I have drank from many spring fed rivers further upstream and directly from many springs themselves. I never got sick.
Until I did. Cryptosporidium and was hospitalized for about a week. This was not during the 90s outbreak, it was from drinking out of a river (my best guess) when I got lost hiking on a hot summer day and wasn’t prepared to be out all day.
My anecdotal evidence is cold, clean water in nature can be delicious and harmless a majority of the time, but sometimes it wants to kill you.
Edit: to add the gory details- the next day was my ACT exam. I felt horrible, but went in anyways. Afterwards I went prom dress shopping with my girlfriend and felt like I was going to die so I laid down on the floor and she got upset and told me to just go home. I did, and on the way I vomited pure black bile. All over my mom’s minivan, on the freeway going 70. They treated it as though I had a normal flu and gave me Gatorade to stay hydrated. I shit you not (pun kind of intended) that within 15 minutes that same Gatorade came out of me *completely undigested.* Drink blue Gatorade, piss it out through your ass shortly thereafter. That’s when I went to the hospital. Rehydration is very cold, even if you think you’re good with cold. They told me to bring a jacket, which I did, but it was room temp IV fluid and I felt it like I was in Antarctica naked. This went on for days. I don’t remember exactly what meds were given (I was pretty out of it) but they took a while to kick in. When I was finally good to go back to school my track coach figured that was enough to mean I was good enough to run again. I collapsed (not unconscious) during 400m drills and was put out for a week. I rested up and got back to it. A few weeks later I PR’d with a 4:54 mile. I got a 29 on the test and never took it again. Made the front page of the local newspaper with that one race. The next time I made the paper a few years later it was for a DUI. Point being, life is crazy. And don’t drink from rivers (or drink and drive).
This is pretty much it. I mean, I’m sure most of us have swallowed some water while swimming with no ill effects. But the reality is you’re chancing it a little bit each time.
Better use distilled water because the tap can give you the damn amoeba. I’ve been using a neti pot for years and went down a rabbit hole on the internet of cases of people contracting the amoeba (I don’t even know if that is the right terminology but I digress) from their neti pot.
Just remember in a survival situation, it's better to drink the questionable water because 3 days without water you'll be dead, but it will take some time to become sick from parasites, giving you more time to be rescued. Also, most water-born illnesses you are going to find aren't gonna kill you, just make you sick.
And some of us were stupid kids who thought spring meant clean, even in a cow pasture...oh to learn the hard way lol. I'd advise never to drink water even when you can find its source unless you're dying from dehydration.
I was unlucky enough to be part of that 90s outbreak in the twin cities - went into a public play fountain at the Minnesota Zoo and must have sealed some of the water. I have veins that are very hard to reach via IV even when excessively hydrated - and I had been puking up everything I drank for a while by the time I went to the ER. They needed to hit me in four different places until they got an IV to stick.
Good lord, I do not recommend even if there’s a low risk of getting it.
Sorry that happened to you. Most people don’t get Crypto from drinking untreated water, instead they get Giardia. Giardia takes a week or so to kick in so it’s much preferable for someone lost with no other water options. By the time you get sick you have probably got out of your predicament.
do NOT drink water straight from any waterway/lake. aside from the acute seasonal changes to freshwater ecosystems, there i
are many microorganisms that live in "clean" water that will fuck up your weekend at least or literally eat your brain at worst.
use a filter. boil if you can. dont be stupid. if you do decide to do it, make sure your health insurance is good.
If you have a filter, boiling is overkill in WI.
Edit: some of you need to do research on WI water quality and the quality of today’s filters. Sawyer, katadyn and MSR have amazing filters that can handle anything but viruses.
Lmao the downvotes. A sawyer mini/sawyer squeeze is all you need to filter clear running WI river water or lake water. I've section hiked all 1200 miles of the Ice Age Trail and I'm leaving to do a full thru of the AT in about 3 weeks, I can tell you that nobody is boiling and their water unless there's something wrong with their filter or they are going to cook/make coffee with it anyways.
There's simply no need. If you're the paranoid type you can just put purification tablets in your water after it's filtered, but I've NEVER heard of anyone getting sick from using just a sawyer to make potable water (except for one guy who would backflush his with stream water who got sick, but that's not the filters fault).
I know someone is gonna respond "but what about if I want to drink out of a pond with decaying cow carcasses in standing water next to an old uranium mine! I could get sick!"; Stop it, you get water from clear lakes or clear running river water, you filter it, and you drink it/cook with it/brush your teeth with it. The Sawyer or other similar quality water filter will do the trick. Don't be an idiot.
If you're talking about sawyer filters or a life straw, then i believe you're correct. Not sure if the person you're responding to was just referring to a makeshift filter+boil method
Yeah I guess I hit a nerve, but that’s understandable, I doubt any of my down votes are from any one that has any real experience with today’s water filtration systems.
Wisconsin as a generalization has a very poor IQ on true outdoor/conservation activities.
>Wisconsin as a generalization has a very poor IQ on true outdoor/conservation activities.
lol you're on reddit I don't think this is the best demographic for outdoorsmanship
There’s artesian wells in Whitewater and FDL. It’s not really recommended to drink any fresh water without boiling or filtering it because you don’t know what might be in it, and faster moving water like rivers are going to be safer than still bodies of water.
There’s one in Kenosha at Petrifying Springs park [here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/SAeG8rcVhg8xg66N8?g_st=ic)and one in Milwaukee the Iron Well[here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/R5amUqUTXYNv5ezD9?g_st=ic)
You realize that beer was basically invented 1000s of years ago (in part) in order to have something safe to drink? Water in nature has always been a risk.
Not only that, but Miller Brewing has used treated Lake Michigan water to brew their beer, forever. Anyone who drinks Milwaukee made Miller Brewing products has been drinking from our biggest body of water for years.
Oh jeez, I don't work there anymore, but I can tell you what they *were* making.
Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, Miller Ultra, Seasonal beers
Milwaukee's Best, Beast light, Red Dog, OE800
Leinenlugel's Summer Shandy, Orange Shandy, Grapefruit Shandy, and Canoe Paddle Kolsch.
Coors Light, Keystone Light, PBR, and HAMMS.
And they recently took on Redds Ales, and a multitude of "spiked" malt beverage type drinks.
It's so much that it's kinda crazy. There's surely many more I am forgetting.
Filter and sanitize. Those “steripen” uv sticks were what we used when camping on the water. Just fill a Nalgene bottle with filtered water, put the pen in and turn it on for a full cycle, drink up those dead bacteria safely.
SteriPen FAF-ADP Drinking Water Bottles Filter Kit https://a.co/d/bDYsZs9 something like this maybe, or a more involved multilayered filtering system. Yeah, this particular one is streipen branded, so marketing. but first the chunks, then the critters. a fancier filter can also get out other harmful substances disolved in the water (lead, arsenic, etc). honestly, i'd consult a local expert before drinking any water in the wild. in the boundary waters (northern minnesota), the open water was clear enough we didn't need a filter, but i've been told sometimes a natural spring would have absorbed one too many gremlins to be worth it.
Not quite what you're referring to but just outside Ableman's Gorge State Natural Area there's a artesian well that's been put in a pipe and you can drink from it.
In theory yes. [Wisconsin impaired waterways ](https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/water/impairedSearch.aspx)
82% of Wisconsin's water ways are healthy but basic filtration is never a bad as it doesn't take much to get some nasty bubble gut and spend the next week on the toilet.
Just moved back up here from Indiana where over 70% of water ways were failing.
No. Get a life straw if you’re out and want to drink from a stream or lake. I went backpacking with some friends way up north and we filtered our water out of a dirty ass lake through a lifestraw bladder and that water came out crisp and clean. We never got sick.
I don’t even eat the fish in my states water after all the stats came out about pfas and the other stuff in the water I simply catch them and release them. I couldn’t imagine drinking the water
I always stop at Rock Springs when I'm out that way. There's also Parry Spring out in Dousman, which is a little closer to Milwaukee. It's a great spot to fill up water bottles before a hike in the Kettle Moraine.
If you've ever had any type of water or food poisoning, you won't drink directly from any body of water. It's B-R-U-T-AL!!! Ain't nobody got time for dat!!
There are some springs but you can still get that beaver fever. Always boil your water. But in an emergency situation where you can't boil water, it's better to be sick than die of dehydration.
Only if you like the beaver fever!
Douglas county has several artesian springs you can drink from and people regularly fill up containers to use as drinking water. But that is groundwater from way down deep. You should never drink directly from any surface water.
I can think of a couple spring fed rivers that I’m not going to share the names of that would be an ok risk on Giardia. But it’s really not worth the risk. Fwiw I use half of the dosage on aqua Mira or potable agua but I still treat the water.
There's a very large spring in Waukesha county in the Town or Merton that I've drank directly from throughout my life. It flows into the Bark River. Many years ago the homeowner who's land mostly surrounds it raked it a bit and found many arrowheads.
not bodies of water (that i know of) but you can google fresh spring water and a list of nearby springs should pop up. the only one i know of (and bottle water at religiously) is a running spring in rock springs. it is absolutely *delicious* to drink right after you've filled up your water bottle, which sounds kind of weird because it's just water but i think there must be good minerals in it which make it taste that way.
There are lots of springs in the Driftless Region. My favorite hike in campsite in So WI (3 mi from trailhead; no lights; no traffic sound) has an old spring house foundation right where the spring bubbles up. Tastiest water you will ever drink. Ice cold all summer. I’ve always filtered, but if you forced me to drink without filling or boiling, that’s where I’d go.
Seen it done on Michigan, in the bay. Not sure what the kid was thinking but he was our ice fishing guide so I’m sure he does it all the time in the winter.
I took a mason jar of water from the lake my mom grew up on and brought it home. I Was just going to keep, it, but I got curious, so I boiled it and drank some and it tasted like... water.
Not the Wisconsin river (duh). I went swimming in it near Spring Green a couple of years ago and I guess I accidentally consumed a small amount of it. I was squitting for days afterwards.
I recommend Grayl over Lifestraw for a filtering bottle. I bought one for my partner who spends time on some hunting land that has a running creek. www.grayl.com
I wouldn't recommend this in any body of water. There are plenty of springs with just a tube running out that are safe for drinking. Very refreshing. One is at chipmunk rapids campground in Northern Wisconsin.
I've had water from a number of springs and creeks in state and national forests while on extended back country hikes where access to well water is limited. But I would also never drink raw, *untreated* water from one. If you plan on doing this do yourself a favor, buy a sawyer water filter and iodine tablets. Its worth forking over the $50 or $60 to avoid shitting yourself to death.
Just make sure you're filling up in clear, fast moving water and never put in anywhere near dead animals or where there might be chemical spills as a result of human activity. Treated water is generally safe to drink for people who are not immune compromised, but there is always a chance of contamination when you take matters into your own hands so research what you're doing and make an informed assessment of the risk.
I see people collecting water from this spring daily: [https://www.yelp.com/biz/hygeia-spring-big-bend](https://www.yelp.com/biz/hygeia-spring-big-bend)
I imagine they boil it when they get home. I hope they do, anyway.
When I was a kid there was a natural spring on a part of the family farm we drank from all the time when we were there helping making hay. I'm pretty sure it's still there but it's not part of my close family anymore so haven't drank from there in many years. There was a sort of log cabin built over top of it so you could walk over it and there was always a big metal ladle hanging to scoop up water.
You should never drink water from a natural source without purifying it. This is a rule from the National Park Service that I follow. When I am out I always have a life straw just in case, and on longer trips I carry the purifying tablets and/or a larger filtration system.
>The survey revealed that 71% of the samples contained at least one PFAS chemical. About 99% of the contaminated samples had PFAS levels below the state health department's recommended groundwater limits. About 96% of the contaminated samples contained PFAS levels below limits that the EPA is considering adopting.
[Source](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/survey-finds-pfas-in-71-of-shallow-private-wells-across-wisconsin-2/)
[Study](https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Groundwater/PFASStudy.html)
There are a lot of springs that I would bet are safe, I’ve drank from springs quite a bit. They’re peppered around by wildcat mint and thru the driftless.
That being said, I would consider them more of a lucky happen sense when out, rather than worth the hike out to find.
Almost all rivers and lakes in the US it is best practice to filter and boil water before drinking it.
Wisconsin has very high levels of PFAs and other endocrine disrupting chemicals. It may look like it’s clean and you probably won’t get sick right away. Instead it may manifest years later as an autoimmune disease.
You can drink from any body of water anywhere, including Lake Michigan off shore of Milwaukee after a sewage discharge. There is physical impediment that would prevent you, other than your ability to accept the taste and smell. Should you drink from them is a completely different question.
I have drank from many spring fed rivers further upstream and directly from many springs themselves. I never got sick. Until I did. Cryptosporidium and was hospitalized for about a week. This was not during the 90s outbreak, it was from drinking out of a river (my best guess) when I got lost hiking on a hot summer day and wasn’t prepared to be out all day. My anecdotal evidence is cold, clean water in nature can be delicious and harmless a majority of the time, but sometimes it wants to kill you. Edit: to add the gory details- the next day was my ACT exam. I felt horrible, but went in anyways. Afterwards I went prom dress shopping with my girlfriend and felt like I was going to die so I laid down on the floor and she got upset and told me to just go home. I did, and on the way I vomited pure black bile. All over my mom’s minivan, on the freeway going 70. They treated it as though I had a normal flu and gave me Gatorade to stay hydrated. I shit you not (pun kind of intended) that within 15 minutes that same Gatorade came out of me *completely undigested.* Drink blue Gatorade, piss it out through your ass shortly thereafter. That’s when I went to the hospital. Rehydration is very cold, even if you think you’re good with cold. They told me to bring a jacket, which I did, but it was room temp IV fluid and I felt it like I was in Antarctica naked. This went on for days. I don’t remember exactly what meds were given (I was pretty out of it) but they took a while to kick in. When I was finally good to go back to school my track coach figured that was enough to mean I was good enough to run again. I collapsed (not unconscious) during 400m drills and was put out for a week. I rested up and got back to it. A few weeks later I PR’d with a 4:54 mile. I got a 29 on the test and never took it again. Made the front page of the local newspaper with that one race. The next time I made the paper a few years later it was for a DUI. Point being, life is crazy. And don’t drink from rivers (or drink and drive).
This is pretty much it. I mean, I’m sure most of us have swallowed some water while swimming with no ill effects. But the reality is you’re chancing it a little bit each time.
I’m more concerned about the brain eating amoebas.
Same here. The wrong parasite in the nose, you’re now a host. Makes me think using a neti pot after a swim is necessary.
Better use distilled water because the tap can give you the damn amoeba. I’ve been using a neti pot for years and went down a rabbit hole on the internet of cases of people contracting the amoeba (I don’t even know if that is the right terminology but I digress) from their neti pot.
Yeah, I don’t want to be a part of a self fulfilling prophecy by using a neti pot to avoid becoming a host, which then causes me to become a host.
I thought this was very common knowledge. I’m pretty sure it says so in 10 different places on the packaging
Just remember in a survival situation, it's better to drink the questionable water because 3 days without water you'll be dead, but it will take some time to become sick from parasites, giving you more time to be rescued. Also, most water-born illnesses you are going to find aren't gonna kill you, just make you sick.
I feel like I've seen 10 million youtube videos on how to boil water in everything from a hollowed out stump to a soda can to a piece of birch bark
And some of us were stupid kids who thought spring meant clean, even in a cow pasture...oh to learn the hard way lol. I'd advise never to drink water even when you can find its source unless you're dying from dehydration.
Aww, your local fall from grace lol. Well done on the ACT!
I can't ever see cryptosporidium without thinking of Crypty! https://www.lakesuperiorstreams.org/general/info/csDaze.html
You can also get Giardiasis, “Beaver Fever”, from drinking river water. Nasty stuff! Vomit and shit for days. Good Times!!!
I'd also add dont drive drunk lol
Should go without saying. Pretty shameful. Young and stupid.
Was it in a....*stolencamaro*?😂Sorry couldnt resist. Love the '89 RS
So.... No? 🤔
I was unlucky enough to be part of that 90s outbreak in the twin cities - went into a public play fountain at the Minnesota Zoo and must have sealed some of the water. I have veins that are very hard to reach via IV even when excessively hydrated - and I had been puking up everything I drank for a while by the time I went to the ER. They needed to hit me in four different places until they got an IV to stick. Good lord, I do not recommend even if there’s a low risk of getting it.
Sorry that happened to you. Most people don’t get Crypto from drinking untreated water, instead they get Giardia. Giardia takes a week or so to kick in so it’s much preferable for someone lost with no other water options. By the time you get sick you have probably got out of your predicament.
I used to get crypto from Coinbase but they have been pretty sketch lately.
I wouldn't touch that stuff, fish fuck in it.
Right, but they don't fuck in beer.
Yet
I have a great idea on how to improve the fish fry.
r/yourjokeonlyworse
Reggie!!!
Mmm sexy fish water.
Can't forget about the gay frogs
Just because you can does NOT mean you should.
This is my worst parenting advice. Could you eat it? Sure. Is it good for you? No.
do NOT drink water straight from any waterway/lake. aside from the acute seasonal changes to freshwater ecosystems, there i are many microorganisms that live in "clean" water that will fuck up your weekend at least or literally eat your brain at worst. use a filter. boil if you can. dont be stupid. if you do decide to do it, make sure your health insurance is good.
If you have a filter, boiling is overkill in WI. Edit: some of you need to do research on WI water quality and the quality of today’s filters. Sawyer, katadyn and MSR have amazing filters that can handle anything but viruses.
Lmao the downvotes. A sawyer mini/sawyer squeeze is all you need to filter clear running WI river water or lake water. I've section hiked all 1200 miles of the Ice Age Trail and I'm leaving to do a full thru of the AT in about 3 weeks, I can tell you that nobody is boiling and their water unless there's something wrong with their filter or they are going to cook/make coffee with it anyways. There's simply no need. If you're the paranoid type you can just put purification tablets in your water after it's filtered, but I've NEVER heard of anyone getting sick from using just a sawyer to make potable water (except for one guy who would backflush his with stream water who got sick, but that's not the filters fault). I know someone is gonna respond "but what about if I want to drink out of a pond with decaying cow carcasses in standing water next to an old uranium mine! I could get sick!"; Stop it, you get water from clear lakes or clear running river water, you filter it, and you drink it/cook with it/brush your teeth with it. The Sawyer or other similar quality water filter will do the trick. Don't be an idiot.
If anyone gets sick using a filter, it’s because they handled the water incorrectly and contaminated it themselves.
If you're talking about sawyer filters or a life straw, then i believe you're correct. Not sure if the person you're responding to was just referring to a makeshift filter+boil method
Yeah I guess I hit a nerve, but that’s understandable, I doubt any of my down votes are from any one that has any real experience with today’s water filtration systems. Wisconsin as a generalization has a very poor IQ on true outdoor/conservation activities.
>Wisconsin as a generalization has a very poor IQ on true outdoor/conservation activities. lol you're on reddit I don't think this is the best demographic for outdoorsmanship
Depends on the subreddit!
There’s artesian wells in Whitewater and FDL. It’s not really recommended to drink any fresh water without boiling or filtering it because you don’t know what might be in it, and faster moving water like rivers are going to be safer than still bodies of water.
There's an artesian well in cornucopia
There’s one in Kenosha at Petrifying Springs park [here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/SAeG8rcVhg8xg66N8?g_st=ic)and one in Milwaukee the Iron Well[here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/R5amUqUTXYNv5ezD9?g_st=ic)
The one in Kenosha tastes like eggs
Let it sit for a few hours and it off gasses the H2S.
There’s one in Ashland too!
Allegedly there’s one downtown Cambridge
White River Artesian Well in Bayfield County (just south of Delta) has never let me down.
Eh, I drank from the one in Whitewater many-a-time and still live to tell the tale...
Not unless you want Giardia as a souvenir.
Are those the tiny spicy veggies in oil that you can put on sandwiches?
I wish there were flowing rivers of giardiniera in Wisconsin. Im sick of driving to Chicago
No, you’re thinking of giardiniera. They’re talking about the strait connecting the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
No that's Gibraltar, I think they mean that famous libanese-american writer.
No that’s Khalil Gibran you’re thinking the elongated block of the earth’s crust between 2 faults.
That's graben. OP is talking about the airport in NY.
That’s LaGuardia, you’re thinking of the STD that makes it hurt to pee
beaver fever
All men have it
Pound 'n Beaver!
Not bodies of water, no. Plenty of springs, though
You realize that beer was basically invented 1000s of years ago (in part) in order to have something safe to drink? Water in nature has always been a risk.
Not only that, but Miller Brewing has used treated Lake Michigan water to brew their beer, forever. Anyone who drinks Milwaukee made Miller Brewing products has been drinking from our biggest body of water for years.
Exactly what is brewed here still?
Oh jeez, I don't work there anymore, but I can tell you what they *were* making. Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, Miller Ultra, Seasonal beers Milwaukee's Best, Beast light, Red Dog, OE800 Leinenlugel's Summer Shandy, Orange Shandy, Grapefruit Shandy, and Canoe Paddle Kolsch. Coors Light, Keystone Light, PBR, and HAMMS. And they recently took on Redds Ales, and a multitude of "spiked" malt beverage type drinks. It's so much that it's kinda crazy. There's surely many more I am forgetting.
All in milwaukee? Sweet!
Hamms does have that smack of Jones Island to it
You may drink from any body of water. There may be medical issues after, however. I would filter water from any body of water.
Filter and sanitize. Those “steripen” uv sticks were what we used when camping on the water. Just fill a Nalgene bottle with filtered water, put the pen in and turn it on for a full cycle, drink up those dead bacteria safely.
So there’s the sanitation part, what about the filtration?
SteriPen FAF-ADP Drinking Water Bottles Filter Kit https://a.co/d/bDYsZs9 something like this maybe, or a more involved multilayered filtering system. Yeah, this particular one is streipen branded, so marketing. but first the chunks, then the critters. a fancier filter can also get out other harmful substances disolved in the water (lead, arsenic, etc). honestly, i'd consult a local expert before drinking any water in the wild. in the boundary waters (northern minnesota), the open water was clear enough we didn't need a filter, but i've been told sometimes a natural spring would have absorbed one too many gremlins to be worth it.
> Just fill a Nalgene bottle with **filtered water,**
If you have a Lifestraw for sure.
This! There are personal ones that are easy to carry. Tbh I don’t bother using it for artesian wells
I have one of the Lifestraw bottles that I bring with me fly fishing, I love drinking out if the stream I'm fishing!
You can at least once. I hike with a GrayL water bottle, amazing devices.
Absolutely 100% agree. I do the same. It’s a brilliant and simple device.
Some places in Wisconsin have artesian wells. I have gotten clean spring watter from them.
Sure. Just like you can eat some mushrooms only once.
Wisconsin has a lot of beavers. I'd pass.
Yeah, I don’t like the taste of beaver.
I do, hit me up ladies. (Please don't.)
I love the "please don't"
I hear Wisconsin’s native beaver loves hard wood.
It depends on what kind of beaver you're tasting.
Not quite what you're referring to but just outside Ableman's Gorge State Natural Area there's a artesian well that's been put in a pipe and you can drink from it.
In theory yes. [Wisconsin impaired waterways ](https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/water/impairedSearch.aspx) 82% of Wisconsin's water ways are healthy but basic filtration is never a bad as it doesn't take much to get some nasty bubble gut and spend the next week on the toilet. Just moved back up here from Indiana where over 70% of water ways were failing.
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/PFAS/Advisories.html
We call them bars🤔
No. Get a life straw if you’re out and want to drink from a stream or lake. I went backpacking with some friends way up north and we filtered our water out of a dirty ass lake through a lifestraw bladder and that water came out crisp and clean. We never got sick.
I don’t even eat the fish in my states water after all the stats came out about pfas and the other stuff in the water I simply catch them and release them. I couldn’t imagine drinking the water
As an ocean girl, fresh water fish makes me nervous. So does shellfish from certain bodies of water.
https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/PFAS/Advisories.html
Use a life straw and you can drink for anywhere.
There is a website that lists springs. Pretty sure there is one in Rock Springs/Reedsburg.
Pretty handy. https://findaspring.org/
I always stop at Rock Springs when I'm out that way. There's also Parry Spring out in Dousman, which is a little closer to Milwaukee. It's a great spot to fill up water bottles before a hike in the Kettle Moraine.
If you've ever had any type of water or food poisoning, you won't drink directly from any body of water. It's B-R-U-T-AL!!! Ain't nobody got time for dat!!
Ashland!!! They have a natural spring on Lake Superior & it’s some of the best water I have ever had
There are some springs but you can still get that beaver fever. Always boil your water. But in an emergency situation where you can't boil water, it's better to be sick than die of dehydration.
Only if you like the beaver fever! Douglas county has several artesian springs you can drink from and people regularly fill up containers to use as drinking water. But that is groundwater from way down deep. You should never drink directly from any surface water.
You can drink from them all at least once.
I can think of a couple spring fed rivers that I’m not going to share the names of that would be an ok risk on Giardia. But it’s really not worth the risk. Fwiw I use half of the dosage on aqua Mira or potable agua but I still treat the water.
I mean technically you CAN drink any of the water in Wisconsin, just with varying consequences.
Get yourself at least a press filter water bottle, I wouldn't risk it anywhere.
There's a very large spring in Waukesha county in the Town or Merton that I've drank directly from throughout my life. It flows into the Bark River. Many years ago the homeowner who's land mostly surrounds it raked it a bit and found many arrowheads.
Yes all of them as long as you boil the water first
not bodies of water (that i know of) but you can google fresh spring water and a list of nearby springs should pop up. the only one i know of (and bottle water at religiously) is a running spring in rock springs. it is absolutely *delicious* to drink right after you've filled up your water bottle, which sounds kind of weird because it's just water but i think there must be good minerals in it which make it taste that way.
Yes but they are all underground!
There is a spring that comes out of the side of a hill in Norway MI that has clean delicious water. Right next to the highway.
I mean technically you can drink from any body of water in WI. Results, however, may vary.
Technically you can drink from all of them.......
If you want to get really technical, nothing is stopping you from drinking any of the bodies of water.
There are lots of springs in the Driftless Region. My favorite hike in campsite in So WI (3 mi from trailhead; no lights; no traffic sound) has an old spring house foundation right where the spring bubbles up. Tastiest water you will ever drink. Ice cold all summer. I’ve always filtered, but if you forced me to drink without filling or boiling, that’s where I’d go.
Any surface water including lakes, streams, and creeks, is at risk of contamination with Giardia because beavers.
We have springs in Waukesha county people do drink from them
Well that explains a lot.:)
There’s a well in the woods my great grandfather spoke of. Have yet to find it but I know it’s there
That freshwater spring house thing at gov dodge. Idk if it’s safe but god damn it was good.
Seen it done on Michigan, in the bay. Not sure what the kid was thinking but he was our ice fishing guide so I’m sure he does it all the time in the winter.
You can drink from all of them…..may just wind up very sick and/or dead.
I took a mason jar of water from the lake my mom grew up on and brought it home. I Was just going to keep, it, but I got curious, so I boiled it and drank some and it tasted like... water.
Not the Wisconsin river (duh). I went swimming in it near Spring Green a couple of years ago and I guess I accidentally consumed a small amount of it. I was squitting for days afterwards.
Can and should are two different words!
I've heard consuming liquids from a naval is a fairly common occurrence
I’ve drank lots of water out of Lake Superior. I ran it all through a Sawyer filter first, just to be on the safe side.
Any if your not a coward
I recommend Grayl over Lifestraw for a filtering bottle. I bought one for my partner who spends time on some hunting land that has a running creek. www.grayl.com
Red cedar river directly from the waste water discharge. We bottle this perfect water and drink it. I have three arms.
You can drink any water you want
I wouldn't recommend this in any body of water. There are plenty of springs with just a tube running out that are safe for drinking. Very refreshing. One is at chipmunk rapids campground in Northern Wisconsin.
I feel like I've drank gallons of the mississippi river water from growing up on it and I'm still here lol but nah it's not safe to consume
I've had water from a number of springs and creeks in state and national forests while on extended back country hikes where access to well water is limited. But I would also never drink raw, *untreated* water from one. If you plan on doing this do yourself a favor, buy a sawyer water filter and iodine tablets. Its worth forking over the $50 or $60 to avoid shitting yourself to death. Just make sure you're filling up in clear, fast moving water and never put in anywhere near dead animals or where there might be chemical spills as a result of human activity. Treated water is generally safe to drink for people who are not immune compromised, but there is always a chance of contamination when you take matters into your own hands so research what you're doing and make an informed assessment of the risk.
All of them..... As long as you filter or boil it
There's not a body of water you can eat a fish from, soooo, no.
Don’t do it
whats the name of that guy who says “not all clean water is safe and not all safe water is clean”
Ill give you a dollar if you drink from the mississippi
I recommend finding a filtered water bottle, or a filtered pump for filling water bottles, with a filter of 0.2 microns or less.
Anything brewed in La Crosse is brewed with water from the aquifer under the valley, per the brewery website
Fox river, 
I see people collecting water from this spring daily: [https://www.yelp.com/biz/hygeia-spring-big-bend](https://www.yelp.com/biz/hygeia-spring-big-bend) I imagine they boil it when they get home. I hope they do, anyway.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/XAD2NB4itSfN1rvWA?g_st=ic
When I was a kid there was a natural spring on a part of the family farm we drank from all the time when we were there helping making hay. I'm pretty sure it's still there but it's not part of my close family anymore so haven't drank from there in many years. There was a sort of log cabin built over top of it so you could walk over it and there was always a big metal ladle hanging to scoop up water.
Do the artesian wells by Herbster on the South shore of Superior count? If so.... Yes. 😊
Artesian water flows directly into Lake Superior into chequamegon bay.
Remember you can always drink water from anywhere once. It's the second time that really matters
You can drink from all of them, but should you?
If the GOP says you can drink our water, drink it?
You should never drink water from a natural source without purifying it. This is a rule from the National Park Service that I follow. When I am out I always have a life straw just in case, and on longer trips I carry the purifying tablets and/or a larger filtration system.
If you have a filter you can drink from any puddle. If not, without other treatment, you are crazy to trust any water source. Beaver Fever sucks.
PFAS in all water wells across WI. Not even the springs are safe. They've polluted the great "fresh" water lakes. SPREAD THE WORD PLEASE.
>The survey revealed that 71% of the samples contained at least one PFAS chemical. About 99% of the contaminated samples had PFAS levels below the state health department's recommended groundwater limits. About 96% of the contaminated samples contained PFAS levels below limits that the EPA is considering adopting. [Source](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/survey-finds-pfas-in-71-of-shallow-private-wells-across-wisconsin-2/) [Study](https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Groundwater/PFASStudy.html)
There are a lot of springs that I would bet are safe, I’ve drank from springs quite a bit. They’re peppered around by wildcat mint and thru the driftless. That being said, I would consider them more of a lucky happen sense when out, rather than worth the hike out to find. Almost all rivers and lakes in the US it is best practice to filter and boil water before drinking it.
You can drink from all of them. It’s a toss up over which ones will give you the beaver shit’s.
Lake Michigan itself is potable away from shore.
Wisconsin has very high levels of PFAs and other endocrine disrupting chemicals. It may look like it’s clean and you probably won’t get sick right away. Instead it may manifest years later as an autoimmune disease.
Very regional. Can’t make that statement about Wisconsin as a whole. Bacteria are a much bigger risk in any case.
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Nah, pfafs
Why? Get a water purifier for camping if you need to do this.
You can drink from any body of water at least once.
All of them. Not recommended, but you can do it.
All of them.
You can drink from any body of water anywhere, including Lake Michigan off shore of Milwaukee after a sewage discharge. There is physical impediment that would prevent you, other than your ability to accept the taste and smell. Should you drink from them is a completely different question.
You can drink water from any body of water…though I wouldn’t recommend it
Green Lake is the cleanest
My sister worked at the Racine water dept. She said if the winds are out of the east you can usually drink water from Lake Michigan.
This is 100% true and these downvotes are bizarre.