Im 53 now & when i was a kid we grew up off grid. During my 9th-11th years alive, we lost our water source & had to resort to driving to community wells & walking to nearby cow watering holes that are fed by a windmill & pump from an underground well & into stainless steel water tanks. The open topped tank is generally about 36-41“ tall & range from 20 ft to 100 ft circumference. None have tops as the cows need to be able to reach in & drink the water.
When desperate, we would hike to a tank & drink the water straight from containers after retrieving water into bottles, as we were usually out of water completely & very thirsty by the time we arrived at the water walking
Usually after our initial drinking of the untreated tank water, we’d boil or filter the rest at home.
I dont recall having any acute, immediate or even delayed GI problems after drinking the untreated tank water. I was a tween, so definately feels like I would have remembered if the water made me ill after drinking it.
Since then, 40 some odd years, Ive not REALLY had any serious gut issues except occasionally get nauseous, constipation or loose stools but never any what id consider, problematic problems since or yet.
My question is:
Is it likely that I somehow got away without catching any parasite or whatever from the cow tank well water I drank for 2 years?
We used different tanks from different wells across Mogillon rim in Central Az evergreen forests at 7000ft above sea level.
And:
If I DID get something, is it possible to lay dormant & resurface decades later?
Is it possible that I DID catch something but then my body cleared it without incident?
What are the possibility & likelihood of these outcomes for me?
Ive searched online, using different ways to phrase my questions & its not coming back with any useful information so I thought Id goto the People & see if anyone may have ideas for me to ponder.
Im not having any unusual symptoms now either, Ijust have been seeing information on NOT to drink untreated water but not what to do once u have 40 years ago.
Thank you to all comments.