There are two Gillians in my life that have inspired me to learn how to start foraging for spring water. Gillian Mandich and I had coffee recently and she mentioned she was going to do a Spring Water run to Chalk Lake and then I remember seeing something on another blog about the same thing. I started doing some more research and wondered if this was a habit I should start to adopt.
In my quest to lead a healthy life I’ve been doing really well in the sleep, nutrition, fitness and supplementation categories but reducing my toxic load was next on my list. Water consumption was on my list of things to research so off I went and in a few days decided I’d try this whole foraging for Spring Water trend.
Here is the process of my research:
- How does Toronto currently process our drinking water? Although they remove bacteria, algae and micro-organisms they do add chlorine & fluoride.
- Toronto explains safety concerns about added chemicals to the water.
- I started researching fluoride and since there is a ton of information for and against fluoridation I am of the mindset that I can create healthy oral health without fluoride (I’ve been turning down fluoride at my dentist for a few years) so I’m choosing to reduce the number of things my body is exposed to.
How To Forage For Spring Water?
Buy glass containers to harvest and store water. I found 2 Glass carboys on Kijiji for $10! The reason behind this is there is also a school of thought that plastic chemicals despite being BPA-free can still leach plastic into what’s being stored in them. So I’m choosing to store water in glass containers instead.
Find a local spring. There is a great website called FindaSpring.com. I chose Chalk Lake due to its proximity to my condo in Toronto.
I headed up to the area with my friend John. We did a trail run for 2 hours off the nearby Lakeridge Ski Resort. Combining a workout and spring water foraging made the trip totally worth it!
Wash sweaty face in Spring Water, fill containers, head home!
What I’ve Learned So Far Foraging For Spring Water
- The glass carboys are super heavy. Although a great workout, it’s exhausting loading and unloading the car. I will look into buying plastic BPA travel containers that I’d fill and then transfer to the glass containers at home.
- I purchased the carboys so fast that I didn’t have a chance to buy stoppers so I had to use plastic bags & elastics to make sure there was no water escape.
- Thankfully I have a dolly for bringing the containers up to my condo. This was a great workout but not something doable for someone who has back issues.
- I get that people will think the car pollution to drive to the spring cancels out the good I’m doing by drinking Spring Water but for me, it’s about living my healthiest life and always optimizing. I’m far from perfect but I’m trying.
- I have these beautiful glass dispensers that I purchased for my wedding in 2012 (which was called off if you haven’t been following me for a while). I’m loving that I get to put them to good use now!
What are your thoughts about Spring Water?
Interesting. I have been drinking unfiltered chalk lake spring water for past two years because I can not drink tap water or Durham water due to stomach sensitivity to it. I wanted to know analysis of water. Using aquarium sticks, the water has alot of hardiness. I am not sure if this is due to higher magnesium and calcium content or if it is due to other harmful minerals or contamination. Has any one analysed this spring water for safety?
Not that I know of. I haven’t lived in Toronto for a few years now so I haven’t tried it in a while. You’d have to get it tested to answer your questions.