capability.
Advertisements that show a person filtering ground water from a heavily silted, contaminated water flowing source and then drinking clear water are disingenuous at best. Yes, it may clean a few gallons of water, but the filter will quickly clog and be of little use unless the filter can be cleaned or replaced.
I would search for a less contaminated source of water even if it meant traveling for an extended distance and use the Jordan River as a source of water only if there was nothing else available.
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