History Main / CoolClearWater

Also, in some deserts, any water that is beautifully clear and fresh looking (i.e., nothing lives there) may be caused by natural arsenic deposits that turn up in some rocky areas. Water that looks green and mossy and full of gunk will give you dysentery at worst, but drinking the perfectly clear death water will end your hike for good. In ''[[TheDeadliestMushroom other]]'' [[ANuclearError deserts]], water that is perfectly clear with nothing in it and ''isn't running'' may well be irradiated. Different means, same ends. Or perhaps different ends...

This trope is often found in historical fiction, where characters will be shown drinking and bathing in fresh water without a worry or concern. This is especially true of the PuritySue, who will imply her "specialness" by the amount of time she spends bathing. Time travelers might also take the opportunity to sneer at [[TheDungAges the filthy beasts]] they meet who are simply too stupid to keep themselves clean and too debauched to drink cool, clear water instead of alcohol. All nonsense, of course: people in the old days didn't know that the diseases associated with drinking or bathing in plain water (cholera, dysentery, typhoid, polio, etc.) were caused by waterborne pathogens, but they did know that both activities were risky, and boiling that much water was simply too damn expensive for many. Some writers take the trope to eleven and give their PuritySue characters hot and cold running water and ''showers''. In Norman castles. We'd like to claim that this is more common in fan fiction, but sadly it's a common mistake in professionally published fiction.

* Directly averted in an episode of ''CaptainPlanet''. Kwame at one point drinks a bottle full of river water, unaware Wheeler didn't boil the water thoroughly. Sure enough, the water is bad (Dr. Blight and Sly Sludge were operating a sewage dumping operation just upstream) and the other Planeteers have to go on a FantasticVoyage to blast the parasites from inside his body. The episode had an AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle at the end addressing this and teaching viewers how to purify water.

* During the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, the civilian Sanitary Commission had a nightmare of a time trying to get volunteer units (which made up the bulk of the Union Army) to get their drinking water upstream of the latrines.

* Explained in an episode of ''Series/MythBusters'': during Duct Tape Island, Adam and Jaime try to find water and Jaime tells Adam that the first water source they find is actually stagnant and isn't usable. Adam follows one of the safer examples of the trope later when he finds a running waterfall that goes over a large moss bed into a stream, but chooses to make the effort to collect the falling water instead of the water that's at the lower level of the stream where he is.

* Explained in an episode of ''MythBusters'', where during Duct Tape Island, Adam and Jaime try to find water and Jaime tells Adam that the first water source they find is actually stagnant and isn't usable. Adam follows one of the safer examples of the trope later when he finds a running waterfall that goes over a large moss bed into a stream, but chooses make the effort to collect the falling water instead of the water that's at the lower level of the stream where he is.

* During the GulfWar, [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships British SAS]] [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous member]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Ryan Chris Ryan]] became very ill for drinking seemingly clean water contaminated by nuclear waste in Iraq, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bravo_Two_Zero when fleeing the country alone after the death or capture of the other members of his squad]].

* Partially subverted in the ''LordOfTheRings'' novels, when Frodo and Sam are entering Mordor. Sam comments that they will not find water to drink since orcs probably drink poison as water. Frodo responds that as foul as orcs are, they surely cannot live on poison, so he fills their water packs with the brownish water the orcs drink. Although it does taste foul and sicken them a little, it also helps them on their way.

* During the AmericanCivilWar, the civilian Sanitary Commission had a nightmare of a time trying to get volunteer units (which made up the bulk of the Union Army) to get their drinking water upstream of the latrines.

* An episode of the new ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' has an escaped convict with a couple of hostages stop to drink from a stream in a Hawaiian rain forest. Shortly after [=McGarrett=] and Chin come across the same stream, and [=McGarrett=] starts to take a drink, only to have Chin stop him and tell him the water is infested with parasites, and will make him very sick, very quickly. Cut to convict and hostages... Normally it would be completely out of character for [=McGarrett=], a Navy SEAL who grew up on the Island, to make such a rookie mistake. It can be explained by the writers having to rewrite the episode to include Scott Cann's real life leg injury. Since Danno couldn't have helped chase down the escapee and hostages using a cane in the rain forest, Chin accompanied [=McGarrett=]. The writers had to explain the sudden illness of the escapee and hostages, so that was left in with Chin, correcting [=McGarrett=]t.

* An episode of the new ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' has an escaped convict with a couple of hostages stop to drink from a stream in a Hawaiian rain forest. Shortly after [=McGarrett=] and Chin come across the same stream, and McGarrett starts to take a drink, only to have Chin stop him, and tell him the water is infested with parasites, and will make him very sick, very quickly. Cut to convict and hostages... Normally it would be completely out of character for McGarrett a Navy Seal who grew up on the Island to make such a rookie mistake. It can be explained by the writers having to rewrite the episode to include Scott Cann's real life leg injury. Since Danno couldn't have helped chase down the escapee and hostages using a cane in the rain forest, Chin accompanied McGarrett. The writers had to explain the sudden illness of the escappe and hostages, so that was left in with Chin, correcting McGarrett.

* ''TheWanderingOnes'' averts this trope as well, since the writer is knowledgeable about wilderness survival, and puts his research into the strip.
* Dave from ''CollegeRoomiesFromHell'' is [[http://www.crfh.net/d/19990829.html half-aware]] of this, and tells his friends not to drink the water.

* From ''{{Concerned}}''; this joke: "Don't drink the water. It's $2.95 a bottle." [[http://www.hlcomic.com/index.php?date=2005-05-05]], and the joke from the comic's banner ad: "Don't drink the water. I forget why..."

* Explained in an episode of ''MythBusters'', where during Duct Tape Island, Adam and Jaime try to find water and Jaime tells Adam that the first water source they find is actually stagnant and isn't usable.

* The ''Freeway Warrior'' adventure books acknowledge the need for drinking safe water. Part of Cal Phoenix's Fieldcraft skill training involves identification of safe water sources, Water Purification Tablets can be found, and Medkit supplies are often stated by the text to contain more water purification tablets. On top of that, the primary sources of water in the books are from water tanks and the surviving colonist's water supplies.

** Almost all of New York City's water comes from the Catskills (the large reservoirs on the east side of the Hudson are supplemental and mainly serve as holding areas for the Catskill water). Water from montane springs or streams above any human or beaver activity there is generally drinkable without any filtration, and ''delicious'' to boot. The 19th-century naturalist John Burroughs, who grew up in that region, once said that you could survive on Catskill water alone for a few days; it was that good. He wasn't exaggerating.

Also, in some deserts, any water that is beautifully clear and fresh looking (i.e., nothing lives there) may be caused by natural arsenic deposits that turn up in some rocky areas. Water that looks green and mossy and full of gunk will give you [[OregonTrail dysentery]] at worst, but drinking the perfectly clear death water will end your hike for good. In ''[[TheDeadliestMushroom other]]'' [[ANuclearError deserts]], water that is perfectly clear with nothing in it and ''isn't running'' may well be irradiated. Different means, same ends. Or perhaps different ends...

* Though one doesn't get to do this, in the ''OregonTrail'' series from II and on has a woman warn to 'Don't dig a waterhole', commenting her husband died because of Cholera from it. Also the draft animals often get ill from still ponds due to Alkali Poisoning - often stating if one must drink the water, it should be ''moving water''.

* Despite her love for camping, Sam of ''DannyPhantom'' apparently doesn't know or follow this trope; as she (and Danny) easily fill their bottles with water from a lake they found.

** [[AngryBeavers Beaver fever!]]

** Played straight in ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'' where you can drink the water straight out of the Colorado River, which is clean and not irradiated, with no ill effects. This is precisely why everyone is fighting over the region.

* An episode of the new ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' has an escaped convict with a couple of hostages stop to drink from a stream in a Hawaiian rain forest. Shortly after [=McGarrett=] and Danno come across the same stream, and Danno starts to take a drink, only to have [=McGarrett=] stop him, and tell him the water is infested with parasites, and will make him very sick, very quickly. Cut to convict and hostages...

* Partially subverted in the ''LordOfTheRings'' novels, when Frodo and Sam are entering Mordor, Sam comments that they will not find water to drink since orcs probably drink poison as water, Frodo responds that as foul as orcs are, they surely cannot live on poison, so he fills their water packs with the brownish water the orcs drink, although it does taste foul and sicken them a little, it also helps them on their way.

* In ''TheGirlWhoLovedTomGordon'', Trisha drinks some Cool Clear Water when she runs out of her bottled water. It causes a severe bout of vomiting and diarrhea, although she luckily manages to get over it relatively quickly. Less fortunately, that appears to because it weakened her system enough that she got a worse illness, and her body just gave up on purging the toxins.

* The Ozark mountains are full of all kinds of stuff that can help the wise and hinder the unproven. Water flowing over 'mossy' waterfall, sometimes flowing down clumps of moss hanging 20 feet or more, is perfectly safe to drink, no matter what's up river. The river water, on the other hand, is full of leeches and rotting leaves. The well and spring water is most interesting, as it has enough sulfur to be nasty tasting, but not enough to harm you. It just gives you terrible B.O. and makes you unattractive to biting insects (and most women) after about 3 days of regular consumption.

** Played straight in ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'' where you can drink the water straight out of the Colorado River, which is clean and not irradiated, with no ill effects.
*** Which is why everyone is fighting over the region.

** Subverted in that water, while drinkable, is not an appropriate beverage for dwarves. Water is for all sorts of neat tricks, but dwarves who ''drink'' water become unhappy because it does not contain alcohol. It is a wonder that this game allows dwarves to even think of manufacturing waterskins that cannot be filled with alcoholic drink... a problem the [[http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Syrupleaf/Update%20139/ Syrupleaf]] LetsPlay ran into, incidentally.

It's best to assume that untreated water is unsafe to drink, particularly if it's passed a road, a village, or a forest. There are streams that have been filtered by mineral layers (more in some countries than in others), but generally they shouldn't be trusted without confirmation, preferably from a local who has drunk from it for many years. Even the purest-seeming mountain stream may be tainted with parasites like ''Giardia lamblia'', also known in Western Canada as "beaver fever". No, not even the First World is immune.

* Averted in ''Film/CabinFever''. Just like Mexico, if you drink the water in this town, you're dead.

Also, in some deserts, any water that is beautifully clear and fresh looking (i.e., nothing lives there) may be caused by natural arsenic deposits that turn up in some rocky areas. Water that looks green and mossy and full of gunk will give you [[OregonTrail dysentery]] at worst, but drinking the perfectly clear death water will end your hike for good. In ''[[TheDeadliestMushroom other]]'' [[ANuclearError deserts]], water that is perfectly clear with nothing in it and ''isn't running'' may well be irradiated. Different means, same ends.