WATER MANAGEMENT DISCIPLINE FOR RANGERS

WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE FIELD

Your canteen is empty, you’re miles from camp, it’s hot and you are perspiring, you’re thirsty and so are the other Rangers in your recce team. The only water you have been able to find is murky, dark and smells. You and your team need water. Heat exhaustion has become a concern and your fellow Rangers are showing signs of fatigue. What are you going to do?

During WW2 commonwealth soldiers took a terrible toll in the jungles of South East Asia. Many soldiers were lost to enemy action and many were avoidably lost to the jungle itself. Soldiers eventually learned the vital lessons of water management as one of the key tiers of maintaining an effective fighting force. Long term exposure to the jungle environment and infected water devastated morale and made simple physical tasks overwhelmingly difficult. Severe intestinal pain, nausea, fever and explosive diarrhoea killed soldiers every day because they were ingesting water heavily infected with protozoa.

Although British Columbia’s temperate rainforest is pale in comparison to the jungles of New Guinea and Burma we do have similar issues with water sources infected with water borne protozoa. Water management discipline must be observed when living off the land.

All creatures great and small require water to survive. However not all creatures have the same intestinal sensitivity that human beings do. There are numerous agents and protozoa that occupy water in BC – especially slow or still water features. Aside from the obvious filtering requirements to remove contaminants such as organic detritus and debris we must pay special attention to protozoa. Therefore I am dedicating this short article to managing Giardia and Cryptosporidium – two of British Columbia’s most common forms or waterborne protozoa.

Risk Assessment.

We might not know we’re doing it but we do a quick assessment as to the safe nature of the drinking water around us before we “Dip-in”. We perform a quick evaluation of the water feature and look for clues or indicators that will help us evaluate the palatability of the water before we drink it.

·         What is the clarity of the water;

·         Is there high animal (especially beaver) traffic in the area;

·         Highly oxygenated water (fast to moderate current) or Poorly oxygenated water (slow or still current);

·         Close to the edge of the lake (warm & shallow) or interior to the lake (cold & deep); 

·         Clean gravel bed or does the feature have fines, silt suspension, detritus and possibly water insect activity;

We evaluate all of these things before dipping our canteen into the water and rehydrating ourselves. When in doubt we must assume the water is not entirely healthy to drink and requires some rigour before we can safely ingest it.

What are waterborne protozoa?

·         Giardia and Cryptosporidium are microscopic, protozoan parasites that can be found in water contaminated with the feces of infected animals.

·         Giardia is often found in human, beaver, muskrat, and dog feces. In humans, Giardia causes an intestinal illness called giardiasis or "beaver fever". Cryptosporidium is responsible for a similar illness called cryptosporidiosis.

·         Giardia and Cryptosporidium parasites produce cysts that are very resistant to harsh environmental conditions. When ingested, they germinate, reproduce, and cause illness. After feeding, the parasites form new cysts, which are then passed in the feces. Studies have shown that ingestion of only a few cysts will cause illness in humans.

How many protozoa before I get sick?

·         It takes (on average) a total of 19 cysts in a glass of water to infect a human being. An infected glass of water can contain thousands of cysts and can still appear clear and free of contaminants or parasites to the human eye.

·         The risk of becoming infected depends on:

o   The number of viable cysts ingested (dose)

o   The virulence of the ingested cysts

o   The susceptibility of the host to a blooming infection

How long do I have before I feel the effects?

·         Once ingested  it normally takes between 6-16 days before the victim starts to feel ill. Cryptosporidium takes effect between 4-9 days as its life cycle is faster acting.

What will my symptoms be?

·         Depending on the dosage of protozoa and the strength of your immune system you will experience varying degrees of:

o   Nausea

o   Anorexia

o   Bloating

o   Discomfort in the upper intestine

o   Malaise

o   Fever & chills

o   Onset of sudden and explosive diarrhoea

o   Watery and foul smelling stools

o   Weight loss

o   Fatigue

o   Rotten egg burps that smell like hydrogen sulphide are typical

·         Immune compromised people (or young children) may be in distress for an average of 30 days. In these situations it is possible for the victim to die from the infection is improperly diagnosed or ignored for too long.

·         Healthy individuals will usually clear their symptoms in 10-15 days assuming they are no longer ingesting infected water.

·         Giardia and Cryptosporidium can be transmitted from person to person via. poor hygiene, food handling and sexual practices.

What is the treatment?

·         Anti-parasitic drugs are available but only through prescription from your physician however these have very limited effects. Anti-diarrheal drugs and re-hydration therapy may also be useful. If you are suffering from diarrhoea and suspect that your symptoms may be due to Giardia or Cryptosporidium, visit your physician and mention any exposure you may have had to water, food, or feces that may have been contaminated by the parasites.

·         The best treatment is education and knowing how no to get infected!

Avoidance

·         Giardia and Cryptosporidium are not killed by common chemical treatments such as iodine & chlorine (especially cryptosporidium).

·         Cryptosporidium is a parasite with cysts smaller than that of a red blood cell of 7 microns where-as Giardia have cysts of 10 or more microns.

·         Water filters can be effective by straining out protozoa but the filter must remove particles that are less than or equal to one micron in diameter to be safe.

·         Boiling water for more than one minute is the ONLY safe way on ingesting running surface wate.

In Closing

It is tough enough surviving in the bush when you are healthy. More often than not we take our health for granted and under appreciate it when we have it. I have been sick in bush camps situated in remote locations before and I can tell you with absolute certainly that you don’t want to be in that situation if you can avoid it. Please take water management discipline with you when you head out the bush for work or play. Teach it to others – educate the unaware. Accomplish the mission.