How to find Water in the Wilderness
Learning how to find water in the wilderness should be a priority for anyone interested in learning even the most basic survival skills. The problem normally isn’t finding water since you can’t walk more than a few miles in most countries without coming across a stream or river, but the problem comes with making that water safe to drink.
The average adult can last for 3 days without water, but that’s up until the point they actually die. It will only be the first 24 hours where you’re capable of actually doing anything, and after that, you’ll feel so drained and sick that it will take you hours to move a few miles, and eventually, you’ll start to feint at which point it’s all downhill from there.
Unless you are in immediate danger, such as an extreme climate or at risk from animals or any kind of natural threat, then water should be a priority. You can last for much longer without food than you can without water, but even if it’s available it can contain a huge range of bacteria, parasites, and insect larvae that could cause your downfall from a single sip. When in need of water in the wild, here are a few things to keep in mind to help you locate and purify a source.
Tips for finding water in the wild
Look Low
Water will always flow downhill until it comes to something that can block it or until it drains away. The lowest point of the terrain you’re on will always be the best place to look for water, if you’re in a forest and can see the trees dip in one place like a large bowl then head that way, whereas hilly terrain will collect water on the valley floor and any large depressions on the slopes.
Listen
As you move along through the wild stop every couple of minutes and just listen. What can easily be mistaken as the wind may be the faint sound of flowing water in the distance.
Sphagnum moss
This type of moss often covers the floors of pine forests but can be found anywhere there’s damp ground and a thick tree canopy blocking the light. Sphagnum moss collects water really well and pulling up a clump and squeezing the water out will usually return a good quantity.
(Sphagnum moss – found in damp and dark areas of woodland growing on the floor or dead wood)
Rocks and boulders
Large stones can hold water underneath them for some time after it rains. A good place to check if you’re in a rocky area is the ground at the bottom of steep rock faces in a place where all the rain that hits the rocks will run off into. Dig a hole in the ground at the base of the rock and it should fill up with a small amount of water. This method depends heavily on the climate and area you are in.
Green patches
In areas where the earth isn’t consistently moist like in hotter regions, look for areas where there are more plants growing or the grass is longer than anywhere else as this suggests the area gets more water than the surrounding land. Digging a hole here will provide a much higher chance of it collecting water.
Large leaf plants
Plants with large leaves tend to collect water where the leaf meets the stem after it rains and even though it’s a tiny amount per stem it’s better than nothing.
Follow the animals
This is only something to look for in areas where water is scarce like deserts. Animals know exactly how to survive in the wild and stay close to water out of necessity. Seeing a large group of birds land in the same spot more than once and animal tracks leading the same way can all indicate the presence of water.
Caves and rocky inlets
Even if the cave isn’t very deep they are a great place to look for water, especially if there is moss present on the walls. Caves close to the sea often have the most amounts of water and offer a nonsalted version along the shore.
Condensation trap
To make one of these you’ll need some kind of plastic sheeting, even if it’s just a carrier bag. Simply dig a square hole between one and two feet deep, depending on what you have available to dig with, and make sure it’s about 1 foot across. Place a container in the center at the bottom of the hole and spread the plastic sheet over the top, weighing it down with a few stones around the edges. Place a small stone in the center of the plastic so it creates a dip right above your container. These are best left overnight or at least for a few hours since it takes a while for the water to seep out of the earth and evaporate.
A condensation trap can also be made by placing a plastic sheet over some kind of frame, like a leaf-less bush or a stick frame for example. You can cover any kind of frame with plastic as long as there’s no way for the condensation to escape other than from dripping out the bottom into a container. This method works best with plastic bags as it is not possible to seal the gaps on something like a piece of tarp.
Things to look out for with natural water sources.
When it comes to natural sources like streams, rivers, and lakes they can look deceptively clean. The water may look nice and fresh but it could be infested with tiny insect larvae or some kind of bacteria. Take the pictures below for example, the one on the left is a small stream that has crystal clear water and looks drinkable. The picture on the right is a five-minute walk upstream that reveals how that clean-looking water runs straight off a sheep field and is filled with animal waste.
- If its possible always check where your water comes from. It may be tempting to drink right away after coming up to an isolated pond when you feel like you’re dying of thirst, but spending a minute to check just how clean that water is could keep you alive longer than the water itself.
- Very soft liquid-like mud on the bottom of the body of water is a bad sign as its normally a prime spot for creatures like worms and bacteria.
- The more plants in the body of water like reeds etc.. The higher the chance of there being a large insect population which in turns means more bacteria.
- Try to only collect water from moving sources like streams and rivers as static water has a good chance of becoming stagnant.
- If you see signs of rats around the banks of a static source of water stay away from it unless you have the ability to boil the water. Rats are well known for spreading horrible diseases through water and can increase the chances of certain bugs like tics that can carry lymes disease.
- Water in hot climates has a much higher chance of harboring nasty bacteria and parasites and should always be purified in some way.
- Never drink water from a plant unless you know what the plant actually is. There are few plants out there that can poison you just from slurping water off their leaves, but they are still out there.
- Always assume the water you have found isn’t safe to drink without purifying it, even if it looks crystal clear.
How to purify water in the wild
- The ideal solution is to filter it through some kind of cloth and then boil it. Bacteria cannot withstand high temperatures and even if the water is dirty it could be made safe with the right amount of boiling. When you boil water you have collected in the wild make sure you have it at a rolling boil for at least 3 minutes.
- A solar still can be made using any kind of plastic bottle or container. Take an empty bottle and fill it with your collected water and hang it up in direct sunlight for several hours. UV light kills bacteria and can make the water safer to drink.
- Using a spare bottle or even a clean piece of pipe you can make a water filter. Take your bottle and cut the bottom off, then fill it with alternating layers of squeezed sphagnum moss and crushed charcoal before ending with a piece of cloth. If you aren’t around any moss then enough crushed charcoal will do the trick, just make sure there is enough cloth at the bottom to stop it from coming out. Straining water through a charcoal filter takes a long time but its worth it in the long run.
- Various contraptions are available such as filters, purification tablets and my personal favorite, the survival straw. Having something specifically made to clean water will be more effective than anything you can build in the wild.
- One drop of bleach per liter is enough to kill any bacteria and make the water safe to drink, or should i say safer to drink. Just put a single drop in with the water and shake it up, the bleach is capable of killing the bacteria and can stop a nasty sickness, but it goes without saying that drinking anything with bleach in should be a last case emergency option only.