Water stagnation

[1] Malaria and dengue are among the main dangers of still water, which can become a breeding ground for the mosquitoes that transmit these diseases.

Stagnant water can be contaminated with human and animal feces, particularly in deserts or other areas of low rainfall.

[2] Water stagnation for as little as six days can completely change bacterial community composition and increase cell count.

[4] For this reason, pools of stagnant water have historically been used in processing hemp and some other fiber crops, as well as linden bark used for making bast shoes.

Several weeks of soaking makes bast fibers easily separable due to bacterial and fermentative processes known as retting.