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The New York Times recently reported on a number of U.S. companies supplying raw water, which adherents argue is “healthier” than tap or bottled water because it doesn’t contain fluoride and retains beneficial minerals and “good” bacteria, which would otherwise be removed through filtration or disinfection methods.

Among the start-ups promoting living off the water grid is San Francisco-based Live Water, which delivers untreated water to customers sourced from Opal Spring in Madras, Ore., according to the company’s website. Raw water from various U.S. suppliers isn’t cheap, selling for up to US$70 for a 9.5-litre jug.

However, Copes said water taken directly from nature can contain bacteria like E. coli, salmonella and campylobacter, along with such parasites as cryptosporidium and giardia.

Such disease-causing microbes are shed by domestic animals like cattle and sheep, as well as by wild animals, contaminating surface water that can lead to disease outbreaks in people.

“We have to be aware that there are many species out there that are defecating, that are emptying the contents of their enteric tracts onto the land and into the water,” he said.

“That is why for any surface water, we have to assume that micro-organisms may be present that could create serious infectious disease.”

A case in point is the May 2000 outbreak in Walkerton, Ont., of E. coli 0157:H7, a virulent strain that sickened about 2,500 residents and killed seven as the result of a contaminated water supply. The E. coli is believed to have originated in seeping groundwater adulterated by cattle at nearby farms.