Chapter 6:  Finding Water

 

Water is vital if you plan to survive a Doomsday event of any magnitude.  We often take this vital component of life for granted because we live in a time when all we have to do is turn a handle and water comes pouring out of our faucets and shower-heads at a rate of several gallons per minute.  We use water to drink and cook our food.  We also use it to wash our bodies and our clothes.  It seems that water is always readily available.  But what if it wasn't?

 

In a Doomsday situation, the local water supply of your city might become contaminated or unsafe.  If the scenario resulted in power loss or other wide-range shutdowns, there simply might not be any access to the water supply, even if it was uncontaminated.  Even if your emergency were just a personalized event, such as being stranded in the wilderness, the loss of access to water could be devastating for unprepared individuals.

 

The first, and perhaps most widely accepted idea, is the use of bottled water.  Purchasing several cases of bottled water to have on hand in case of emergency is a great way to be prepared.  Even your smaller prepper kits, such as those you keep in your car, should include at least a few bottles of water to ensure that you are prepared if an emergency should arise.  This water doesn't have to be a specific brand name so even the low priced generic bottled waters will work for this purpose.

 

Unfortunately, there may be times when, due to an extended emergency situation, a stockpile of bottled water may not be sufficient to meet your needs.  In these cases, knowing how to find and purify water for use is an important skill to add to your mental preparation for Doomsday events.

 

Natural water sources, such as rain, snow or running streams, can provide for many of your needs in an emergency situation as long as certain precautions are adhered to.  Collected water, such as rain, is usually safe provided that the materials used to collect the water were clean and uncontaminated.  Use a sheet of plastic and empty bottles or containers to capture water from rain.  Melting snow or ice can also be used to produce water.

 

Standing water, like ponds, lakes or water collected in puddles may appear enticing at first glance but be extremely careful.  All water, no matter how clean it may appear, should be purified to ensure that it is safe for drinking.  This can be done in several ways, including the use of iodine tablets, specially made filters and distillation.

 

Iodine tablets are widely available in retail stores.  These tablets are used to remove viruses that may be present in water but they will not remove bacteria or parasites so additional filtration is required.

 

Filtration uses specially designed filters that allow water to pass through but block out various impurities, including bacteria, parasites and minerals, in the water supply.  When used in conjunction with iodine tablets, this system produces very pure and safe water for drinking and cooking in a relatively short amount of time.

 

Distillation evaporates the water, thus removing all impurities, and then the resulting steam is captured and cooled so that it is transformed back into water.  This provides the purest form of water in an emergency situation but can be very time consuming.  This method is so effective at removing impurities and dangerous organisms that even unusual water sources, such as urine or saltwater, can be transformed into safe, life preserving water in an emergency situation where other water sources are not available. 

 

The best method for emergency distilling of water is a solar distillation unit made from scrap plastic and a collector.  Due to the easy set-up and the set it and forget it aspect, this solar distillation unit is very common, even in non-emergency situations.  For a basic set up, dig a small pit a few inches into the ground.  Place your collector in the center of this pit.  Then stretch a dark plastic sheet across the pit and set rocks around the edge to hold the plastic in place, next press down on the plastic immediately over the location of your collector.  This should create a low point where all of the evaporated and re-condensed water will run down and drip into the collector.  This method uses the sun for fuel and can grab existing moisture out of the air to make water.  To increase productivity, you can dig a slightly deeper pit with a small mound in the middle to hold your collector.  Fill the moat around the mound with questionable water from puddles or other sources so the solar unit can distill this water as well.  If existing water is not on hand, plant materials, such as leaves or grass can also be used.

 

These are just a few basic means of ensuring that you have adequate water supplies for a survival situation.  There are many more techniques and tools, ranging from the very simple to the very complex, which will not fit into the limited confines of this beginner's manual for Doomsday preppers.  As a primer, these techniques will provide the necessities to keep you alive while you get started on the search for food or begin growing your own food in a Doomsday scenario.