savageagle
HamRadio/Office of Emergency Services/Fire-EMT-SAR
PART #1
We take water for granted -- until we're dying of thirst and kicking ourselves for not being prepared for a disaster or learning what it takes to find and procure safe drinking water in any environment.
How to Find Water Anywhere
Going into a disaster or emergency situation, one of two things will either be in your favor, or won't be in your favor.
That is this:
You'll have supplies on hand for survival, including water, and something to carry water in.
Or you won't have supplies on hand for survival. You have zero water handy and on top of that the sun is high in the sky and it's hot -- really hot.
The fact that you're on this website shows an interest in survival; whether that's wilderness survival or simply being prepared to evacuate your region should a catastrophic disaster strike and an extreme scenario present itself.
You, I, and other survivalists out there -- or those just now in recent months taking an interest survival -- by now know all about the essential survival supplies -- items that are needed to stay alive and to defend ourselves and navigate ourselves out of harm's way to safety.
One of the top items on our list of important survival supplies is drinking water. We need water to stay hydrated. We need water to help keep our body temperature down during physical exertion.
Plain and simple, we need water to stay alive. Water is so important that it shouldn't be rationed, simply to help you and anyone you're with get by. Instead, a great deal of planning and effort should be made so that you always have plenty of water to go around and new ways to replenish water supplies.
Bottled Water for an Emergency
If things go right for us when an emergency takes place, we'll have bottled water handy, as well as secondary supplies like portable (backcountry) water filters, water purifying tablets, and of course a pot for boiling water, for the purposes of making it safe to drink (when water comes from places like ponds, fountains, streams, and even toilet basins -- the top part of a residential toilet).
If you have both a portable water filter and a means to boil water, boil water as your first choice to purify it -- unless it's clear that this is just a short term disaster. However, if we're talking about a widespread disaster, use your portable water filter only when boiling water isn't an option (for example, you're in a hurry and that portable water filter is a time-saver). The reason is that your water filter only has so much life in it; though some water filters can filter several month's worth of water.
Water Procurement - Finding or Creating Drinking Water
Let's look at four scenarios going into a disaster or emergency situation and how each scenario relates to water procurement -- finding or creating drinking water.
Water Scenario 1 -- Everything Goes Right
In this scenario you've got access to your survival supplies when the disaster strikes -- this could be bottled water both at home and in the trunk of your car as well as bottled water at your place of employment, ready to go should you have to flee a disaster if it strikes while you're at work.
With an evacuation route in mind -- and a back-up route should the first route fail -- (such as a bridge being destroyed in an earthquake or a flood washing over a major highway) you set out on foot, your plan to escape the city.
Because you had bottled water on hand, you have enough water to last you a day or two in warm weather. With that water filter device in your backpack, you have the ability to quickly purify water from lakes and streams along the way, even fountains and toilet basins if it comes down to it.
Finally, with that pot for boiling water (and a lighter and firestarter for getting a fire going), you've got several days worth of drinking water you can count on, and possibly several weeks' worth.
Boiling Water
This one's a no brainer: Scavenge materials (like a grill or pieces of metal you can use to set your pot on) and get a fire going so that you can boil water.
If you have a backpack packed with essential survival supplies (think a "72 hour survival kit" or mini "bug out" bag) you can have a single burner camp stove and a couple cans of propane inside, along with a few lighters (for when that propane runs out). You've got 2 - 3 hours of cooking time with that single can of propane.
Considering that you only need to get water to a rolling boil for one minute (that's the minimum amount of time needed to kill any bacteria and parasites), you can boil several liters of water over the next 2 to 4 days -- perfect for purifying water you find along your evacuation route.
This plan can be counted on in areas of lakes, streams, and ponds.
We take water for granted -- until we're dying of thirst and kicking ourselves for not being prepared for a disaster or learning what it takes to find and procure safe drinking water in any environment.
How to Find Water Anywhere
Going into a disaster or emergency situation, one of two things will either be in your favor, or won't be in your favor.
That is this:
You'll have supplies on hand for survival, including water, and something to carry water in.
Or you won't have supplies on hand for survival. You have zero water handy and on top of that the sun is high in the sky and it's hot -- really hot.
The fact that you're on this website shows an interest in survival; whether that's wilderness survival or simply being prepared to evacuate your region should a catastrophic disaster strike and an extreme scenario present itself.
You, I, and other survivalists out there -- or those just now in recent months taking an interest survival -- by now know all about the essential survival supplies -- items that are needed to stay alive and to defend ourselves and navigate ourselves out of harm's way to safety.
One of the top items on our list of important survival supplies is drinking water. We need water to stay hydrated. We need water to help keep our body temperature down during physical exertion.
Plain and simple, we need water to stay alive. Water is so important that it shouldn't be rationed, simply to help you and anyone you're with get by. Instead, a great deal of planning and effort should be made so that you always have plenty of water to go around and new ways to replenish water supplies.
Bottled Water for an Emergency
If things go right for us when an emergency takes place, we'll have bottled water handy, as well as secondary supplies like portable (backcountry) water filters, water purifying tablets, and of course a pot for boiling water, for the purposes of making it safe to drink (when water comes from places like ponds, fountains, streams, and even toilet basins -- the top part of a residential toilet).
If you have both a portable water filter and a means to boil water, boil water as your first choice to purify it -- unless it's clear that this is just a short term disaster. However, if we're talking about a widespread disaster, use your portable water filter only when boiling water isn't an option (for example, you're in a hurry and that portable water filter is a time-saver). The reason is that your water filter only has so much life in it; though some water filters can filter several month's worth of water.
Water Procurement - Finding or Creating Drinking Water
Let's look at four scenarios going into a disaster or emergency situation and how each scenario relates to water procurement -- finding or creating drinking water.
Water Scenario 1 -- Everything Goes Right
In this scenario you've got access to your survival supplies when the disaster strikes -- this could be bottled water both at home and in the trunk of your car as well as bottled water at your place of employment, ready to go should you have to flee a disaster if it strikes while you're at work.
With an evacuation route in mind -- and a back-up route should the first route fail -- (such as a bridge being destroyed in an earthquake or a flood washing over a major highway) you set out on foot, your plan to escape the city.
Because you had bottled water on hand, you have enough water to last you a day or two in warm weather. With that water filter device in your backpack, you have the ability to quickly purify water from lakes and streams along the way, even fountains and toilet basins if it comes down to it.
Finally, with that pot for boiling water (and a lighter and firestarter for getting a fire going), you've got several days worth of drinking water you can count on, and possibly several weeks' worth.
Boiling Water
This one's a no brainer: Scavenge materials (like a grill or pieces of metal you can use to set your pot on) and get a fire going so that you can boil water.
If you have a backpack packed with essential survival supplies (think a "72 hour survival kit" or mini "bug out" bag) you can have a single burner camp stove and a couple cans of propane inside, along with a few lighters (for when that propane runs out). You've got 2 - 3 hours of cooking time with that single can of propane.
Considering that you only need to get water to a rolling boil for one minute (that's the minimum amount of time needed to kill any bacteria and parasites), you can boil several liters of water over the next 2 to 4 days -- perfect for purifying water you find along your evacuation route.
This plan can be counted on in areas of lakes, streams, and ponds.