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(Slate)   Here's how long that Portland kid would have had to urinate in the city reservoir before making it unsafe to drink   (slate.com) divider line
66
    More: Followup, reservoirs, nitrates, drinks  
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4282 clicks; posted to Fandom » on 18 Apr 2014 at 7:50 AM (8 years ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



66 Comments     (+0 »)
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WTF Indeed
2014-04-18 7:33:08 AM  
i.crackedcdn.comView Full Size
 
Prank Call of Cthulhu
2014-04-18 7:52:33 AM  
Several  quickly did the math and figured that a typical urination of about 1/8 gallon in a reservoir of 38 million gallons amounts to a concentration of 3 parts per billion.

Maybe the Portland water authority consists of homeopaths.
 
rzrwiresunrise
2014-04-18 7:57:06 AM  

WTF Indeed: [i.crackedcdn.com image 429x194]


i.imgur.comView Full Size
 
AngryDragon
2014-04-18 7:57:57 AM  
Finally a Slate article that has a valid point
 
Mad Scientist [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2014-04-18 7:58:15 AM  
"Evacuation comp.......compl.........evacuation complete."
 
BalugaJoe
2014-04-18 7:58:53 AM  
They should take a dump in his apartment
 
naz-drala
2014-04-18 8:03:10 AM  
...and God did flood the world for 40 days and 40 nights...
 
gilatrout [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2014-04-18 8:03:17 AM  
cdn.filmschoolrejects.comView Full Size
 
Delta1212
2014-04-18 8:04:10 AM  
Animals probably pee in it all the time, but if it's human pee, that's disgusting.

The person in charge specifically said that people have an expectation that their water supply isn't intentionally contaminated and that they are going to meet that expectation. That leads me to believe that he knows exactly how silly it is but is going to do it anyway to avoid all the complaints from people who don't want to drink "pee water."
 
Metastatic Capricorn [TotalFark]
2014-04-18 8:04:53 AM  
"Water? Never touch the stuff. Fish fornicate in it."

upload.wikimedia.orgView Full Size
 
stpauler
2014-04-18 8:06:31 AM  
How about they put up a fence that isn't within a stream's arc away?
 
Tyrone Slothrop
2014-04-18 8:07:41 AM  
I thought urine was supposed to be sterile or something.
 
usernameguy
2014-04-18 8:11:08 AM  

Tyrone Slothrop: I thought urine was supposed to be sterile or something.


Urine is only sterile while it's inside your bladder.

That said, what do you expect from a bunch of anti-vaxxers who refuse to fluoridate their water?
 
Iblis824
2014-04-18 8:37:17 AM  
Really Fark?
 
rev. dave
2014-04-18 8:42:33 AM  
What a waste of water.
I hope that they are not that stupid.

/Always drink upstream from the herd
 
Metastatic Capricorn [TotalFark]
2014-04-18 8:43:07 AM  
usernameguy:

Urine is only sterile while it's inside your bladder.

Urine is sterile unless you have a urinary tract infection.  It doesn't magically become a threat as it leaves your body.
 
crab66
2014-04-18 8:46:26 AM  
I'm more or less a Democrat. I vote for the Democratic party.


But this is the ugly side of liberalism that is just as farking stupid as the extreme right.
 
Saiga410
2014-04-18 8:47:28 AM  
They are doing this just to thumb their nose at socal
 
Iblis824
2014-04-18 8:49:58 AM  

Iblis824: Really Fark?


Damn it, my image got removed:

i1.ytimg.comView Full Size
 
StokeyBob
2014-04-18 8:53:32 AM  
Does this taste funny to you?
 
Wendy's Chili
2014-04-18 8:58:16 AM  

crab66: I'm more or less a Democrat. I vote for the Democratic party.


But this is the ugly side of liberalism that is just as farking stupid as the extreme right.


Wait, which part of this is "the ugly side of liberalism"? Peeing in the reservoir, draining the reservoir, or doing math?
 
Headso
2014-04-18 9:03:48 AM  
3.bp.blogspot.comView Full Size


100% urine?
 
ActionJoe
2014-04-18 9:07:23 AM  
It's great that the article points out how stupid this whole thing was. Animals probably piss more in that each day than a human ever will. But the story had to throw in that stupid idea that if you are stuck somewhere that you can drink your piss to survive because it is 95% water. Yeah, well, that other 5% will probably degrade you faster than not drinking it at all.
 
big pig peaches
2014-04-18 9:10:08 AM  
I hope they at least water crops with it or something.
 
drjekel_mrhyde
2014-04-18 9:41:11 AM  
Says a woman who probably drinks bottled water all the time. Would you eat/drink human semen? Some people have no problem eating fish semen from fancy restaurants.
 
Mikey1969 [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2014-04-18 9:41:59 AM  

AngryDragon: Finally a Slate article that has a valid point


But it was still typed up by a chicken trying to get at crumbs that fell under the keyboard...
 
ltdanman44
2014-04-18 9:44:35 AM  
pee shame
 
Havokmon
2014-04-18 9:47:01 AM  

Prank Call of Cthulhu: Several  quickly did the math and figured that a typical urination of about 1/8 gallon in a reservoir of 38 million gallons amounts to a concentration of 3 parts per billion.

Maybe the Portland water authority consists of homeopaths.


Obviously you've never come across the 'Food Babe' - this sort of panic is right up her alley.
 
gfid
2014-04-18 9:47:57 AM  

drjekel_mrhyde: Says a woman who probably drinks bottled water all the time. Would you eat/drink human semen? Some people have no problem eating fish semen from fancy restaurants.


Is that some Asian delicacy?

I've heard of eating fish eggs, but some semen.
 
Mikey1969 [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2014-04-18 9:48:45 AM  

Delta1212: Animals probably pee in it all the time, but if it's human pee, that's disgusting.

The person in charge specifically said that people have an expectation that their water supply isn't intentionally contaminated and that they are going to meet that expectation. That leads me to believe that he knows exactly how silly it is but is going to do it anyway to avoid all the complaints from people who don't want to drink "pee water."


I think it's more liability than "complaints" anyone who got sick in ANY way for the next 6 months would think about suing the city for unsafe water...
 
GibbyTheMole
2014-04-18 9:53:04 AM  
And how many birds fly over it and shiat it on a daily basis? As far as disease is concerned, I'd be more worried about bird crap that human pee. If the purification process can take care of the bird guano, I'd think the miniscule amount of piss wouldn't be a big deal.
 
cig-mkr
2014-04-18 9:54:09 AM  
and in colonial time they brushed their teeth with piss to get them white.
 
AbiNormal
2014-04-18 9:55:02 AM  
I wonder if anyone has pointed out how much bird shiat is in their precious drinking water reservoir?
 
UNAUTHORIZED FINGER
2014-04-18 9:55:37 AM  
It seems to me that more unhealthy crap would get stirred up from draining and refilling the reservoir than from just leaving well enough alone. I doubt they did anything.
 
NorthernMT
2014-04-18 10:05:05 AM  
Ummmm.  Near as I know the only thing Fluoridation of drinking water accomplishes is to reduce cavities.  In fact my nonscientific googling didn't reveal any benefits to Fluoridation not related to dental health, and that was only looking at sites which promote fluoridation.

Author is a skilled troll.  Presented a very strong argument that the water supply was perfectly safe, and then ruined his credibility by bring a completely irrelevant element into his summary.
 
italie
2014-04-18 10:25:21 AM  

gilatrout: [cdn.filmschoolrejects.com image 640x344]


Hey hoser...
 
bikerbob59
2014-04-18 10:25:23 AM  

rev. dave: What a waste of water.
I hope that they are not that stupid.

/Always drink upstream from the herd


How far do you have to go upstream to make sure there aren't other herds?
 
KIA
2014-04-18 10:36:47 AM  

Mad Scientist: "Evacuation comp.......compl.........evacuation complete."


Came here to say this; well-played sir or madam!
 
crab66
2014-04-18 10:47:48 AM  

Wendy's Chili: crab66: I'm more or less a Democrat. I vote for the Democratic party.


But this is the ugly side of liberalism that is just as farking stupid as the extreme right.

Wait, which part of this is "the ugly side of liberalism"? Peeing in the reservoir, draining the reservoir, or doing math?



Draining the reservoir for completely unfounded reasons that probably relate to shiat like homeopathy.
 
Peki
2014-04-18 10:54:46 AM  

ActionJoe: It's great that the article points out how stupid this whole thing was. Animals probably piss more in that each day than a human ever will. But the story had to throw in that stupid idea that if you are stuck somewhere that you can drink your piss to survive because it is 95% water. Yeah, well, that other 5% will probably degrade you faster than not drinking it at all.


Yeah, but you're stuck in a building under rubble. What's gonna kill you faster? The 5% urea, or the rubble?

/good grief some people are horrible at hypothetical situations

drjekel_mrhyde: Says a woman who probably drinks bottled water all the time. Would you eat/drink human semen? Some people have no problem eating fish semen from fancy restaurants.


Well done. That nearly made me drench my keyboard. Any woman who has ever swallowed has NO biatch about this.

And semen? Are you sure you're not talking caviar? That's fish eggs, not semen.

/and yes, I love me some caviar
 
ex0du5
2014-04-18 11:11:57 AM  
Urine is safe to drink, even if the entire reservoir were drained and replaced with it. The calculations were all wrong (easy to show: you can't get greater concentration than 100% of what you are adding, but with that calc you eventually can get any concentration).

Numerous medical traditions include drinking urine as a remedy, and it is still practiced in many places around the world. This is certainly not some new-agey decision, since they'd be using it as a communal pisser if they really thought about it.
 
HeadLever
2014-04-18 11:55:26 AM  

NorthernMT: Author is a skilled troll.  Presented a very strong argument that the water supply was perfectly safe, and then ruined his credibility by bring a completely irrelevant element into his summary.


?  You already mentioned the main benefit of fluoridated water.  Fluoride (when taken in small quantities) also has a positive impact on bone strength.  Not irrelevant in the slightest.
 
The My Little Pony Killer
2014-04-18 11:58:23 AM  

Metastatic Capricorn: usernameguy:

Urine is only sterile while it's inside your bladder.

Urine is sterile to you unless you have a urinary tract infection.  It doesn't magically become a threat as it leaves your body.
 
The My Little Pony Killer
2014-04-18 11:59:39 AM  
Just when I start to feel jealous of Portland over their deal to get higher speed internet, they have to go and remind me that their water source doesn't even have a lid on it. Derp.
 
SpectroBoy [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2014-04-18 12:00:05 PM  
I guess most people don't know that animals piss and poop in the reservoir every freaking day. Never mind what FISH do in it.
 
UNAUTHORIZED FINGER
2014-04-18 12:02:03 PM  

bikerbob59: rev. dave: What a waste of water.
I hope that they are not that stupid.

/Always drink upstream from the herd

How far do you have to go upstream to make sure there aren't other herds?


My policy has always been if you cannot see it bubble up out of the ground, purify. Giardia ain't funny.
 
lewismarktwo
2014-04-18 12:35:11 PM  

SpectroBoy: I guess most people don't know that animals piss and poop in the reservoir every freaking day. Never mind what FISH do in it.


Most people think running their dishwasher sterilizes their dishes.  Or that they are 'clean' after taking a shower.
 
dk47
2014-04-18 12:38:20 PM  
Yep and the feds are forcing us to put those reservoirs underground anyway.  Which is also expensive and stupid.
 
dk47
2014-04-18 12:41:05 PM  

SpectroBoy: I guess most people don't know that animals piss and poop in the reservoir every freaking day. Never mind what FISH do in it.


The Fish are farking like Rabbits.  Frogs too.
 
gfid
2014-04-18 12:49:32 PM  

lewismarktwo: SpectroBoy: I guess most people don't know that animals piss and poop in the reservoir every freaking day. Never mind what FISH do in it.

Most people think running their dishwasher sterilizes their dishes.  Or that they are 'clean' after taking a shower.


The dishwasher is just a rinse.  Doesn't everyone use a autoclave to sterilize them?

Then again, this is what immune systems are for.
 
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