It is a wonderful chance to see and experience the world's creations. Taking a break to go on an adventure is a great stress reliever.
But will a sudden loss of water supply stop you from enjoying your vacation? There's 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. It helps you survive by keeping you hydrated, especially in the scorching sun.
Juices or sodas may help you stay hydrated, too, but only temporarily. As opposed to water, that will help you carry throughout the rest of the trip.
Is Any Water Drinkable?
Water is practically everywhere. Nonetheless, not all water is safe for drinking. While some may help you stay hydrated, not all will keep you healthy, well, and able.
If your trip involves going out in the wild, you will mostly find rainwater, which is generally considered safe to drink.
Moreover, water found in the wild is twice as safe as water collected through plants. Melted snow is another drinkable water source, especially if your adventure occurs during 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 big changes in looking for water, it is best to always go through filtration and purification.
Later in the article, you will learn about filtration, purification, and different methods for doing them yourself. But before that, you need to know the risks of drinking contaminated water and what causes it.
Sources of Water
There are three classifications to differentiate water sources. The surface, ground, and atmospheric water.
Surface Water includes lakes, rivers, streams, and even the ocean. This water type comes in contact with the ground and is exposed to the air for a long period. It is the most likely to be contaminated because it is open and unprotected from viruses, bacteria, and the environment.
Atmospheric Water includes all forms of precipitation, such as snow, rain, dew, and mist. It is technically exposed to its local environment, so there is a small chance that it may be contaminated.
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
Untreated water contains numerous bacteria and viruses, which can cause various illnesses. Certain kinds of bacteria and viruses have 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 plays a role in a person's digestion process. However, food poisoning is bound to happen once presented in the upper digestive part through drinking contaminated water.
-
Heavy Metals, such as mercury, lead, zinc, and arsenic, can cause several health problems if they are ever carried inside the body, including kidney problems, nervous system damage, and even cancer.
-
Pesticides. Inorganic chemical compounds are utilized for agricultural purposes.
-
Petroleum. Petroleum products such as Crude Oil contaminate our waters through leakages and spills.
Many other contaminants can seriously harm our bodies of water. These 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 it is best to be familiar with and know how to filter and purify water before going on an adventure. This will 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 quite some time already. When, in fact, there are unique distinctions that you need to familiarize yourself with to identify the difference between the two easily.
It is very important to be aware of these two water processes. You do not want to suffer from intestinal infections just because you thought either was enough.
Sometimes, you might only need to filter or purify water alone to be drinkable. But, most cases ask to do both to make it safe for drinking.
Water Filtration
Water Filtration removes particular debris or bacteria using a filtering object. There are a lot of things that qualify to be used for filtration. A few include a mesh, a filtering cloth, and a sieve.
Filtration eliminates protozoa and bacteria. However, it does not guarantee a full cleaning process because it cannot remove viruses carried by the water.
Viruses are too microscopic for a mesh to filter alone. Furthermore, filtration maintains the water's natural taste, unlike purification, which alters it.
Water sources in the United States and Canada are generally safe for drinking. As simple as a filtration process is enough to provide yourself with drinkable water.
Just remember 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 eliminates pathogens, such as viruses, from water. However, purified water is still considered dirty because it does not effectively remove other contaminants.
Thus, it is best to filter the water first and then purify it. This ensures much safer drinking water.
Now that you know the difference between Filtration and Purification, it is time to familiarize yourself with the different methods of these processes. You will find DIY (do-it-yourself) methods and Commercialized methods below.
Water Filtration and Purification Methods
Beforehand, it is best to recommend always using 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 produce approximately three to four liters of water a day. All you need is sapwood and a piece of tubing. If tubing is unavailable, 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 will use 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. Ensure it is tight and secured so no flowing water can 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 end of the tube without the sapwood.
This filtering method has been scientifically proven to remove 99.99% of bacteria in water. However, it can not effectively trap viruses because it is much smaller than bacteria.
2. Sand and Rock Layer Cake
This method is similar to the wood and tubing method. The materials needed to achieve this method are containers, sand, rocks, cloth, pebbles, and charcoal. If no container is available, you can use anything to 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 and work 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 serve as the filtering mechanism of the water. Still, remember that this is used for survival purposes or emergencies 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 it is easy. However, despite its ease, it may not be very convenient. Boiling requires fire, and matches or fuel may not be in sight in the woods. So, learning how to start a fire without matches is best.
2. SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection)
SODIS only relies on the sun to purify the water. If 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
← Older Post Newer Post →