Vermont Drinking Water – TheDailyChristian

Is Vermont’s Drinking Water Safe? Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know

Let me start with a hard truth that most folks in flannel shirts sipping maple lattes in Burlington don’t want to hear: No, Vermont’s drinking water isn’t safe. Not safe enough. Not by a longshot. And if you think the government or some bureaucratic agency is going to come rescue your dehydrated rear end when the taps go dry or the wells go sour, you’re living in a fantasy.

I’ve lived off-grid in the Green Mountains for over 20 years. I don’t trust the power grid, I sure as hell don’t trust city water, and you’d better believe I don’t trust whatever limp-wristed “clean water initiative” Montpelier is bragging about this week. You want safe drinking water? You filter it yourself. You purify it yourself. You take responsibility—or you get sick, and you die. Simple.

What’s Wrong With Vermont’s Water?

Let’s start with the facts. Vermont is mostly rural, and while that sounds nice to the tourists, it comes with problems: old infrastructure, agricultural runoff, PFAS (aka “forever chemicals”), septic tank leaks, road salt contamination, and increasing climate-related flooding. And guess where all that lovely junk ends up? In your rivers, your lakes, your wells—and eventually your body.

Let’s not forget about lead pipes. They still exist. Thousands of homes still carry water through corroded, outdated plumbing. Don’t think your “organic” lifestyle is protecting you if your water runs through 60-year-old lead solder joints.

Oh, and those charming private wells in the countryside? Most of them aren’t tested regularly. Vermonters are supposed to test their wells annually, but that’s about as likely as a flatlander learning to split firewood properly.

You Need Survival Water Skills. Now.

Don’t wait until your town issues a boil-water notice. Don’t wait until your tap water smells like pond scum. Don’t wait until you’re squatting in the woods because you drank from a “clean” spring that some deer carcass died upstream of. Learn these 15 essential water filtration survival skills while you still can:

🔥 15 Water Filtration Survival Skills Every Vermonter Needs

Boiling – Basic but effective. Boil water for at least 1 minute (3 at elevation). Kills bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. If you can’t boil water, you’re not ready to survive a PTA meeting, let alone a disaster.
Sand and Charcoal Filter – Layer gravel, sand, and activated charcoal in a bottle or pipe. Gravity-fed. Great for removing sediment and some chemicals.
Solar Still – Dig a hole, add vegetation and a cup in the center. Cover with plastic wrap and a stone. The sun evaporates water, and it condenses in the cup. Slow, but life-saving.
DIY Biosand Filter – Use layers of fine sand, coarse sand, gravel, and a biological layer. It takes time to establish but can purify large quantities.
Tincture of Iodine – 5 drops per quart of clear water, 10 if cloudy. Wait 30 minutes. Tastes like a hospital, but kills nearly everything.
Bleach Disinfection – Unscented household bleach (6%). 2 drops per quart. Wait 30 minutes. DO NOT overdo it.
Lifestraw – Lightweight, reliable. Good for bug-out bags or quick filtering on the go. Doesn’t remove chemicals, though.
Sawyer Mini – Better filtration than the Lifestraw and more versatile. You can rig it to bottles, bags, or hydration packs.
Boil + Filter Combo – Boil to kill, filter to clean. Redundancy saves lives.
Gravity Filtration System – Hang a dirty bag above a clean one, use a hose and inline filter. Passive purification while you prep firewood.
Clay Pot Filter – Porous clay can filter bacteria when properly made and treated with colloidal silver. Ancient tech, still solid.
UV Light Sterilizers – SteriPen is one example. It kills DNA-based organisms fast. Requires batteries though, so plan accordingly.
Wild Plant Filters – Banana peels, moringa seeds, even cactus mucilage can absorb certain toxins. Don’t rely solely on them, but they can be useful.
Improvised Coffee Filter Pre-Cleaning – Run cloudy water through a T-shirt, bandana, or coffee filter before real treatment. Protects your main system.
Snow Melting Protocol – Don’t eat snow. Melt it. Boil it. It’s distilled but can contain airborne contaminants. Add minerals back in for health.

You can memorize this list, or you can write it on the back of your hand with a Sharpie. Just don’t ignore it. Because one day, that “pure Vermont” mountain stream might be crawling with giardia, cryptosporidium, or chemical runoff from the neighbor’s cow pasture.

💀 3 DIY Survival Water Hacks

When gear fails and supplies run dry, you need ingenuity:

Tree Transpiration Bag – Tie a clear plastic bag around leafy branches. Sunlight will cause the plant to release moisture, which condenses in the bag. Great for summer, terrible for winter.
Tarp Rain Collector – Stretch a tarp between trees in a V shape, with a container at the bottom. Rainwater is one of the cleanest sources—just be sure to sterilize if it’s been sitting.
Rock Condensation Trap – Dig a hole, put a container in the center, cover with plastic, seal edges with dirt, and place a rock in the center. Water from soil and vegetation condenses and drips into the cup.

Why You Shouldn’t Trust “Safe” Water Claims

“But the town says my water is safe!” Oh, you mean the same people who say fluoride is fine, PFAS are “below actionable limits,” and lead is “only a problem for infants”? Wake up.

“Safe” is a legal term, not a survival one. The EPA allows a certain level of poison in your water and still calls it “safe.” You know what’s safe to a survivalist? ZERO. Zero coliforms. Zero heavy metals. Zero risk.

The Bottom Line

You want real safety? Then take matters into your own calloused hands. Get the gear. Learn the skills. Don’t be the fool standing in a FEMA line begging for bottled water when the storm wipes out your town’s treatment plant. Don’t assume because you live in a “green” state that your water is pure.

Purity is earned. Clean water is prepared. Safety is your responsibility.

Stock up. Practice. Stay angry. Stay alive.