Originally Posted By: Nicodemus
I think the moment that the water reaches its boiling point, technically whatever you're trying to kill is dead. The reason you're told to boil it is just so there's no guessing if the water is hot enough... If I recall correctly...

I read that in an thread here in the forums. Can anyone back this up, or have I lost my marbles?
That's pretty much right. Also, at lower temperatures it takes longer. By the time it's reached boiling, the water will be both hot enough and for long enough. The EPA etc tend to give very conservative guidelines for obvious reasons.

Here's a link:
http://www.marinemedical.com/articles/water.htm

I found other links that say Giardia is killed at 135°F (57°C) and Cryptosporidiosis is killed at 149°F (65°C) (presumably it takes at least a minute).
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