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Comment by tyingq | Hacker News Reader

So how much water do you need before it's socially acceptable? I pee in the lake. What about a large pond or a really huge pool in a water park?

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I've always been told not to urinate or defecate within 100 feet of water sources in the backcountry because if everyone does it it builds up and then the water is unsafe to drink even when filtered.

The 6 micron filters used to filter giardia from the water will not filter viruses, which are present in your feces.

Please stop doing this.

"Please stop doing this."

I didn't say I was crapping in the lake. Is urine in a lake a serious risk?

Do you think all the animals that use these water sources follow the same rules?

Deer viruses also don't typically infect humans. But human viruses will readily infect other humans.

No, and they don't know how to read a sign either so I think they get a pass. Humans should be able to exercise a little restraint...

I feel like in the lake or a natural pond there's plenty of bacteria who will be more than happy to eat it up. In a pool you specifically kill all the bacteria, so you forever swim in a soup of chemicals and urine until the water is replaced.

Or the other way to look at it, is that there's so much bacteria, algae, rotting plant and animal matter, bird shit, fish shit, etc. in lake and pond water that a little human urine won't appreciably add to the risk of swimming in it.

Urine is (usually) sterile, it's really just a social issue other than the eye irritation.

If that's true then why do people go nuts if you shit in a river while camping?

They are picturing themselves drinking your shit most likely.

Historically human beings contaminating the same water they draw from has been a substantial cause of illness even if campers now are much more apt to get water from a bottle.

Wouldn't it be very diluted, to the point it is no more harmful than whatever else may be in that river water?

Historically this doesn't seem to be true but obviously it was a much larger group of people polluting the water.

> So how much water do you need before it's socially acceptable? I pee in the lake. What about a large pond or a really huge pool in a water park?

I'm wondering if swimming in open water would be better apart from the salt of course

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