Sourcing water in a survival situation

How to source water

When looking for water you want to find a source that is not polluted and does not have salt content. If you cannot purify water, here are a few places to look for somewhat clean drinking water. If you have a way to purify water, then make sure you purify the water. Here are a few ways to collect water;

• Use pots, pans, dishes, or other devices to collect rainwater.
• You can find drinkable water in toilet tanks.
• If you have time, fill up your bathtubs with water, this can last you a couple of days.
• Hot water heaters also generally have clean water in them, in order to access this water, turn on the handle at the bottom of the tank (the overflow valve). Make sure the water is not too rusty, and if it is, you can run it through a coffee filter.
• Ice bins can also provide safe drinking water as long as the bin itself (which it is supposed to be) is clean. Again, if there are impurities, and not contamination, you can filter them out with a coffee filter.
• If you are desperate, you can drink stream water that is clear and flowing. It likely will not have contamination, but it is always safest to at least boil spring water.

Purify water

Things you will need;

• Empty plastic bottle
• Fireproof container (metal pan, clay pot)
• Large volume container with a lid
• Safely collected water, which is water from streams, creeks, or rivers that are not polluted. You also want to avoid water with salt content, water that is stagnant, or water that has any type of odor to it.

To create a homemade water filter using a bottle, you will need a plastic bottle, a knife or pair of scissors, activated charcoal or charcoal from a fire, sand, gravel, coffee filter or cloth, and dirty water that needs to be filtered. Here are the steps to make a water filter out of a bottle:

1. Start by cutting the bottom part of the plastic bottle off. This will serve as the container for your filter.
2. Layer the inside of the bottle with activated charcoal or charcoal from a fire, followed by a layer of sand, and then a layer of gravel. These layers will help filter out impurities from the water.
3. Place a coffee filter or a piece of cloth at the mouth of the bottle to prevent the filter materials from escaping.
4. Pour the dirty water into the bottle and let it filter through the layers of charcoal, sand, and gravel, and collect in your fireproof container.
5. Boil the water in the fireproof container.
6. Have a larger, covered, and clean container to store water, and collect additional rainwater in for future use.

By following these steps, you can create a simple yet effective water filter using a plastic bottle and some basic materials. Remember that while this method can help remove some impurities, it may not make the water completely safe to drink, especially if it contains harmful bacteria or viruses. It’s always best to purify water from unknown sources by boiling or using water purification tablets whenever possible.