Outdoor Survival Guide/Water

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Humans can survive 3 days on average without water -- less when it is very hot or one is very active (this, as opposed to weeks without food). A single day without water significantly reduces bodily and, more importantly, mental performance.

FINDING WATER

• You should have a map that shows water sources in the area where you plan to operate.
• Water is most likely found where it is carried by natural terrain features such as ravines, gullies and washes.
• Game trails leading down-slope may lead to water, but it could be miles away.
• Water is more likely found in green areas with a good amount of vegetation.
• Collect falling rainwater with a tarp, tent, or even clothing. It is safe. Funnel or wring it into containers (bottles, canteen, pots... or you).
• Quickly running water is more likely to be safe than large slow moving rivers or water in ponds and lakes.
• Dew can be a water source when it condenses on any surface. Sop it up with a sponge or cloth.
• You can get water by distillation from common leaves, grasses, and other green plants. Place an armload in a plastic bag/container, then leave it out in an area where it will get a lot of warmth and sunlight. Make sure that you don't use any poisonous plants, and that the container is sealed, so no water vapor escapes. Several such containers will be needed for a single person.
• DO NOT drink seawater unless it is distilled! It takes twice as much water for your body to process seawater as you get from it.
• NEVER drink urine, even if it is filtered.
• Avoid eating snow in cold weather; doing so can significantly lower body temperature (as can becoming dehydrated) and even lead to shock.
• Try to avoid stagnant water. It is more difficult to make safe.
• Try to avoid brackish water. Purification or disinfection will not remove salt from brackish water.
• Of the methods discussed above, only distillation and charcoal reduce risks from chemicals dissolved in water. Try to be aware of the risk of chemically-contaminated water in your area of operation.

MAKING WATER SAFER

• You should always presume that water found in the outdoors contains disease-causing organisms. They are present far from any signs of human habitation. These organisms may have no effect on you if you drink the water without treatment OR they make cause debilitating illness or even death (for example, giardia, cryptosporidium, cholera, typhoid, etc... none of which you want). Therefore, you should do what you can to make the water safer.
• Boiling is the most reliable method to kill all organisms in water. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Boil several minutes if at high altitude since water boils at a lower temperature at altitude. Even bringing water to temperature unfomfortably hot to the touch kills most (but not all) organisms, but boil if you can.
• Commercial filters in working condition and used correctly can remove all organisms except viruses.
• Chlorine dioxide (NOT "bleach," which is chlorine hydroxide) used according to directions will kill all organisms in water. Wait times may be four hours.
• Water in a closed, clear container (Think 2 ltr. softdrink bottle.) if exposed to a day of strong sunlight is usually safe (See SODIS).
• Water obtained by distillation (See above.) is usually safe.
• A well dug ten feet (3 meters) or more from a body of water and dug to a depth below the water level in that body of water, will gradually fill with water that is safer than the source body of water.
• A filter of layers of grass, sand, and charcoal (from a fire site) inside a cone or cylinder of bark, plastic, aluminum foil or the like, will make water safer.
• A filter of 6-8 layers of tightly-woven cloth will make water safer.
• Allowing particles in water to settle to the bottom of a container and then treating the clearer water towards the top improves the resutls of treatment. Such "settling" of water, alone, makes water safer.
• Any method that makes water safer, such as use of "bleach" (Chlorine hydroxide) or iodine, is better than not treating the water at all. Putting it another way, killing or otherwise eliminating some of the wee nasties is better than leaving them all for your body to fight.

AND

• Bring "enough" safe water with you where ever you go OR have a method to render safe water from known sources. Be prepared.
• If you have no water, avoid eating fats and proteins becasue your body uses water to process them. Juicy vegetable foods may be sources of water.
• Always try to keep the sun off of you, regardless of how much clothing or sunblock you are wearing. It heats your body up over time, so you lose a LOT more water from your body from the extra sweating.
• When melting snow in the winter, first melt a small amount in the bottom of a pot and then add more snow slowly. If you fill a pot with snow and put it over a fire, the snow at the bottom may subliminate directly into a gas, leaving the bottom of the pot dry and vulnerable to melting.
• Pouring boiled water back and forth between pots after boiling will remove the flat taste. If you are very thirsty, you will not notice a flat taste.
• If in the desert, do not remove your clothing as your sweat will evaporate more quickly and you will dehydrate faster. Ideally you want light colored, lightweight, loose clothing that covers as much skin as possible.
• Do your work in the early mornings and at dusk to avoid the hottest part of the day. Get extra sleep during that time.
• Your stomach is the best water container. People have been found dead of dehydration with water still in their canteens. Don't drink more than you need to, but don't be stingy with it either.
• Always try to protect yourself as much as possible from the wind, it can dehydrate you in mere hours of exposure in areas with little cover, particularly mountains and plains.

See also

• Outdoor Survival Guide/Water in the desert