It is a wonderful chance to see and experience the wonderful creations and views that the world has to offer. Taking a break to go for an adventure is found to be a great stress reliever.
But, will a sudden loss of water supply stop you from enjoying your vacation? No need to worry about that anymore. This article will introduce you to how to survive and turn contaminated water into a drinkable one.
How is Water Important in an Adventure?
Water is a vital necessity for every adventure you are about to take. It will be the major factor to help you survive by keeping you hydrated, especially if your adventure involves going out under the scorching sun. Juices or sodas may help you stay hydrated too, but only for a short period. As opposed to water, that will help you carry throughout the rest of the trip.
Is Any Water Drinkable?
Water is practically found anywhere and everywhere. Nonetheless, not all water is safe for drinking. Yes, all water may help you stay hydrated. But, not all will keep you healthy, well, and able.
If your trip involves going out in the wild, you will mostly find rainwater. It has been generally concluded that rainwater is safe to drink. Moreover, water found in the wild is twice as safe when collected through plants. Another drinkable water is melted snow, especially if your adventure happens to fall in the winter season.
There are a lot of means to provide yourself with water. You can collect from a stream or lake (take note: flowing water is safer than stagnant), dew, and many more. Despite the changes being high in looking for water, it is best recommended to always go through filtration and purification.
Later in the article, you will be enlightened about what filtration and purification are all about. As well as different methods on how to do them yourselves. But, before that, you need to know the different risks of drinking contaminated water and what causes the water to be so.
Sources of Water
There are three classifications to differentiate water sources. The surface, ground, and atmospheric water.
Surface Water. These include lakes, rivers, streams, and even the ocean. This water classification comes in contact with the ground and is exposed to the air for a long period. Surface water is the type that is most likely to get contaminated because it is open and unprotected from any viruses, bacteria, or its environment in general.
Atmospheric Water. Includes all forms of precipitation such as snow, rain, dew, mist, and alike. There is a small chance that this kind of water may be contaminated because it is technically exposed to its local environment.
Ground Water. This consists of springs, seeps, and underground aquifers. Among the three, this is the safest kind of water to drink. Generally, they already go through a filtering process with the help of rocks and soil.
Risks of Drinking Contaminated Water
There are numerous different types of bacteria and viruses found in untreated water. Drinking this kind of water will result in several illnesses in the body. There are certain kinds of bacteria and viruses that create different negative effects on the body. The most common consequences of drinking contaminated water are amoebiasis, giardiasis, intestinal infections, and many more.
Contaminants:
- Feces. Whether it may be of a human or animal, it still carries numerous bacteria and viruses.
- Protozoan Parasites. Cryptosporidium and Giardia are microscopic organisms that belong to this contaminant. They feed animals to reproduce. Upon drinking contaminated water that carries these organisms, the effects will be severe pain in the abdominal area and diarrhea.
- Escherichia Coli. Commonly known as the E.Coli bacteria. E.coli contributes a role when it comes to a person's digestion process. But, once presented into the upper digestive part through drinking contaminated water, food poisoning is bound to happen.
- Heavy Metals. Examples are mercury, lead, zinc, arsenic, and more. Several health problems will be acquired if ever carried inside the body, such as kidney problems, nervous system damage, and even cancer.
- Pesticides. Inorganic chemical compounds are utilized for agricultural purposes.
- Petroleum. Petroleum products such as Crude Oil contaminates our waters through leakages and spills.
There are a lot more contaminants present that can cause serious harm to our bodies of water. Other types include pharmaceutical drugs and medicines, industrial wastes, and sewage leaks.
Fun Fact: Only 2.5% of the world's water is freshwater.
That is why, whenever you go out for an adventure, it is best to be familiar and know how to filtrate and purify water. This is to ensure safe drinking water and prevent unnecessary sickness or infections.
Difference Between Filtration and Purification
It has been a common misconception that the process of Filtration and Purification is alike. Both of these terms have been used interchangeably for already quite some time. When in fact, there are unique distinctions that you need to familiarize yourself with to identify the difference between the two easily.
Awareness about these two water processes is very important. You do not want to end up suffering from intestinal infections just because you thought either one of these two is enough. There are cases that you might only need to filter or purify water alone for it to be drinkable. But, most cases ask to do both to make it safe for drinking.
Water Filtration
Water Filtration is the act of removing particular debris or bacteria found in the water by using a filtering object. There are a lot of things that qualify to be used for filtration. A few of them include a mesh, filtering cloth, a sieve, and alike.
The process of filtration is used to eliminate protozoa and bacteria. However, it does not guarantee a full cleaning process. Since filtration can not handle removing viruses that are carried by the water. Viruses are too microscopic for a mesh to filter alone. Furthermore, filtration maintains the natural taste of the water. As opposed to, purification which alters the taste of the water.
Water sources in the United States and Canada are found to be generally safe for drinking. As simple as a filtration process is enough to provide yourself with drinkable water.
Just keep in mind that filtration takes care of the water's impurities but does not necessarily make it safe for drinking.
Water Purification
On the other hand, water purification is the process of eliminating pathogens, such as viruses, that are found in water. However, purified water is still considered dirty because it does not effectively remove other contaminants. This brings us to the conclusion that it is best to filter the water first, then purify it afterward. This ensures much safer water for drinking.
Now that you have known the difference between Filtration and Purification, it is time to familiarize yourself with the different methods of doing these processes. You will find below DIY (do-it-yourself) methods as well as Commercialized methods.
Water Filtration and Purification Methods
Beforehand, it is best to recommend always use the two water processes. Filtration will be done first to remove impurities and bacteria. Purification comes next to kill pathogens and other microscopic organisms that can not be removed through filtering.
Filtering Methods
1. Wood and Tubing
This is considered the slowest method yet is the most effective DIY method for water filtration. You can be able to produce approximately three to four liters of water a day. All you need is sapwood and a piece of tubing. If tubing is not available, some alternatives could be cordage, a water bottle, or anything similar to a tube shape.
Cut a small piece of sapwood (a couple of inches long by an inch or so wide), and wrap it tightly with some sort of plastic tubing if available. You’re going to be using the branch as a filter, pouring water onto one end, and letting it drip out the other into a container, so the tubing functions to ensure that untreated water isn’t running down the side and into your receptacle.
How to do it:
- Cut a small piece of Sapwood.
- Insert it into the tubing. Make sure that it is tight and secured that no flowing water could pass easily.
- Tighten the wood into the tubing by wrapping it with a plastic or rubber band.
- Slowly pour the contaminated water on the other tube of the end without the sapwood.
It has been scientifically proven that this type of filtering method removes 99.99% of bacteria found in water. However, it can not effectively trap viruses because it is much smaller in size compared to bacteria.
2. Sand and Rock Layer Cake
This method is closely similar to the function of the wood and tubing method. The materials needed to achieve this method are containers, sands, rocks, cloth, pebbles, and even charcoal. If no container is available, you can use anything that can hold the water in place. The trick here is to layer these materials as if forming a cake. So, you start with the finer ones up to the broader ones.
How to do it:
- Begin by pouring sand inside the container.
- Layer it up by following it with small pebbles, a piece of clothing, larger rocks, and bits of charcoals.
- Repeat the same layer until it is half-full of the container.
- Cut tiny holes below the water container, just enough for the water to pass through.
- Slowly pour down the water.
The sand, pebbles, rocks, and cloth serves as the filtering mechanism of the water. Still, keep in mind that this is used for survival purposes or emergency cases since these DIY filtering methods do not guarantee 100% safe and drinkable water.
Purification Methods
1. Boiling
This is the most commonly known purification method because of how easy it is. Despite it being easy, it may not be very convenient. Because boiling requires fire, and in cases wherein you are out in the woods, matches or fuels may not be in sight. So, it is best to learn how to start a fire by using no matches at all.
2. SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection)
SODIS only relies on the sun on order to purify the water. As long as your water container is clear and transparent, you can leave it under the sun for 12 hours. It will kill most of the bacteria and microorganisms that are in the water.
There are countless methods out there to choose from to do these water processes.
Also Read: Is It Safe To Drink Tap Water In U.S.? Find Out The Facts And Truth About Tap Water
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