Making Water Potable
One of the most fundamental elements of life, and to potentially surviving a wilderness emergency, is potable water. Yet, the methods to making contaminated water safe to drink is often misunderstood.
The process involves two steps, not just one, as many believe or are told, even by the staff at big-box outdoor retail stores. So, remember, making water potable involves both filtration and purification.
Both steps are needed because, depending on your chosen methods, not all necessarily remove the pathogens that will make you sick, namely parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Most manufactured filters will remove relatively big critters, like parasites and bacteria, but not viruses. In turn, many purifications methods will not be fully effective if water hasn’t been initially filtered.
There are several methods to filter water, whether it is a piece of equipment or some improvised means. Such examples include:
- Sawyer MINI Water Filtration System
- Lifestraw
- Bandana
- Improvised three-stage filter
In turn, water can be purified through thermal, radiation, and chemical means. Such examples include:
- Thermal … bring water to a rolling boil
- Radiation … SteriPEN, or even simply putting water in a clear bottle and placing it in sunlight
- Chemical … Iodine or chlorine
Whichever combination of steps that you decide to use, this will help you make safe drinking water in a wilderness survival situation, urban disaster, even a trip overseas.
Personally, I tend to recommend water treatment products from MSR. In particular, I carry on my outdoor adventures the Miniworks EX Microfilter. It is a pump that uses a ceramic core as the filter. But don’t think that this is a modern concept … Ceramic filters had been used in Central America at least a few hundred years ago (they would pour water from local streams into a ceramic pot and use the water that seeped out). Then, once I filter my water, I add 5 drops of common household bleach to every liter collected to then purify it.
This is just an overview, so consider taking a course to learn more, like our Basic Wilderness Survival course.
