Survival Water and the Importance of It

While the human body can go without food for days and even weeks, it can only go several days without water. Hunger pains can torment us but lack of water will kill us.

Just as lack of water can kill us, so can contaminated water.

Many animals and forms of life must have water to survive. If you are desperatley looking for water and you see bees or pigeons, for example, you know you are close to SOME source of water.

But even then, one drop of contaminated water can make you so sick that you will be too weak to travel any further.

We have drank water from waterfalls gushing out the side of a mountain many times and never gotten sick...but are much more cautious about drinking water from a stream or creek bed. Don't let a clear stream fool you as you have no idea what may be upstream. There could be a rotting deer carcass lying in the creek!

There is the age old rule that stands true, though...a lively bubbling stream cleans itself in 30 feet of flowing over rocks and sands...

It is an old folks tale that will tell you that anything a dog drinks from is safe... they drink from TOILETS, you know! =)

Smell or lack of smell is nothing you can go by, either. Sulfurous water stinks terribly but if it is boiled or not polluted, it is safe to drink.

Your body can actually build an immunity to certain water pollutions which is why when we travel to foreign countries we can violently sick with one sip of their water while the natives drink it by the gallon and don't appear to be affected by it at all.

Never take a risk with a questionable water source.

You can get rid of most germs in water by simply boiling it, if you have the means to do so. How long depends on the elevation and how contaminated it is, etc, but a good rule of thumb is ten minutes.

No need to boil any longer than that. Boiling it longer will only evaporate precious water and burn up your fuel source.

Ten minutes even when you are in a hurry is much better than spending weeks or months trying to get better again. There is not much else that can get you as violently sick as contaminated water can.

There are also water purifier systems that can be bought online and stuck into a survival pack but a small kettle is a basic means of making sure you have good survival water to drink and cook with.

Boiled water tastes quite flat and if you pour it back and forth between several containers or buckets, it will add some air and flavor back into it or if you are in a hurry, add a pinch of salt to it.

It is better to drink lots of tea than to go without enough water to drink just because it doesn't taste so great!

Click on the picture below to access water purifiers...