filtering glacial water

[Diane Pinkers]

I am about to embark on a 3 hike of the Loowit Trail, a 30+ mile trail that circumnavigates Mt. St. Helens. Reliable water sources are notoriously few and far between.  Several of them are known to be very silty, such as the South Fork Toutle River, which is likely to be the main water source for my 2nd evening camp, and all my water for the third day, as the sources of water for the last 10 miles are sporadic and may have dried up by the time I am hiking.

I have an Anti-Gravity Gear 1 gallon water bag at 0.8 ounces.  If I scoop water with that, drop a pinch of alum in it and stir it up, then let it sit to settle, would that be an adequate way of dealing with the silt before filtering?  The bag assumes a very flattened shape when sitting on a flat surface, it might be best to hang it so that there is greater depth to siphon the more clear water off of.  The alternative would be to take 2 Sawyer Squeezes, and hope that adequate backflushing will preserve the function of at least one.

[Rex Sanders]

The keys to settling silty water are not stirring up the sediment after it’s settled, and pouring off or siphoning off the clear water above the murk. Rigid buckets work well.

The AGG water bag looks pretty floppy. If you have a tube for siphoning, hang it in a very still location from a stable hanging point, i.e. not from a tree waving in the wind. Let the water settle as long as possible, ideally overnight.

Alternative: take a few chlorine dioxide tablets to use in the settled, silty water. Since Bad Things™ can hide in floating sediment, consider a double dose.

— Rex

[JCH]

I had not seen this water bag before, and can think of a few uses for it, but I’m curious…Silnylon will weep under the pressure of a gallon of water (in fact, you can see exactly that in the product picture of the bag hanging).  If it needs to sit overnight to sufficiently settle the silt, how much water will be lost?  Seems like a simple overnight in the back yard would provide an answer  :)

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

If you are letting your water settle for a long period of time, you might consider chemical treatment as a lighter weight option.  my 2 cents

[Jeffs Eleven]

I use msr silt stoppers before my filter. But its for inline stuff

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