Now to make things really hard: Will we just die because all of our water supplies will be fouled?
I'm speaking of the Romerian style zombie:
a. the dead walk.
b. the dead bite you. you die. you get up and walk.
This strongly implies some sort of pathogen that is activated by bodily fluid contact. So does that mean if you find one Zed in a lake, the whole thing is polluted?
And what, if anything will clean the water of zed goo: chlorine, boiling?
If this is so, does this then allow for the possibility of treating a wound in a timely manner? If it's somehow transported through the blood stream, then does the "hack off the arm" option exist?
Furthermore, if there were no options for water treatment, can anyone imagine how bad this will get in populated areas? Zeds will be in rivers, canals, falling into local water treatment plants. Maybe it's Not a good idea to fill up the sinks and bath tubs with the local tap water?
Game this out. I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other. ... but wow, if you can't get it out of the water...
I messed with Texas. |
I'd imagine a zombie in te water supply is just as bad as a normal corpse.
If the said zombie was created by a virus or bacteria then it's much worse.
I doubt a whole lake would be polluted by one zed but it'd be risky.
I'm pretty sure boiling kills everything (except thermophiles) so boiling should clear zombie water. If it's a literal goo you're gonna want to filter too.
You may be able to survive a bite if you apply a tourniquet and remove the limb in a few seconds. Not sure.
"The Way of the Samurai is found in death. When it comes to
either/or, there is only the quick choice of death. It is not
particularly difficult. Be determined and advance."
I'm almost positive that it would be like any other body in the water. If a dead person in a lake had malaria, then malaria would be present in the lake. Same thing for a zombie pathogen. If it was in the water though, you could boil it, and that should work... ...Unless the virus happens to be a Thermophile... ...In which case, you would proceed to FREEZE the water after boiling, which would kill even a thermophile. I want to mention, though, that zombification could be caused by a rogue prion (Like Mad Cow disease... ...It's a pet theory of mine...), which eliminates the possibility of contamination of water except through normal means... ...You are right though... ...If it DID contaminate, and it couldn't be purified, think about the consequences... ...Having a water-war wouldn't involve squirt-guns anymore...
The Zombie Hunter's Prayer
~As written by lordofthezombies
Let our swords slice through
Let our bullets fly true
Let our foes have no choice
Let our friends rejoice
Let us leave no more
and most importantly let the bodes hit the floor
i'm agreeing with the two above - zombies would probably nasty up the water. for my own safety i'd be overcautious and not drink it unless it had been fully distilled and iodized.
if the majority of water was contaminated by zombifying pathogens, one reasonable solution would be locate the equipment and information to drill a deep-well and set up a solar-powered pump then use the well-water to keep your cistern or water tank full. it's unlikely that pathogens would filter that deeply into the crust. unlikely but possible. distillation is probably the way to go if in doubt.
prion particles suck. can't be killed even in an autoclave and survive most irradiation unless it's extra powerful.
"Yeah, they're dead. They're all messed up."
Let's just say,
if the zed pathogen can exist in water, and can't be boiled or bleached out, we really don't need to be making a preparedness site. The massive spread and casualty rate, along with the challenge of deep well drilling or waiting for rain for the few survivors make planning for this event almost pointless.
I messed with Texas.
Well, there are other options for water: Build a Rain Barrel.
"They drew first blood not me..." (Stallone in Rambo: First Blood)
True. But jeez, every open body of water: poisoned, useless, irreparable? Our survival rate as a species goes waaaaaay down.
I messed with Texas.
maybe not irreparable. as long as the pathogen doesn't move cross-species the earth will eventually scrub it away for us. it might take several months or years, but without hosts it would just be food for the plankton. natural oxidation would also break it down over time. uv rays from the sun. you name it. it would go away eventually. i think.
"Yeah, they're dead. They're all messed up."
That might end up working for the first few months, but after so long the zombified could contaminate like say... 60% of land based water, which would then evaporate, turn into clouds, become rain, and it could have an acid rain effect which wouldnt be good...
oh it'll get you somewhere, it'll get you bait
I would not drink the water straight out of the barrel without boiling it. I do understand what you are getting at, but I think that a number of environmental factors would clean whatever water source. I cannot sit here and prepare for a no win scenario and zombie are not necessarily a no win scenario as some people may think. I can only prepare for a worst case scenario that is indeed survivable (albeit a low survivability chance, but survivable none the less).
This topic seems to me like one of those "27 Ninjas" questions. The answer to the 27 Ninja question is on the bottom of this page, but I really do not think it would hurt anyone here to read all of both of them as the information given is excellent.
"They drew first blood not me..." (Stallone in Rambo: First Blood)
Isn't acid rain formed when water vapor binds to pollution, usually sulfur dioxide, in the atmosphere to form sulfuric acid? Whatever was creating the zombie would have to be in the air then and if it was then you'd have more to worry about than water. With all the cities burning and people burning trash and stuff to keep warm there'd probably be a lot of pollution though.
"The Way of the Samurai is found in death. When it comes to
either/or, there is only the quick choice of death. It is not
particularly difficult. Be determined and advance."