“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” -Samuel Taylor Coleridge (born 1772 – died 1834)

The first and most obvious fact is that water is an absolute necessity. Without water, life—animal, plant, or human—cannot exist. Water comprises approximately 75 percent of the human body. Without adequate water, the body ceases to function.

Water is required for the maintenance of life; researchers have investigated the absolute minimum amount of water required for human survival. Regular intake of water is needed to maintain a person’s water balance, as water lost through normal activities must be restored. The minimum water requirement for replacement purposes, for an “average” person, has been estimated to be approximately 1 gallon per day, given average temperate climate conditions.

In addition to drinking requirements, water is traditionally used for sanitation purposes for the disposal of human waste. Effective waste disposal has many health benefits as it serves to control the spread of disease. Humans also have basic hygiene needs for personal washing and bathing, and for food preparation.

Water Storage

Being able to turn on the faucet and get thousands of gallons of fresh, clean water with no effort and for very little cost has spoiled us. What do you do it if stops flowing or your normal supply gets contaminated? If you don’t have water then you’ll die fast. There are several options. You can get a filter or a purification system but in that case you need access to water to filter. You can build a rain catchment system but you need it to rain on a regular basis for that to work. That leaves storage. It’s the easiest system to have in place before a crisis hits. It can be done extremely inexpensively. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need about 1 gallon per day per person. That is a very small amount and it will take a lot of discipline to go from living off of city water to living off of what you have stored in your garage.

There are several different options for water storage. The first is to think about all of the containers in your home that already store water. The tanks in your toilets have fresh, relatively clean water in them. Your hot water heater has a lot of water in it. Your pipes might even have some water in them if a disaster hits fast. If you have some forewarning you can fill up any buckets, bathtubs, sinks and other containers at the first opportunity. A very good option is a water BOB (search google.com for “water bob”). It’s a large plastic water bladder that fits in your bathtub that you can fill instead of filling the water directly into your tub. That’s a lot of standing water to keep fresh for any period of time. Bathtub floors aren’t the cleanest surfaces, either. If you don’t have a water bob then just make sure that you add some bleach to your bathtub after you fill it up. A drop per gallon is the typical ratio.

Now that you know what you can do if you find out that a disaster is about to hit lets talk about what you can do now while the disaster is still hypothetical. Plastic bottles make great water containers. Any time I finish a 2l bottle of soda I wash it out, fill it up with water and add it to my stock. I do the same with bottles of vegetable oil, juice, etc. Basically anything that’s a clear plastic that had something in it that you either drank or ate should be safe to fill up with water. Just make sure that you add a dab of bleach to it. Glass is great, too, but you don’t see that used very often anymore unless you drink a lot of hard liquor.

Another option is to use water storage containers. You can pick these up at most sporting goods stores or Wal-Mart for less than $10. They generally range from 5-7 gallons. They usually come with a spigot attachment. Some sporting goods stores sell slightly larger ones in the 15 gallon range. You can also get online and order 5 gallon water cans from several online merchants for a reasonable price. Check Sportsmansguide.com often.

The problem with that type of storage is that it’s not efficient. 10 5 gallon jugs takes up a lot of space. If you want to get bigger I’d start by looking at 55 gallon food grade plastic drums. If you have a soda bottling plant nearby you can usually pick these up for about $15 each. You might have to clean them out and since they contained soda syrup before you got your hands on them you might be stuck with water that never quite loses that faint Dr Pepper flavor. Either install a spigot or get a siphon. I’m planning on getting a simple siphon in the near future. I’ll let you all know how it works out. If you’re going to store water in 55 gallon drums make sure and put a wood pallet under it. I’ve heard of leakage problems. It’s probably got something to do with 55 gallons of water pushing down on plastic that’s up against something as hard as concrete over a long period of time. I don’t imagine that the plastic would hold up forever.

Now that we’ve got the cheap solutions out of the way let’s start thinking about where you can spend some money. Unless I lived in the boonies I wouldn’t consider a tank bigger than what I could fit in my garage, a shed or my basement. You’d be very surprised how much water you can fit in a relatively small container, though. The biggest problem that I see with a large water container in the city is that if you actually have to utilize it then it’s probably time to get the hell out of dodge in the first place.

There are plenty of solutions to ensure that you have fresh, clean water through a disaster. Water storage probably won’t get you very far (maybe a few weeks unless you’re really hardcore) but a few weeks is usually all that you’ll need. For the urban survivalist you’ll want to consider more portable options in the event of a catastrophe. If something lasts for a few weeks or more then even living out of a tent in a national forest somewhere will start to look good.

A lot of has been written about “purifying” water and how various methods of “purifying” are best. Before we even consider how to make water safe, perhaps we should consider what makes it unsafe.

Part 1 – The Contaminants

There are two main classifications of contaminants we need to concern ourselves with – organisms (living creatures) and chemicals (which may be organic or inorganic in nature but are not alive).

Organism Hazards

There are a large number of types of organisms that can exist in the water. The hazards in drinking water are small – very small. I’ll include rough size ranges when describing them. For consistency I’ll give all sizes in microns (a micron is one thousandth of a millimetre or one millionth of a metre. These include:

Viruses

A virus is a piece of nucleic acid wrapped in a coat of protein. It is not a cell and can only reproduce and grow by infecting a host where it inserts its nucleic acid into host cells. Examples of water borne viruses include Hepatitis and Rotavirus A virus is the smallest of the organic hazards we are discussing – they range in size from 0.3microns to 0.01microns.

Bacteria

Bacteria are single celled organisms with a complete set of nucleic acid (RNA and DNA) and are much larger than viruses (up to 100 times). Over 90% of bacteria are harmless or beneficial to humans but some are dangerous. Examples of dangerous bacteria include Cholera and TyphoidBacteria measure 0.5microns to 5 microns

Protozoa.

Protozoa are single celled creatures. Larger and more complex than bacteria, they are commonly found in both water and soil. They are generally invisible to the naked eye – they range in size from ten microns to half a millimetre (or 500 microns) Some protozoa have the ability to form cysts.

Cysts

A cyst is a hard walled form of a micro-organism such as Giardia or Cryptospyridium, These cysts can survive in water or fecal matter for a long time and in conditions that the protozoa would not. Chlorine and Iodine for example may not reliably kill cryptospyridium cysts

Chemical Hazards

Many chemicals can be found in water – these include metals (lead, arsenic, mercury), nitrates / nitrites and many more. Their presence can be natural or the result of human activity. Mining can cause the presence of metals in the water supply (particularly in less regulated parts of the world), agricultural run off of fertilisers and pesticides are another common cause of chemical pollution. Chemical contaminants have to be separated from the water to render it safe since they cannot be killed as organisms can.

Part 2 – The Treatments

Heat / Boiling

Heating water to a high enough temperature for a long enough time will kill all dangerous organisms. Advice from reputable sources varies but consensus seems to suggest that raising water to 100C will have killed all bacteria and viruses. Cysts are a little tougher and advice is to maintain 100 degrees C for one minute to be safe. The amount of “boil time” advised by “authorities” varies. There are two reasons for this: Altitude (and consequential air pressure) alters the boiling point of water. To take an extreme example, the pressure at the summit of Everest is about a third of sea level air pressure. At this altitude, water boils around 70C. Since 82C is the temperature at which bacteria are instantly killed, the problem is obvious. US EPA advice is that cysts which are probably the toughest of the organisms will be killed by ten minutes of exposure to water at 70C.

Turbidity.

This is mucky murky water to you and me. Many micro organisms are found in soil. If soil particles are floating in water, they can insulate the organisms they contain from the rise in temperature for a period of time. The murkier the water, the longer the boil time should be sustained. Better yet is to use a coarse filter to remove larger soil particles.

Conclusion

Clear water brought to a rolling boil at low altitude will be safe from organisms. The higher the altitude and the murkier the water, the longer a boil should be maintained (to a maximum of 15 minutes for dirty water whilst standing on the summit of Everest).

Filtration

There are really three subsets of filtration – I would term them “coarse”, “fine” and “ultra fine”. Coarse filtration.

Coarse filtration will not remove either organic or chemical hazards since the barrier apertures are large enough to allow even protozoa to pass through. What coarse filtration will do however is screen out all but the finest of the particulates that cause turbidity. This will render boiling and chemical sterilisation far more effective and also hugely improve the palatability of water. The most common form of coarse filtration is the Milbank bag – a tightly woven canvas bag with a design optimised for coarse filtration.

Fine Filtration

 

Fine filtration will certainly remove protozoa and cysts and the better quality filters will also remove bacteria. To look out a quality fine filter, look for “absolute” filtration of 1 micron or less. The most common form of fine filtration is a ceramic filter (often used in combination with other approached described later). A high quality ceramic filter will last indefinitely (although other combined products will not). It is important to note that fine filters, because they can trap bacteria, can become a breeding ground and source of contaminants. In order to alleviate this some form of secondary barrier is often included in the fine filter – often silver is used to prevent the bacteria surviving. A ceramic filter will also form a barrier to some metals and organic matter (but by no means all).

Ultra Fine Filtration

There are portable filters available that can filter out viruses. These are relatively new to the market and are still relatively expensive. I addition there is the process known as reverse osmosis. This is a very fine filter which water molecules are forced through with a pressure of 40 – 80 psi. Reverse osmosis can remove not only viruses but also salts (e.g. producing fresh water from salt water) and metal salts

Chemical

There are a variety of chemicals that will kill micro organisms – perhaps the most common are Iodine and Chlorine based products. ChlorineChlorine based products attack the cell walls of organisms and then oxidise the intra cellular madder rendering harmless.

Bleach

The cheapest method of adding chlorine to water is to use plain, unscented household bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite). Add one drop (0.05ml) per litre – two if the water is cloudy and leave for at least 30 minutes. This works best in warmer water and may not be effective against protozoa and cysts. Household bleach is not the best solution for travelling as persistent shaking can result in loss of chlorine activity.

Chlorine tablets

Tablets are far more convenient to carry, less subject to degradation by motion than household bleach they are a slightly different chemical (Sodium dichloroisocyanurate). The most common form uses 1 tablet per litre (although I would use two in cloudy (turbid) water). Water should be left for 10 minutes after the tablet has been added. Puritabs (the most common type) claim effectiveness against Giardia. Note that acid pH water can reduce the efficacy of chlorine based products as an agent. IodineIodine is considered slightly more effective than chlorine based chemical approaches against protozoa and cysts, however even iodine based preparations did remove more than 90% of cysts in some tests unless left for 24 hours. There are some health concerns over prolonged use of iodine (with the potential to lead to goitre). It is wise for young children, pregnant people and those with iodine allergy (or shellfish allergy which can be an indicator) to avoid the use of iodine-based preparations. Some find the taste of iodine preparations unpleasant and use a “neutraliser” to remove the taste. It should be noted that adding the neutraliser renders the iodine ineffective so it should only be added after the correct waiting period (30 minutes to 1 hour if in doubt). It is worth mentioning that the “neutraliser” is soluble ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). Soluble vitamin C from the pharmacy will work just as well (and cost less). The risk of using a neutraliser is that any left in your water bottle will reduce the efficacy next time iodine is used.

Tincture of Iodine

Tincture of Iodine (Alcoholic Iodine Solution BP) – this is readily available from pharmacies and contains (generally) 2% iodine. Suggested doses vary, but to deactivate cycts, five drops per litre and a half to one hour wait period allowed at normal temperatures (more if cold) Note that iodine should not be stored in plastic but in glass bottles with paper lined Bakelite caps. Iodine can leach in plastic bottles. This clearly carries some risk of breakage and iodine is messy stuff!

Iodine based tablets

The most common type of these is “Potable Aqua” – they are tablet form Tetraglycine hydroperiodide. Each tablet contains 4mg of iodine. They are slow to dissolve and should be used up when the bottle has been opened. Iodine crystals It is possible to make your own iodine solution by the Kahn–Visscher method. This is done by putting 5g of iodine in a glass jar (about 30ml) with a paper lined Bakelite lid. The jar is filled with water. The saturated solution will disinfect about 2 litres of water but care must be taken not to draw up any crystals. A commercial version of this is Polar Pur.

Ultraviolet

Its worth noting that when harmful micro organisms are exposed to the ultraviolet light, their RNA /DNA is disrupted by absorbing the UV this makes the organism sterile and safe. UV is found commonly in “inline” systems for water drawn from wells and bore holes. It also has more “portable” variants – notably the “steri pen” battery powered UV water treatment system. Even leaving water in a clear bottle in strong sunlight will have a beneficial effect id done for a long enough period and in strong enough light. It should be noted though that any “cloudiness” in the water will render UV treatment ineffective so it is best combined with filtration.

Adsorption

One very useful item in water purification is activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is not the stuff from your barbecue (although its chemically similar). It is charcoal that has been altered by a special manufacturing techniques to make it highly porous. So porous in fact that a gram of activated charcoal has a surface area of up to 2,000 square metres. Activated carbon adsorbs (chemically bonds with) certain chemicals as they pass through it thereby trapping them and removing them from the water. This is not true of all chemicals – some are trapped: Mercury, organic arsenic complexes, 245 T (dioxin) and chlorine. Its worth noting that chlorine is adsorbed – your carbon filter will remove the chemical taste from water but also prevent it being efficacious – always filter first and then chemically treat! Its worth noting that activated charcoal can trap and become a breeding ground for bacteria. Some contain other materials (such as silver) to inhibit such bacterial growth however it is a good idea to regularly flush your carbon filter with clean decontaminated water to remove bacteria. Activated charcoal is used in two forms – granular and block. Block both filters and adsorbs and is often seen as the superior product.

Resin Filters

Resin filters act on an ion exchange principle – they remove cations (e.g. lead and mercury) and anions (e.g. chlorides) with harmless ions such as hydroxyl (OH). Brita filters are a common example of ion exchange filters. Quality field use filters often combine activated charcoal with resin filters.

Distillation

Distillation is often thought to render all water safe. In effect water is heated to the point of evaporation and the steam gathered and condensed. The heating action will kill all micro organisms and many chemicals (with a lower boiling point than water) will be left behind and not come across in the distillate. It is a fuel heavy and mechanism to produce large quantities of fresh water although a variety of techniques (including the “solar still” and “connected bottles” will produce small quantities in extremis). It is worth noting that some chemicals (e.g. methanol) have a lower boiling point than water and can come across in distillation.

Part 3 – Practical Solutions

Since most common diseases in a survival situation are waterborne, polluted drinking water must be rigorously avoided.

Never ever take the slightest unnecessary risk with questionable water. Anyone can generally get along a while longer without a drink. One drop of contaminated water can so sicken that if nothing worse occurs, people will become too weak to travel.

MUDDY WATERS CLEANING METHODS

If water is muddy, floating clay particles can be settled out by adding a pinch of alum. This, however, requires at least 12 hours waiting and lots of wood!

Polluted or dirty water can be filtered by straining through closely woven garments such as a felt hat or a pair of thick drill trousers. This will remove sediments only, not purify.

TO CLEAN and PURIFY MUDDY WATER

Step 1 Let it rest during 12 hours.

Step 2 Let it circulate inside a bamboo stick or other tube measuring 1 yard, filled with sand and the end packed with grass.

Step 3 Then pour water through a cloth filled with sand which filters the mud.

Step 4 Boil that water afterward for a minimum of 10 minutes.

TO MAKE A FILTER

Water can be cleared by filtration although this process will neither affect any dissolved minerals nor ensure purity.

Water is polluted by animal and mineral matter rather than by discoloring vegetable substances such as grass roots and dead leaves.

The first two can not be removed with any sureness by ordinary filtering. This filter is to clear water by straining it through solid material.

A “wild” filter can be made without too much trouble particularly in sandy areas by scooping a hole a few feet from the source of supply and letting the water seep into it.

HOT STONES METHOD

Polluted water can be sterilized by adding hot stones to the water in the filter. The water will soon boil becoming sterile and safe drink.

In areas where there is the likelihood of water being unsanitary (near cities or villages), it is always safer to boil before drinking or add a pinch of chloride of lime.

Water which is very muddy, dirty or stagnant can be clarified through a good filter made from a pair of drill trousers with one leg turned inside out and put inside the other leg.

The cuff is tied and the upper part held open by 3 stakes driven well into the ground. Fill with the dirty water and then drop in the hot stones.

The water will filter through and MUST be caught by a container and poured pack until the dirt has been filtered. Boil the water at least 10 minutes. Remember, just moistening your lips with polluted water can make you sick for days; it can even kill you.

SIMPLE CHEMICAL PURIFICATION

One can buy the chemicals at most sporting goods and drug stores. Since their purifying action depends upon the release of chlorine gas, the tablets should be fresh and the container kept tightly closed, its contents dry.

NO PURIFICATION OF WATER BY CHEMICAL MEANS IS AS SAFE AS BOILING.

Two tabs of Iodine will ordinarily make a quart of water safe for human consumption in 1/2 hour.

If the water is muddy or its integrity seems particularly questionable, it is good insurance to double at least the amount of Halazone and standing time to be sure.

Care must be taken with chemical purifiers to disinfect all points of contact with the container, so that the sterilized water will not be easily reinfected.

If a jar or canteen is being used together with Iodine, replace the cover loosely and wait 30 minutes so the tablets can dissolve. Then shake the contents thoroughly, allowing some of the water to spill out over the top and lips of the holder. Tighten the cover and leave it that way for the time required before using any of the water.

CHLORIDE OF LIME

Chlorine in some form is regarded as the most dependable disinfectant for drinking water. When introduced in proper quantities, it destroys any existing organisms. For as long as enough remains in the water, it prevents recurring contamination. It is better to err moderately on the side of over-dosage than not enough.

EMERGENCY CHLORINATING DONE IN 3 STEPS

1) Dissolve one heaping tablespoon of chloride of lime in 8 quarts of water.

2) Add one part of this solution to 100 parts of the water to be disinfected.

3) Wait at least 30 minutes before using. The stock solution must be kept tightly corked in a cool, dark place and even then, it should be frequently renewed.

Tincture of iodine can be used as an emergency purifier. A drop of this fresh antiseptic, mixed thoroughly with one quart of water in the same manner as the old Halazone pills, will generally make the water fit to drink in 30 minutes.

Both the amount and time may be doubled if this precaution seems warranted.

IODINE WATER PURIFICATION TABLETS

Chlorine-releasing compound can not be relied upon in semi-tropical and tropical areas.

Water in those regions must be sterilized either by boiling or by iodine water purification tablets containing the active ingredient Tetraglycine Hydroperiodine, These measures have been adopted as standard by the armed services of the USA.

These tablets have been proved effective against all the common water-borne bacteria. Added to water each tablet frees 8 milligrams of iodine which act as a water purification factor.

One tablet will purify one quart of water. These tablets too must be kept dry. The bottle must be recapped tightly after opening.

Step 1 Add one tablet to a quart of water in container with cap.

Step 2 Wait 3 minutes.

Step 3 Shake water thoroughly, allowing a little water to leak out and disinfect the screw threads before tightening the cap.

Step 4 Wait 10 minutes before drinking or adding beverage powders and if water is very cold, wait 20 minutes.

Step 5 If water contains decaying vegetation or is murky and discolored, use 2 tablets for every one quart.

Step 6 Make certain that the iodine disinfects any part of the container which will come in contact with your lips.

Bleach for water purification

First let water stand until particles settle. Pour the clear water into an uncontaminated container and add Regular per instructions below.* Mix well. Wait 30 min. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat dose. Wait 15 min. Sniff again. Keep an eyedropper taped to your emergency bottle of Clorox Bleach, since purifying small amounts of water requires only a few drops. See chart* suggestions for storage bottle replacement.

Don’t pour purified water into contaminated containers. To sanitize water jugs first, see instructions**.

Without water and electricity, even everyday tasks are tough. In lieu of steaming hot water, sanitize dishes with a little Bleach. Just follow the directions below to keep dishes clean.

 

*Ratio of Bleach to Water for Purification

2 drops of Regular Bleach per quart of water

8 drops of Regular Bleach per gallon of water

1/2 teaspoon Regular Bleach per five gallons of water

If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Bleach.

(Only useregular Bleach (not Fresh Scent or Lemon Fresh). To insure that Bleach is at its full strength, replace your storage bottle every three months.)

**(Bleach Sanitizing Solution)

Mix 1 tablespoon Regular Bleach with one gallon of water. Always wash and rinse items first, then let each item soak in Bleach Sanitizing Solution for 2 minutes. Drain and air dry.

 

You can check either at sportsmansguide.com or EBay.com to check for water filers. One good portable choice is the “Steripen” filter.