Tap water

[MollyElizabethC]

Some claim the tap water is fine to drink; but when we have visited before we were told NOT to drink it. So, this time we are in a cottage...should we bring water filters or buy bottled water or take a chance?
Thanks for your input! Molly

 

[MIke R]

because water is only made available by rain or by reverse osmosis plants.....it is a precious commodity, so drinking bottled water simply helps the cause...I've had the tap water and I use in cooking as Im sure all restaurants do..as far as I know there is nothing wrong with it....

 

[KevinS]

I always drink bottled water, and I always make ice from bottled water. Over cautious? Probably - but it is cheap insurance.

 

[Lauren]

When we built a place with well water that was just absolutely delicious, I was in heaven. Unfortunately we had to install a treatment system two years later to bring up the pH level...after that it was just ok water, but it spoiled me for good tasting water...sadly I started the bottled water addiction, now even at home...really just for the clear taste...but it never has been the equal of the well water...

 

[NYCFred]

Hey, this ain't the 3rd world....water's fine, been drinking and brushing teeth, etc for years with no "DeGaulle's Revenge"
or do bottled....

 

[MIke R]

When we built a place with well water that was just absolutely delicious, I was in heaven. Unfortunately we had to install a treatment system two years later to bring up the pH level...after that it was just ok water, but it spoiled me for good tasting water...sadly I started the bottled water addiction, now even at home...really just for the clear taste...but it never has been the equal of the well water...

you got that right.....my water in NH in my former house came from an artesian well....it was to die for....tap water sucks...but if you run it through a PUR filter its bearable.....the water out here, up this high, is pretty damn good

 

[claudia]

A word of advice.I don't drink it, but I will brush my teeth with it.Have had experience with my husband and a friend staying with us with ear infections from getting it in their ears.Friend went to hospital in SBH, my husband to Eye and Ear once home in Pittsburgh.There are definitely some parasites in the cistern water.Be careful in the shower.

 

[Mikey]

Why take the chance on picking up any water borne illness when the bottled water is cheap and plentiful??? We stock up on bottled water on arrival and use it for most everything except brushing teeth. We always keep a bottle or two in the freezer to take to the beach. As it melts we have good, cold water to drink.

 

[MIke R]

I agree...but the reasoning is weak none the less...if you brush your teeth with it and shower in it...you have already exposed yourself to whatever is in the water enough to pick something up from it........so theoretically if you re going to brush your teeth with it and shower in it...you might as well just drink it.....that being said bottled water is still the way to go and its certainly cheap enough....also Acidophillus pills ( the same stuff in yogurt) will eat a lot of those nasty little bacteria in your GI tract before they can do any damage....not all...but most

 

[Karibien]

I don't think the water is dangerous to healthy people, but if you have a desease that weakens the immune system - take precautions, always, not only in the Caribbean... I am not a doctor, but as a reporter I have interviewed several experts on the subject of dangerous tap water. This is what I learned:

Quantity... the amount of water that you would swallow brushing your teeth or showering is probably not enough to make you sick even if there were a pathologic type of bacteria in it... drinking the water cold/lukewarm by the litre/gallon would be another thing...

Resistance... if you are healthy otherwise, you may not be sick at all... Acidophillus pills is an easy preventative

Note... that all desease carried in water is not infecting through ingesting, but may infect through inhaling, such as legionella that spreads in water mist...

Legionella as a bacteria is very common, but the desease is rare. You would most probably not get it at all if you are healthy... being of poor physical status and then being exposed to the disease is dangerous though... in that case you may be cautious about showering and checking that the water is hot enough - even at home. It's easy to prevent from getting potentially dangerously high levels of legionella, make sure the hot water is hot enough, and run a little hot water through the shower tap before mixing hot & cold for showering, and have a good routine for cleaning hot tubs etc.

As far as I know, there is no dangerous tropic desease on St Barth, such as Bilharzia, in the waters.

That said, since I am reasonbly healthy I will not worry about showering, jacuzzing and brushing my teeth in tap water or even boiling my egg or pasta in it, but will choose bottled water for drinking cold, as it probably tastes a lot better

/K

 

[Island Visitor]

There are, bien sur, two Tap Waters on the island. Near the towns, they have "city water" which was sea water that has been treated by reverse osmosis and has also had bug-killing chemicals dumped in it. That is what most restaurants (any that are on city water) use and there is no reason to suspect it to be unsafe.

The other Tap Water is from a cistern. We all know what a cistern is - you collect the rainwater that runs off your roof down a drainpipe into a giant holding tank. The water falling from the sky is probably fine to drink. And if you assume no birds ever fly over your villa and 'drop things' on the roof, then what exactly would there be on the roof that could be washed into the cistern that might be dangerous?

Hint: We drink bottled water in the villa.

 

[Island Visitor]

Showering with Birdypoop water from a cistern would not be dangerous for the most part because you dont ingest the water. Even something such as Psittacosis is airborn and probably not readily spread by Birdypoop water. As to the various Bird Flus we keep reading about, dont know.

Teethbrushing with Birdypoop water might be more risky although the flouride in most american toothpaste is pretty lethal to most microscopic critters (though not necessarily viruses) and probably exerts a protective effect.

 

[Island Visitor]

Probably the biggest risk from birds, in a fecal oral transmission (you ingest their "droppings") would be Giardia lamblia.

This is a little parasite that is often found in "fresh water" and many hikers and campers know it all too well. Bird gets Giardia, "deposits" it in the water, human drinks water and away we go.

Cramping, bloating, pain, diarrhea. Not fun.

Do the birds that fly over your villa have Giardia and are they kind enough to leave a calling card on the roof of your villa that may be washed into your cistern with the next rain?

Don't know.

Je voudrais des bouteilles d'eau pour mon villa, s'il vous plait.

(For the record, I dont believe flouride is completely protective against Giardia).

 

[Karibien]

Even birdpoop water would be okay if you use it to boil your egg etc - presuming the alleged birdpoop germ isn't one of those super bugs that don't die at boiling temp. And presuming it doesn't produce toxin that also isn't destroyed at boiling temp. What are the odds? There's no way of knowing without labtests or trying

And still, it would be a question of quantity. Yes, there would be germs, but will they be many enough to cause desease? How long since the drop? And how big a bird?

 

[Karibien]

IV, if the sales in bottled water on SBH increases after this - you should have percentage...

 

[Island Visitor]

Giardia will live and multiply in water. As such, it is like Brylcreem - a little dab goes a long way.

Boiling water that you will consume is always a good plan and for the most part effective. The risk with showering is minimal to neglible unless you like to take water into your mouth and spit it around while you shower. Teethbrushing is pretty much a gray zone. You pays your money, you takes your chances.

It aint no biggy unless you get sick. From the folks I have seen with Giardia, I can pretty much guarantee you that 100% of them will drink bottled water. It is one of those Been There, Done That, Aint Doing It Again diseases that aint exactly fun.

 

[Island Visitor]

IV, if the sales in bottled water on SBH increases after this - you should have percentage...

Merci, but my position in this episode is altruistic. I am happy to let the local merchants pocket any additional revenue my public service announcement generates.

 

[MIke R]

Giardia is truly a nasty critter..I have seen the results of that.....Wendi took a parasitology class as part of her studies in college and tells me there is no worse water in the world then standing, untreated fresh water in a tropical environment..i.e a puddle....she gets crazy when Madalena so much as looks like she is thinking of going near a puddle in St Barts....bird poop and all aside....in 50 visits to St Barts I have never gotten sick.....well...I actually have but it had far more to do with alcohol then fresh water....and I always got sick in Mexixo.....LOL....

if all else fails a script from your doctor for Bactrim will kill anything...it was the magical potion for my Mexican trips.....never got sick after that

 

[Island Visitor]

Bactrim/Septra does indeed kill many GI bugs and is part of every Survivalist's Party Pack.

It does not, alas, always knock out Giardia. That is why Flagyl is also found in the backpack of Treehuggers Who Know.

 

[Island Visitor]

The standing water of St Barts will not have some of the other critters Wendi learned about. Even so, I would not drink it.