Water in the Wild

The first point to keep in mind is that you can find water in the wild or in the city. If you happen to be camping, fishing or hiking during a disaster, water tends to be more plentiful than in the city. In the wilderness, water is found in abundance in lakes, streams, creeks, ponds, wetlands, rivers and rock crevasses.

You can obtain water from certain edible plants like wild vegetables or berries or also from plant leaves.

One of the problems with wilderness water is that it is untreated. This means it may contain any of a number of organisms or toxins that include:

• Viruses
• Bacteria
• Worms
• Larva
• Protozoa (microscope animals)
• Chemical pollutants
• Mineral pollutants
• Animal feces
• Plant toxins

Most of these micro-organisms, organisms and pollutants can be eliminated with filtering or boiling. In some cases, adding chemicals like chlorine can purify the water from the wild. However, you do need to know what you are doing to ensure your water supply is safe for drinking.