By now I'm sure we all know that we can last weeks without food. Living without water, however, is a completely different story... you probably knew that too. Someone of well health that isn't in an extremely hot or cold environment can last about 3 days without water on average... maybe a couple days longer, but I wouldn't push your luck. No matter how much you already have stored, learning to find, gather, filter, and purify your own water is a crucial survival skill. It's a good idea to check out and add a variety of purification tablets, filtration and purification systems, and even bleach to your supplies, but let's discuss what to do if you're without any of these things. Part 3 of the Basic Survival Skills Series is going to cover some unique ways to gather water, how to make a natural filter to remove sediment, and then the basic boil version and a sun version of purification. Let's get started.
Gathering Water: Being near a natural water source is helpful, but let's discuss some ways to collect water if you aren't. These ways aren't enough to re-hydrate an army, but in a critical situation it could save your life.
Option #1 - You'll need (1) something to dig with, (2) a preferably clear plastic sheeting or tarp, (3) some type of container, (4) a 4 or 5 foot long tube that you can drink from, and (5) a rock about the size of a baseball. The earlier in the day this can get set up, the better. Sunlight is needed to make this work.
* Choose a grassy area that's in sunlight a majority of the day, if grass or weeds are able to grow than more than likely it's somewhat moist under the surface.
*Being careful to save the top layer of non-poisonous grass and/or weeds, dig a hole in the shape of a bowl that's about 2 feet deep and 3 to 3.5 feet wide. In the center of the hole's floor, dig another hole about 4 to 6 inches deeper with a flat base that's just big enough to fit your container in.
*Mash some patches of the grass/weeds you saved along the walls of your hole. Doing this provides more condensation in the hole.
* Place your container in the spot you dug to hold it in place.
* If you're going to use a drinking tube, place one end of it all the way into the container and run the rest of the tube up the side and out the top of the main hole. Let the tube rest on the ground outside the hole.
* Lay your plastic sheeting over the hole and start covering the perimeter with the dirt that was dug out of the ground to weigh the plastic in place (make sure you don't cover the drinking tube if you used one). As you do this, make sure there is enough slack in the plastic so it can sag at least 15 or so inches.
* Place the rock on top of the plastic sheeting right above the container. This will form an inverted dome which guides the condensation to drip into the container.
You can drink directly from the tube if you use one, or you can just open the plastic and remove the container once a day, depending on how long you're at your location. Like I said earlier, this methods won't provide enough water for an army, but this system could provide about a quart a day. The water won't need to be purified, but it'll taste a bit like dirt and the grass or weeds that are covering the hole's walls... better than nothing, right?
Option #2 - You'll need (1) a non-poisonous tree or bush that's in, or almost in, direct sunlight, (2) a plastic baggy, (3) a rock that's about the size of a gold ball, and (4) something to tie with (you could even use a stem from a weed or a braid a few blades of long grass if you don't have any twine). You'll want to set this system up as soon as possible, morning is great so it can gather throughout the day.
* Put the rock inside the bag, then slide the bag over the end of a branch tucking the leaves inside. The rock will work as a weight that provides a lower point that the water can form in.
* Making sure you get the opening of the baggy as close as you can to the branch itself, tie it shut tightly with a piece of jute cord or whatever you can find to tie it with. It's important that you tie it tight, the less air that can move through the opening, the more the heat will build up causing more condensation (even in cold temperatures as long as the sun is out).
* As the sun beats down on the bag, moisture from the leaves will form condensation in the bag, and as it builds it'll turn into water that can be drank without any further purification.
You should set this system up on multiple branches to gather more water. Some suggest poking a small hole in the bottom of the bag for the water to drain into a container, but I wouldn't. I'd worry about it being windy and losing drops of water in the wind as the branches blow around. Every drop counts so it's your call. I set this up in the tree in my yard one night and let it set all night and throughout the next day and was able to almost fill a pint size bottle.
Option #3 - We can't control when it's going to rain, but if the sky looks like it's ready to pour (or even just sprinkle) you'll want to get this set up. Even an inch of rainfall could gather 20+ gallons on an 8x5 foot tarp. All you need is (1) a tarp, (2) a couple trees, (3) some twine, rope, or para-cord, (4) a bucket or container(s), and a rock that will fit inside your bucket or container. You wouldn't want to set this up if there was a nuclear or chemical disaster, but otherwise it would be a great idea for gathering larger amounts of water. Here's what to do...
* Tie two neighboring corners of your tarp with two separate strands of rope, twine, or para-cord. Make sure to use long enough pieces to reach two trees that are near each other.
* You'll want to pull the tarp as tight as you can without ripping the corner rings or anything open. It doesn't matter how far the trees are away from each other as long as you have enough rope to stretch. This should be elevated at least a bit higher than your bucket or container so it guides the rainfall.
* Place your container a couple feet before the untied end of the tarp being sure that that end, along with the loose corners, are able to be tucked into your container. Put your rock in the bottom of the container on top of the tarp and let the rain do the rest.
You may want to let the rain rinse off the tarp and rock (or whatever you use as the weight inside your container) for a minute and then dump the container before setting it back up to collect the water you are going to use, this will get any dust and dirt off the surface of the tarp and rock... you may still want to filter it depending on how windy it is, leaves and stuff may blow in during the rain. Aside from that, rainwater is just fine to drink without purifying.
Filtration: Of course water from any natural source should be purified before drinking it, but since that water will usually be a bit muddy (to say the least), you'll want to filter it first. Pouring the water through a clean sock or shirt would work well, but if you only have the clothes on your back and aren't so sure you want to use something that you may or may not have been stranded somewhere for a few days in, there are other options. You'll just need a few things, I'll explain the options as I list them.
* Find a container. If you've brought one with you or can find one, a 2-liter plastic bottle or a large (coffee type) can will work great. You could also use a gallon size plastic bag if you have one (you should always bring plastic baggies in your bug out bags). If you're using the plastic bottle, cut the bottom of it off as straight as you can and use the pouring opening as the part your filtered water comes out of. If you're using a can, you'll need to poke some small homes in the bottom, about 10 should do fine.
* If you don't have any of these things, you can make a natural container out of birch bark if you can find some, or even some large green leaves (make sure they aren't poisonous leaves). If you use bark or leaves, you'll need to roll it in a cone shape with a very tiny opening at the bottom and then tie it with twine or some long braided blades of grass to keep it from unfolding.
* Try to find a way to suspend your filter above a clean container that your water will filter into if you can. Tie it to a low hanging branch or even throw together some sort of tripod out of branches. This isn't mandatory, it just makes it easier.
* Now it's time to build the filter itself. The first layer will need to be something that'll keep the sand from falling out since that's what you'll be using for the majority of the filtration. You could use some sort of cotton material if you have some, otherwise wadded up grass works just fine, just make sure it isn't poisonous.
*On top of the cotton or grass, you'll want to put a couple inches worth of small pebbles or gravel (not any oily gravel).
* I'm not sure how much I trust this step and I've never tried it, but in desperate times you may need to. If you aren't able to purify your water by boiling it or setting it in the sun, you'll need some charcoal. If you've had a fire, crunch up some of the burnt wood into small gravel size pieces (not into dust) and put a couple inches on top of the pebbles.
* The next layer of your filter will need to be sand, it's a great natural filter. Put enough in to fill the container about 2/3 of the way.
*Pour the water you've gathered through your filter and let it drain into a clean container. If the water isn't clear after the first run through, just repeat it as many times as needed.
Purification: After you have filtered the water to your liking, you'll need to purify it. Here are two simple ways of doing so if you don't have any purification tablets or bleach.
Option #1: If you're able to start a fire, which I would hope you can if you've read and practiced the fire starting methods from part 2, you can boil your water to purify it. If you have a pot then you're in luck, but otherwise a tin or aluminum can will do just fine. If you haven't brought one with you, more than likely you can find one that someone else has left as litter. Just rinse it out as best you can. Pour your filtered water into whatever you are using to boil in and bring the water to a boil over your fire.
According to the CDC, after your water has came to a boil you need to keep it at a rolling boil for 1 minute (or 3 minutes for altitudes above 6,500 feet). I'd feel safer letting it be at a rolling boil for 3 to 5 minutes though. It's your call. After it boils, remove it from the fire and let it sit until it cools. This will also let any sediment that may not have been filtered settle to the bottom. Then it's safe to drink.
Option #2: If you can't start a fire or don't have something to boil in, you can purify your water in the sun. Bacteria like scherichia coli, salmonella, vibrio cholera, shigella flexneri, yersinia enterocolitica, and campylobacter jejuni can be taken care of with 6 hours of sun exposure, along with rotovirus and the parasite giardia, with a little longer exposure (10 hours) you can remove the parasite cryptosporidium.
You'll need (1) a clear plastic bottle (not glass) and (2) the sun. It doesn't need to be hot outside for this to work either, UV-A is what does the job, not the heat. Make sure it's a clear Poly Ethylene Terephthalate bottle, with recycle code #1 on it. It'll be stamped like this:
* Very easy purification. Just pour your filtered water into the bottle (a 2-liter soda or soft drink bottle works best, remove any labeling), make sure the lid is screwed on tight, and lay it on it's side in direct sunlight.
* If the sky is clear or has very little clouding, let it sit for at least 6 hours, but you may want to wait 10 hours just to be sure you get everything (as mentioned for the possibility of the cryptosporidium parasite). If there's an overcast of clouds, you'll need to wait up to 2 days if it doesn't clear up to full sun exposure for a solid 6 to 10 hours during that time period. After you've left it for the time period needed, it will be purified and able to be drank.
If you haven't yet, you need to set up a bag for emergency situations (a.k.a. a bug out bag) and keep it in your vehicle or on you at all times. At the very least, items to gather, filter, and purify water should be on the top of the list of things included. Practicing these systems now will familiarize you with setting them up. Don't wait until a situation does take place to try and remember what you just read. Your first attempt at these may not turn out right, causing anything from dehydration to diarrhea, which could very easily lead to death.
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I hope this post has taught you enough to keep yourself from dehydrating in a desperate situation. These are the few methods I'm familiar with, but I'm sure that a little research could provide you with more options. Remember that I'm interested in checking out other prepper and survival blogs and sites that I may not have stumbled across yet, so please share your favorites. Please take a second to subscribe, share this with others who may find this useful, and don't forget to comment.
