How to safely get the water you need in a survival situation
I guess I’m doing a rule of three thing right now. I did shelter last week; now I’m tackling water. It wasn’t really intentional, but I was inspired to do this piece today, so I’m going with it.
You need water. You can survive around three days without it (technically hydration, in my day to day life I get most of my hydration from coffee), but after a day or so you are not going to be a happy camper. I’m going to go over some of the ways you can make water safe to drink.
Is it Safe to Drink?
A lot of bacterial infections live in water. It makes sense; bacteria need water as much as we do. The thing is, there is no way to know whether or not this is the case with this particular stream, river, lake, whatever your source of water is. If you have a lot of sophisticated equipment, you can test it. If not, it’s a little more challenging. You could just drink it, but that seems like a sub-ideal way to run a test.
Fresh rainfall is going to be safe, but even then you have to be very clear on your collection method. If the rain is filtered through anything you aren’t sure of then, you can’t be sure of the water. Typically if it comes off of leaves, it’s going to be alright. You can also set up specific rain catchment systems. When I lived in the Solomon Islands, we used a large rain barrel and the roof of our house, however, that’s not necessarily an option in a survival situation. That means water purification of some sort
How to Make it Safe
Boiling
The most tried and tested method of water purification is boiling it. That’s great but sometimes a challenge. The easiest way to boil water is to have a pot, fill the pot with water, then put the pot on the fire. Nice and simple, you can now drink the water once it has boiled, although waiting for it cool a little bit first is a good idea. The thing is that requires that you have a pot.
If you don’t have a pot, there are still options.
So long as you have a container of some sort, even one that isn’t going to be fireproof, there are ways to make it work. A good one is hot rocks. Put rocks in your fire (clean the rocks first) and get them very hot. Take the rocks and put them in the container with the water. Eventually, this will create enough heat to boil the water. It may take many rocks. This requires a fair bit of care, and you need to pay attention to the kind of rocks you use. When you drop rocks into the water, there is a high chance you will get splashing water and steam. Be careful; you can burn yourself.
You need a clean container, no matter what your boiling method is. I don’t mean sterile; boiling will achieve that. At least for biological contaminants. I mean clean. Wipe things off, make sure there is no sediment or anything of the sort.
There are some other methods of purification. Boiling is the most common method. Different ways that work include chemical treatment and UV treatment.
Distillation
Water distillation is even better than boiling, especially if you are using boiled water for it. You want to turn the water to steam and then collect the steam as it condenses. A solar still is another option. For a solar still, take a sheet of clear plastic and put it over a hole in the sunlight. Make sure it dips down in the centre and that there is a container under the low point. Water vapour will collect on the plastic sheet and then roll into the container. This water will most likely be safe to drink.
Chemical treatment
Iodine, chlorine, or bleach are all capable of purifying water. For iodine use a two percent tincture and add about five drops per quart. You need to wait for thirty minutes. Iodine isn’t safe for pregnant women or people with shellfish allergies and children are likely to react negatively to it.
Chlorine usually comes in tablet form. It’s a good idea to keep some chlorine tablets with you. Chlorine tablets take about four hours to make water safe. They need to dissipate. It’s one tablet per litre. The wait time and the cost are the main issues with chlorine.
Household bleach is the third chemical method. Use an eyedropper and add two drops per quart. Let it stand for thirty minutes. Only use bleach that is between five and eight percent sodium hypochlorite.
UV
There are two kinds of UV to work with. First, there’s sunlight; second, there are UV lights.
Sunlight isn’t perfect, and while it can kill a lot of bacteria, it won’t necessarily kill all of it. If you do want to go with sunlight, put a clear bottle in direct sunlight and leave it there for twelve hours or so. That’s for direct sunlight on a sunny day. You will need longer for overcast days. This method should be reserved for places where water quality is generally reasonable.
There are also high-intensity UV lights. They work exceptionally well but tend to be heavier than the other options. Most of them also require power, although hand cranked models do exist.
Filtration vs Purification
Purification removes pathogens that cause disease, but it’s not going to get rid of particulate matter. You need filtration for that. Filtration may or may not get rid of pathogens, depending on the type. It will never affect viruses. So, yeah, filtration is something you should do but is less critical than purification. There are many, many forms of filtration that you can use. Life straws, filters made out of sand and rocks, filters made out of charcoal. A whole lot of ways. So long as the filter only allows the water to pass through, stopping anything else, it is doing what you want it to.
A piece of plastic tubing and some softwood makes a great filter. Put the piece of softwood in the bottom of the plastic tubing and make sure it is in tight so no water can flow around it. Fill the tube with water. Water will drip out. This water will be free of particulates and most bacteria. Viruses will be unaffected, however.
Conclusion
Staying hydrated is vital. These techniques will help you to have potable water, but in a worst-case scenario, it’s better to drink bad water than it is to die of thirst. Sure, you might get sick — but if it comes down to that or death, choose the risk of illness. Otherwise, make sure you purify and filter your water if possible.