WATER PROCUREMENT

WATER PROCUREMENT

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Water is one of your most urgent needs in a survival situation. You can' t live long without it, especially in hot areas where you lose water rapidly through perspiration. Even in cold areas, you need a minimum of 2 liters of water each day to maintain efficiency. ​

More than three-fourths of your body is composed of fluids. Your body loses fluid as a result of heat, cold, stress, and exertion. To function effectively, you must replace the fluid your body loses. So, one of your first goals is to obtain an adequate supply of water. ​

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Water Sources
Still Construction
Water Purification
Water Filtration Devices

 

WATER SOURCES

WATER SOURCES

Almost any environment has water present to some degree. Figure 6-1 lists possible sources of water in various environments. It also provides information on how to make the water potable.

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Note: If you do not have a canteen, a cup, a can, or other type of container, improvise one from plastic or water-resistant cloth. Shape the plastic or cloth into a bowl by pleating it. Use pins or other suitable items--even your hands--to hold the pleats. ​

If you do not have a reliable source to replenish your water supply, stay alert for ways in which your environment can help you.

CAUTION
Do not substitute the fluids listed in Figure 6-2 for water.​

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Heavy dew can provide water. Tie rags or tufts of fine grass around your ankles and walk through dew-covered grass before sunrise. As the rags or grass tufts absorb the dew, wring the water into a container. Repeat the process until you have a supply of water or until the dew is gone. Australian natives sometimes mop up as much as a liter an hour this way.
Bees or ants going into a hole in a tree may point to a water-filled hole. Siphon the water with plastic tubing or scoop it up with an improvised dipper. You can also stuff cloth in the hole to absorb the water and then wring it from the cloth.
Water sometimes gathers in tree crotches or rock crevices. Use the above procedures to get the water. In arid areas, bird droppings around a crack in the rocks may indicate water in or near the crack.
Green bamboo thickets are an excellent source of fresh water. Water from green bamboo is clear and odorless. To get the water, bend a green bamboo stalk, tie it down, and cut off the top (Figure 6-3). The water will drip freely during the night. Old, cracked bamboo may contain water.

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CAUTION
Purify the water before drinking it.​

Wherever you find banana or plantain trees, you can get water. Cut down the tree, leaving about a 30-centimeter stump, and scoop out the center of the stump so that the hollow is bowl-shaped. Water from the roots will immediately start to fill the hollow. The first three fillings of water will be bitter, but succeeding fillings will be palatable. The stump (Figure 6-4) will supply water for up to four days. Be sure to cover it to keep out insects.

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Some tropical vines can give you water. Cut a notch in the vine as high as you can reach, then cut the vine off close to the ground. Catch the dropping liquid in a container or in your mouth (Figure 6-5).

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CAUTION
Do not drink the liquid if it is sticky, milky, or bitter tasting.​

The milk from green (unripe) coconuts is a good thirst quencher. However, the milk from mature coconuts contains an oil that acts as a laxative. Drink in moderation only.
In the American tropics you may find large trees whose branches support air plants. These air plants may hold a considerable amount of rainwater in their overlapping, thickly growing leaves. Strain the water through a cloth to remove insects and debris.
You can get water from plants with moist pulpy centers. Cut off a section of the plant and squeeze or smash the pulp so that the moisture runs out. Catch the liquid in a container.
Plant roots may provide water. Dig or pry the roots out of the ground, cut them into short pieces, and smash the pulp so that the moisture runs out. Catch the liquid in a container.
Fleshy leaves, stems, or stalks, such as bamboo, contain water. Cut or notch the stalks at the base of a joint to drain out the liquid.
The following trees can also provide water:

• Palms. Palms, such as the buri, coconut, sugar, rattan, and nips, contain liquid. Bruise a lower frond and pull it down so the tree will "bleed" at the injury.
• Traveler's tree. Found in Madagascar, this tree has a cuplike sheath at the base of its leaves in which water collects.
• Umbrella tree. The leaf bases and roots of this tree of western tropical Africa can provide water.
• Baobab tree. This tree of the sandy plains of northern Australia and Africa collects water in its bottlelike trunk during the wet season. Frequently, you can find clear, fresh water in these trees after weeks of dry weather.

CAUTION​

Do not keep the sap from plants longer than 24 hours. It begins fermenting, becoming dangerous as a water source.

 

STILL CONSTRUCTION

STILL CONSTRUCTION

You can use stills in various areas of the world. They draw moisture from the ground and from plant material. You need certain materials to build a still, and you need time to let it collect the water. It takes about 24 hours to get 0.5 to 1 liter of water.
Aboveground Still

To make the aboveground still, you need a sunny slope on which to place the still, a clear plastic bag, green leafy vegetation, and a small rock (Figure 6-6).

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To make the still--

• Fill the bag with air by turning the opening into the breeze or by "scooping" air into the bag.
• Fill the plastic bag half to three-fourths full of green leafy vegetation. Be sure to remove all hard sticks or sharp spines that might puncture the bag.

CAUTION
Do not use poisonous vegetation. It will provide poisonous liquid.​

• Place a small rock or similar item in the bag.
• Close the bag and tie the mouth securely as close to the end of the bag as possible to keep the maximum amount of air space. If you have a piece of tubing, a small straw, or a hollow reed, insert one end in the mouth of the bag before you tie it securely. Then tie off or plug the tubing so that air will not escape. This tubing will allow you to drain out condensed water without untying the bag.
• Place the bag, mouth downhill, on a slope in full sunlight. Position the mouth of the bag slightly higher than the low point in the bag.
• Settle the bag in place so that the rock works itself into the low point in the bag.

To get the condensed water from the still, loosen the tie around the bag's mouth and tip the bag so that the water collected around the rock will drain out. Then retie the mouth securely and reposition the still to allow further condensation.
Change the vegetation in the bag after extracting most of the water from it. This will ensure maximum output of water.
Belowground Still

To make a belowground still, you need a digging tool, a container, a clear plastic sheet, a drinking tube, and a rock (Figure 6-7).

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Select a site where you believe the soil will contain moisture (such as a dry stream bed or a low spot where rainwater has collected). The soil at this site should be easy to dig, and sunlight must hit the site most of the day.
To construct the still--

• Dig a bowl-shaped hole about 1 meter across and 60 centimeters deep.
• Dig a sump in the center of the hole. The sump's depth and perimeter will depend on the size of the container that you have to place in it. The bottom of the sump should allow the container to stand upright.
• Anchor the tubing to the container's bottom by forming a loose overhand knot in the tubing.
• Place the container upright in the sump.
• Extend the unanchored end of the tubing up, over, and beyond the lip of the hole.
• Place the plastic sheet over the hole, covering its edges with soil to hold it in place.
• Place a rock in the center of the plastic sheet.
• Lower the plastic sheet into the hole until it is about 40 centimeters below ground level. It now forms an inverted cone with the rock at its apex. Make sure that the cone's apex is directly over your container. Also make sure the plastic cone does not touch the sides of the hole because the earth will absorb the condensed water.
• Put more soil on the edges of the plastic to hold it securely in place and to prevent the loss of moisture.
• Plug the tube when not in use so that the moisture will not evaporate.

You can drink water without disturbing the still by using the tube as a straw.
You may want to use plants in the hole as a moisture source. If so, dig out additional soil from the sides of the hole to form a slope on which to place the plants. Then proceed as above.
If polluted water is your only moisture source, dig a small trough outside the hole about 25 centimeters from the still's lip (Figure 6-8). Dig the trough about 25 centimeters deep and 8 centimeters wide. Pour the polluted water in the trough. Be sure you do not spill any polluted water around the rim of the hole where the plastic sheet touches the soil. The trough holds the polluted water and the soil filters it as the still draws it. The water then condenses on the plastic and drains into the container. This process works extremely well when your only water source is salt water.

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You will need at least three stills to meet your individual daily water intake needs.

 

WATER PURIFICATION

WATER PURIFICATION

Rainwater collected in clean containers or in plants is usually safe for drinking. However, purify water from lakes, ponds, swamps, springs, or streams, especially the water near human settlements or in the tropics.
When possible, purify all water you got from vegetation or from the ground by using iodine or chlorine, or by boiling.
Purify water by--

• Using water purification tablets. (Follow the directions provided.)
• Placing 5 drops of 2 percent tincture of iodine in a canteen full of clear water. If the canteen is full of cloudy or cold water, use 10 drops. (Let the canteen of water stand for 30 minutes before drinking.)
• Boiling water for 1 minute at sea level, adding 1 minute for each additional 300 meters above sea level, or boil for 10 minutes no matter where you are.

By drinking nonpotable water you may contract diseases or swallow organisms that can harm you. Examples of such diseases or organisms are--

• Dysentery. Severe, prolonged diarrhea with bloody stools, fever, and weakness.
• Cholera and typhoid. You may be susceptible to these diseases regardless of inoculations.
• Flukes. Stagnant, polluted water--especially in tropical areas--often contains blood flukes. If you swallow flukes, they will bore into the bloodstream, live as parasites, and cause disease.
• Leeches. If you swallow a leech, it can hook onto the throat passage or inside the nose. It will suck blood, create a wound, and move to another area. Each bleeding wound may become infected.

 

WATER FILTRATION DEVICES

WATER FILTRATION DEVICES

If the water you find is also muddy, stagnant, and foul smelling, you can clear the water--

• By placing it in a container and letting it stand for 12 hours.
• By pouring it through a filtering system.

Note: These procedures only clear the water and make it more palatable. You will have to purify it. ​

To make a filtering system, place several centimeters or layers of filtering material such as sand, crushed rock, charcoal, or cloth in bamboo, a hollow log, or an article of clothing (Figure 6-9).

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Remove the odor from water by adding charcoal from your fire. Let the water stand for 45 minutes before drinking it.

 

Drink your PEE like this fellow:

 

Really http://www.iconocast.com/00019/A4/News2.htm

 

bump

 

Excellent informitive post. For those of us for whatever reason, who intend to bugin, not bugout, have you considered how you are going to get water if and when the power goes out. Generators are fine if you are in a safe secure area or this is not a post SHTF situation. If you are within the city limits and there is a municipal water supply, you have another problem altogether. Wells are usually frowned upon in that situation. That is not to say you can't drive or dig your own well without the blessing of the city. I have done that a couple of times. It was nice to have my own well to water my garden for free except for the cost of the electricity to run the pump, or the gas for the generator. One of my most well prepared neighbors has solar electric, solar water heating, generator, his own well, manual well pump along side his regular submersible well pump, a 12 volt dc gear motor option that bolts on and replaces the manual pump also, and a 250 gallon hidden elevated storage tank for gravity feed to house. All these ideas and many more I am sure others can think of are options and things to think about. Water is very important no doubt.

 

Not so long ago but in a forum long since gone and far far away....
The question of procurement arose and here was one response:
"I can get all the water I want with my 870...."
Now, I had to "assume" this idiot was making reference to a Remington 870.
I had to ask....There was never a response forth coming!

 

If asked I would provide water to almost anyone to the limits of my ability. If forced somehow to surrender water to an armed robber, he would be on the list for termination upon sight thereafter.

 

For bug in, I think a Berkefeld filter is a must. A few spare filters are a good idea. They are cleanable, so with a couple extras you should be good for the long haul. I have yet to purchase one, but it's near the top at the moment.

Some other bug in tips-
Keep your bath tub clean and chemical residue free (have a tarp readily available to cover it).
Buy bottled water by the jug and keep some handy (great for the initial days).
Refill old juice or milk jugs with water and keep them in your vehicle (lifesavers for either a radiator or drinking).
Route your roof runoff into an FDA approved barrel (available from soda companies). You can use it to water the garden now and to drink if need be. Gravity is your friend when placing the barrel.
Don't forget buckets. Have a few spare to carry water if needed.
I like the Aquatainers from Wally World. I prefer the cube shaped ones. They ride in the back of a truck well if need be.
Small water bottles/canteens/hydration bladders are also a must for travel.

 

Water procurement is a huge subject........My family is currently washing every milk jug, and mountain dew bottle available, and believe me my son-in-law drinks huge amounts of mountain dew. then filling them with water and sticking them in my daughters basement, we have close to a thousand gallons total right now, Most of the gallon jugs are are stored inside of boxes that were used for bleach, so 6 gal.per box. the mountain dew bottles go in soda flats. Thank god she has a big basement.

 

try a Water Try a WaterBob... i think it's posted else where in the forum...

WaterBOB®: emergency drinking water storage

 

the waterbob seems ok but we are trying to get as much as possible right now we have 300 gallons put up........and i know we can get the 55 gallon water barrels and that too is nice but those things get expensive and the bottles and jugs are just something we already have. My son-in-law alone puts 6 cases(of bottles) down his gut,and Skinny, right there is 36- 24oz. bottles every month. then my wife and I go through 4 or 5 2-liters a month which is about 64 oz. each, then there is the milk we use. a good 640 oz a month then mulitiply that by 2 so both families use about 10 gal per month. thats close to 20 gallons per month. we have been doing this 4 months now so we have 80 total gal. stored right now but it is getting ready to grow again because we are getting a bunch more milk jugs, i think right about 200 of them, that have been stored in heavy garbage bags, they were going to be recycled but we are getting them and filling them up. and storing them. I know it sounds like allot of work for just a little supplies, but so is canning your garden, or dehydrating fruits and vegtables. but its these things we do now in order to be able to survive when the SHTF

 

Costco has some nice water storage items on the web site. Shelf Reliance brand 55 gallon poly drum with hand powered pump: $109.99


Also they have other items available.
ETA 9/22/14 - Link expired, old post. Link deleted.
ghrit

 

Try and remember this folks:

Three minutes w/o air
three hours w/ shelter
three days w/o water
three weeks w/o food
three months w/o hope

I don't know how many of you all have tried to make a water still or wrap a bag around a branch but the volume of water gotten for the work involved is small. This is difficult in actual practice and while fun to build I would nor want to rely on this either short or long term. I have ceramic filters in the retreat and Kataydyns in the GOOD and BOB.

Water is really important folks

The time to build a well is NOT when you are thirsty.

 

Bump to re-read and add later.