Is It Safe to Drink Water From a Glacier? We Asked a Glaciologist

When Ludacris posted a video of himself scooping and drinking a cup of icy water straight from the melted pool of a glacier, I don’t think the rapper and three-time Grammy Award winner quite understood what he was getting himself into.

Since sharing the clip on August 26th, it’s racked up 47.9 million views on Instagram and 30.6 million on TikTok. Fans were quick to comment on the video, expressing strong — and often humorous — concern for the artist’s safety with responses like “Bro sippin’ on the finest primordial viral fecal matter of the ancestors,” and “How sick did he get from this?”

Ludacris’ followers seemed so unanimously convinced his actions were unsafe that, at first, I assumed they were right. But then I discovered the rest of glacier TikTok.

It turns out that the rapper is certainly not the first person to post about their experience drinking directly from a pool of melted glacier water, and there are dozens of other videos showcasing people dipping their cups into the melted ice — many of them with millions of views.

Some TikToks don’t provide context, instead only capturing the serenity of the crystal-clear, bright-blue waters, while others, like user @oceanhaunts, actually dive into discussions of whether or not this liquid is safe to consume.

But among the mesmerizing visuals of ice-cold water and conflicting messages from followers and creators, the question still remains: If, for some reason, you find yourself on a glacier, can you drink from it?

Is it safe to drink glacier water?

In short, consuming melted glacial water — without any filtration — is not 100% safe, but it’s also not as dangerous as reactions online may make it seem. 

Some social media commenters have cited ice worms within as a potential danger, but they don’t actually pose any threat to humans, even if you eat them. Instead, the risk largely comes from bacteria, waterborne parasites like giardia and cryptosporidium, and heavy metals.

When I asked Dr. Gabriel Wolken, a glaciologist and the program manager for the Climate and Cryosphere Hazards Program at the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, if glacial water is okay to drink, he explained that “While it seems simple, this is a somewhat complicated question that depends on where the glacier is and how much of the water one plans to consume. 

“Depending on where you source the water on the glacier, it can be quite turbid with a large percentage of suspended material, which sometimes requires filtering. The water from a glacier, irrespective of location, can contain various contaminants from deposits from the atmosphere, animals, and the surrounding landscape. One of the more insidious issues is the buildup of heavy metals in glacier ice (e.g. mercury) via atmospheric transport from various parts of the industrialized globe.”

That being said, even the responses I received from experts tended to vary in their conclusions. Dr. Sidney Hemming, a geochemist and professor of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University, said, “Glacial ice is surely the most pure source of natural water. I’m surprised it’s a question.”

If you’re drinking glacial water from a very remote area, with no visible signs of wildlife or regular human presence, then it is more likely to be safe. Anecdotally, three of my colleagues here at Food & Wine have tried glacier water in either Iceland or Patagonia — two of them with professional guides, the other one went rogue — and they were all fine. You should not consume the liquid without the advice of an expert who is able to identify water with a minimal risk of contamination.

Even if you’re with a professional, it’s not possible to guarantee that untreated and unfiltered natural water is entirely contaminant and pathogen-free. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “Water that has not been treated or is not from a safe source may contain harmful germs or chemicals that can make you sick.” 

Will you be okay if you drink glacier water that is from a safely-sourced area, identified by an expert? Probably. Can anyone promise a zero-percent chance of contamination without actually testing the water? Probably not.

Is it safe to drink bottled glacier water?

An important caveat here is that — contrary to what marketing might have you believe — very little bottled water comes from glaciers. 

According to published information from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, “about 75% of bottled water comes from approved natural sources such as springs or wells. By law, these sources must be protected from contamination. The remaining 25% of bottled water comes from approved municipal water supplies like those that serve communities.”

While searching for bottled glacier water online, I learned that the majority of the suggested products aren’t actually sourced from melted glacial ice. For example, the most commonly known bottled “glacier water” is Icelandic Glacial Natural Water — you’d likely recognize its bottles embossed with the shape of an iceberg. But in spite of the brand’s name and logo, its bottled water comes from the Ölfus Spring in Iceland, which is fed by rainfall and snowmelt.

There are some water companies selling products made from true melted glacier ice, but they’re more difficult to find. One of the most accessible brands I found, Clear Alaskan Glacial, ensures its water is clean by microfiltering and treating it with Ozone, according to several retailers that sell the water — so the liquid is ultimately filtered and treated before it reaches consumers. 

It’s safe to assume that any other brand bottling true glacial water would take similar steps to eliminate the risk of contamination, but if you’re ever unsure it’s best to contact the proprietor directly and ask questions about sourcing and filtration.