Water service is usually disrupted during disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. You can also run out of drinking water when you’re stranded in the mountains or somewhere without a source of clean water. During such unfortunate situations, you need to find ways to purify water fast. That’s because humans last for only three days without water. We don’t want that, right?
You can indeed stock up on clean drinking water and we strongly encourage you to do so. However, that, too, can be gone in an instant. Increase your chances of staying alive by learning how to find and purify water.
How to Find and Collect Water
Locate Bodies of Water
You can’t purify water if there’s no water to purify. Start by locating freshwater sources around your area. Look for the nearest streams, rivers, creeks, springs, ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. Familiarize yourself with similar bodies of water that are farther away so you’ll have options if you have to leave your state.
Collect Rainwater
Rain is another good source of water. Leaving wide-mouthed containers out in the open while it’s pouring is the simplest approach to collecting rainwater. You can also tie the corners of a tarp, poncho, or survival blanket to trees or any sturdy structure. Place something heavy at the center to create a depression. The wide area is great for catching rain.
What You Need To Survive Water Scarcity | Photo by R_tee/Bigstock
The more efficient method is to build a rain harvesting system. Rainwater is collected through a downspout from the roof’s gutter and into a large food-grade drum or rain barrel. The water passes through a paint strainer or anything that can effectively filter debris and other small particles. Do note that rainwater harvesting systems are not allowed in some states. Check your local laws before building your alternative water supply.
Melt and Purify Snow
Snow, ice, and hail can also be collected and purified. Don’t eat snow as it is. Doing so will only decrease your body temperature. This is not a good thing if you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere with not much protection from the cold. Melt the snow or ice first and purify the water.
Icebergs and any bluish ice are frozen freshwaters so if you happen to spot one, try to get as much as possible. Frozen saltwater is grayish and opaque. This is not safe to drink unless you separate the salt through desalination.
Collect Dew
Dew can be collected early in the morning before they evaporate. Simply grab a clean absorbent cloth and wipe the grass and other plants where dew has gathered. You can also wrap absorbent clothes around your legs and walk through the tall grass. Avoid poisonous plants, crops treated with pesticides and other chemicals, and areas where animals pooped. Once the cloth is soaked, wring the water into a clean container. Use any of the effective ways to purify water to make sure it is safe to drink.
Look for Hidden Water Sources
There are other sources of water in your home even if the water grid is down. Ice, for one, can be melted. Power usually goes out during a disaster so check our freezer for melted ice. Check your hot water tank and pipes, too. You can drain the remaining water and purify it afterward.
Ways to Purify Water
Basic Water Filtering
Just to be clear, basic filtering is not one of the ways to purify water. It does not kill bacteria, parasites, viruses, or other pathogens in the water. It is, however, an important first step towards water purification or sterilization. The purpose of this method is to remove large particles like sand and stones from the water.
An emergency water filter can be made out of a plastic bottle, coffee filter, or any porous cloth, charcoal, some sand, and gravel or pebbles. Cut off the bottom of the plastic bottle and punch a hole in the cap. With the cap at the bottom, stuff the bottle with a coffee filter or cloth followed by a layer of pulverized charcoal.
Follow that with 2 or 3-inch layers of fine sand, coarse sand, pebbles, and gravel or small rocks. Finally, top with another filter or cloth. Pour the dirty water through your little contraption then catch the filtered water at the bottom with a clean container. For better and safer results, boil the resulting water before consumption.
Boil Water
Boiling is the simplest way to purify water. This process will remove most disease-causing microorganisms in the water but is ineffective against many salts, heavy metals, and some other contaminants. However, it is enough to make water safe to drink.
There shouldn’t be any problems if you’re boiling water at home. You already have a stovetop, fuel, and pots for the job. When you’re outdoors or in an emergency, however, you’ll need particular tools to boil and purify water.
As mentioned, you need fire. Always pack fire starting tools in your survival kits or camping gear. This includes flint and steel or Ferro-rod strikers, lighters, waterproof matches, and tinder. You should also learn fire-starting survival hacks such as using a magnifying lens, battery and steel wool, crayons, chapstick, chips, duct tape, and tampons. Learn old-school methods, too, like the hand drill, bow drill, and fire plow techniques.
Pack a cookset, particularly a pot or kettle for boiling water. Empty cans, especially those made of aluminum, are not recommended for cooking or boiling since some harmful metals and BPA may leach into the food or water.
Boiling water will be easier if you have a camping stove. In case you don’t have one, you can build a campfire and place your pot over the fire. After filtering out all the debris, bring the water to a rolling boil for at least one minute. According to the EPA, you should boil water for at least three minutes if you’re at an altitude of over 5,000 feet (1,000 meters). Let the water cool first before drinking it. Cover the container to keep the water from getting dirty again.
Use Chemicals
When you take a peek inside a prepper’s pantry or storeroom (if they ever allow you to), chances are high you’ll find some iodine and household bleach. You may also see hydrogen peroxide and sodium chlorite. Aside from their normal uses, these items can purify water and make it safe to drink.
Iodine
Iodine purifies water by upsetting the ionic balance within the cells of pathogens. The iodide ions replace the chemicals required for bacteria or viruses to flourish resulting in the pathogen’s death. Iodine is available in solution, tincture, crystal, and tablet forms.
Water purification tablets are one of the more popular ways to purify water. In fact, it’s a favorite among preppers, survivalists, and outdoor adventurers. To use them, you only have to dissolve the tablets, usually two, in the contaminated water. Wait for at least half an hour for the iodine to do its magic. You can take a sip once the water has settled.
For iodine tincture, simply add two drops for every quart of clear water. Use up to 10 drops if the water is too cloudy. Give the iodine around 30 minutes to get rid of the harmful pathogens in the water. Don’t worry if the purified water tastes and looks different. The iodine tincture will change its flavor and color.
A small bottle of iodine crystals can purify up to 2000 gallons of water. They’re also cheaper than water purification tablets. It may be hard to find any since it has been banned by the DEA. Apparently, it can be used in making meth so if you don’t want to get in trouble with the law, you may try safer ways to purify water.
Household Bleach
A couple of drops of regular, unscented bleach with 6 or 8.25% chlorine will make one quart or liter of contaminated water safe for consumption. Don’t use scented or color-safe bleach. The same goes for bleach with added cleaners. Here’s a guide by EPA on how much bleach you need for different quantities of water.
If the water is cloudy, you should filter it first. Once the water has settled, use a dropper to add the bleach. Clean and store it properly if you intend to use it again. After adding the bleach, let it stand for half an hour before drinking the now-purified water. It may smell of chlorine but this is perfectly fine, health-wise. If the water tastes too much chlorine, pour it from one container to another. The taste should be better after letting it stand for a few hours.
Use Commercial Water Filters
Commercial water filters are easily one of the most popular ways to purify water at home. People who have doubts about the quality of the water coming out of their faucets use water filters to protect the family from waterborne diseases.
There are different types of water filters. One example is the pump-action filter. It requires a bit of elbow grease to gather water from the source and purify it. The device is equipped with a filter cartridge, which blocks pathogens and small particles from the contaminated water.
Survival Straws
As its name suggests, survival straws are essential for emergencies and other times that your life may be at stake. These portable survival tools are the simplest and easiest way to purify water when you’re in the wild. They’re also great for everyday use, particularly at times when you can’t trust the water that’s available to you.
A survival straw lets you drink directly from the water source without much hassle. You don’t need to start a fire or build some contraption. All you have to do is place the end of the survival straw in the water and sip from the mouthpiece.
They utilize a miniature water filtering system that removes bacteria, protozoa, and sometimes even viruses from the contaminated water. Since these personal water filters are portable and lightweight, they are highly recommended for bug out bags, first aid kits, car emergency kits, and everyday carry kits.
Water Distillation
Distillation is the most complicated of all the ways to purify water listed here. It’s also the most effective in getting rid of harmful contaminants like salt, lead, heavy metals, and some radioactive materials or radionuclides. Using a commercial water filter to get rid of them will only damage your contraption.
To distill dangerous water, you need to heat it into steam first. Then you have to catch the steam, which will now be free of radiation fallout and other contaminants. Distillation, however, will not remove volatile oils and some organic compounds.
DIY Water Distiller
You need a pressure canner, small-diameter copper tubing or copper coil, silicone tubing that can withstand high temperature, brass fittings, and a container with a lid to make your DIY water distiller. To simplify this water purification process, the contaminated water is boiled inside the pressure cooker while the steam produced will pass through the tubing leading to the copper coil that is inside the bucket and submerged in cold water. The steam will begin to condense as it travels through the tubing thus producing distilled water.
The problem with this setup is you can’t readily take it with you if you need to bug out real fast. It’s fine if you have enough time to pack everything in your vehicle. Also, it’s useful for food preservation. But if you have used it to distill radioactive water, you can’t use it for food anymore. The canner will also eat up some valuable space in your car so you should really think this over.
Solar Still
If you do manage to take your DIY water distiller along, you can use it over an open fire. Another way to distill contaminated water when outdoors is to build a solar still. Find an area that’s exposed to the sun but with the dampest soil. Dig a hole in the ground about three feet deep and place a clean container inside. Place one end of a clean tube inside the container. Cover the hole with a large square piece of clear plastic. Secure and seal the plastic by shoveling dirt over the edges. Find a rock and put it at the center of the plastic to create an indentation.
Make sure the other end of the tube is accessible and safe from dirt since you will be drinking from it. If you don’t want to drink from the tube or if you need to distill water for cooking, you have to take the cover off to grab the container. That means you have to put your solar still back when you need to distill more water.
The heat from the sun will evaporate the water in the ground leaving the salt and other contaminants behind. The water vapor condenses thanks to the cool inside of the plastic. The condensation formed on the underside of the plastic trickles down to the clean container below giving you clean water to drink.
With these vital survival skills, you should have no problems procuring clean drinking water. To be completely sure, however, you should still stock up on water at home. Also, you should learn the ways to purify water that we have not discussed here. Some of these water purification techniques include the pine tree method, the use of UV light, and the solar water disinfection (SODIS) method. Visit Gentleman Pirate Club every now and then as we will tackle similar topics later on.
