How long do I boil river water to make it safe to drink?

My friends and I are planning a weekend camping and canoe trip in Maine in a few weeks on the Saco River. We’re planning on bringing bottled water with us for drinking, but using the river water for cooking.

It is always recommended to boil any water you get from any stream, lake or pond. Boiling is the best way to purify water that is unsafe because of the presence of protozoan parasites or bacteria as it is in all of the above water sources.

If the water is cloudy, it should be filtered before boiling. Filters designed for use when camping, coffee filters, towels (paper or cotton), cheesecloth, or a cotton plug in a funnel are effective ways to filter cloudy water.

Place the water in a clean container and bring it to a full boil and continue boiling for at least 3 minutes (covering the container will help reduce evaporation). If you are more than 5,000 feet above sea level, you must increase the boiling time to at least 5 minutes (plus about a minute for every additional 1,000 feet). There are also others that say just bringing it to a boil is effective enough.

You could also use Iodine tablets, chlorine liquid or tablets, or pump filters if you don’t wish to boil. Make sure you know how to use both. If you use a pump filter, make sure it has enough capacity for what you are planning on needing.

I’ve listed some sites below that provides great info for water purification:

Saco river kayak fishing striper

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