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PicardI · Joined: 07 Jul 2010 Posts: 6

I have heard from multiple sources that it is not safe to drink the tap water in Quito, Ecuador.

Would something like a Brita water filter be sufficient to purify tap water, or should I stick to bottled/boiled water?

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Brita should be fine. Bottled water is also good. I personally don't like the taste of boiled.

just_a_mirage · Joined: 11 Nov 2008 Posts: 169 Location: ecuador

You cant drink the water anywhere in Ecuador from the tap. I personally would stick to bottle water, as you are sure its safe. a friend of mine got typhoid last year from drinking water he was told was clean but wasn't. Better safe than sorry.

Swing59 · Joined: 30 Jun 2010 Posts: 17 Location: U.S.A.

The water is good in Cuenca, but nowhere else. I drank the water there for a year and had no problems. I also found this article a while back which sites a study claiming Cuenca's drinking water is the best in all of South America (maybe not saying a lot).

http://www.cuencahighlife.com/post/2009/05/10/CUENCA-DIGEST3cBR3eCuenca-drinking-water-cited-as-being-the-best-in-Latin-Amerca.aspx

sunrader · Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 101

When I lived in Mexico for many months, I got tired of buying and carrying bottled water so I just started disinfecting my own. Something like 10 drops of Microdyn (or some equivalent) per gallon or so, I think. I did fine. I don't know why more people don't do this. It only takes a few minutes and doesn't taste like anything.

The water where I was did have a very high mineral content which I could tell when I boiled it for pasta or something, but that didn't bother me, fortunately. Some people can't tolerate some of the minerals, like magnesium, but that's true even of bottled waters sometimes.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Iodine is supposed to work as well. Maybe trying camping stores, they might have desinfection tablets. Not sure if you can find it in Ecuador, but we bought a Brita pitcher, total cost for about a year's worth of water is $80.

CelesteCielos · Joined: 02 May 2011 Posts: 28 Location: NC, USA

We lived in Otavalo and chose to boil our water. In high altitudes boil for at least 3 minutes to kill the parasites.

misteradventure · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Posts: 246

I had absolutely no problems drinking the water in Otavalo, Quito or Bahia de Caraquez last month. Bottled water is recommended on the coast due to high salt content in the aquifers.

Ecuador is not a high-threat area for typhoid fever. Odds are that whoever caught it got it from eating/drinking something dodgy and not from a mainstream (sic) establishment.

misteradventure · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Posts: 246

I had absolutely no problems drinking the water in Otavalo, Quito or Bahia de Caraquez last month. Bottled water is recommended on the coast due to high salt content in the aquifers.

Ecuador is not a high-threat area for typhoid fever. Odds are that whoever caught it got it from eating/drinking something dodgy and not from a mainstream (sic) establishment.

newdayrising · Joined: 17 Dec 2010 Posts: 32 Location: Boston

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I'd say buy a table top Brita water pitcher. The filters come in packs of 6 are small and last a year. Bring enough to last you or have someone ship them to you.

misteradventure · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Posts: 246

If it isn't killing the locals... it should be safe.

It is often the foreigner, after a lifetime of drinking chemically-treated water, who lacks the biological defenses against the normal flora and fauna which exist in the water supply and environment, so they get 'sick'.

Give it a few weeks. You'll adapt.

When I was in Honduras, everyone boiled their water. So did I. NO big deal.

jenmecsa · Joined: 14 May 2011 Posts: 1 Location: USA

I lived in Quito for several years. There is definitely a big problem with parasites (giardia and others) and a real but lesser problem with bacteria. Brita filters deal only with lead removal and removal of chlorine taste so it WON'T help with the main threats.

Choices are: bottled water; boiling; using a filter made for camping or relief workers that removes parasitic cysts and bacteria (a Doulton gravity filter for example), or using chlorine to disinfect then using brita or something to remove some of the chlorine. (or boiled then brita to improve taste)

Almost all the middle-class and above Ecuadorians I knew (my students and others) boiled water at home (10-20 minutes minimum with the altitude). Many Ecuadorians and most expats also disinfected fruits and veggies at home. While you are building your resistance I'd suggest you be even more vigilant -- brush your teeth with disinfected water, no ice or raw veggies in restaurants, etc., and slowly adapt to the life of upper income Ecuadorians (but even they generally take antiparasitic medication once per year). I'm not talking about life threatening typhoid fever but parasites can be very unpleasant and shouldn't be ignored.