Water, water everywhere, but should we have a drink?

One of the few things that binds every member of the human race is that we all need water. Our bodies are made up of approximately 50-65% of water and every cell working within our body needs it to survive. Therefore, saying water is important to survival is quite an understatement. So what can you do if you find yourself in the wild woods without any clean water? This blog entry will discuss how to purify water and the science behind a process that will ensure the water you need to survive will not kill you.


So lets say that you are lost in the woods, your carefully rationed water has run out and you need to find more to survive. In the quiet of the woods you can hear a stream trickling nearby. As you finally find the little stream, you take a good look to see if the water looks clean. As it looks like normal clean water would you just stick your hands in, cup a healthy amount to quench your first and guzzle it down? No. Definitely not. The reason being that the vast majority of biological impurities in water are micro-organisms, bacteria and viruses that you will not be able to see with the naked eye. So to avoid these you'll need to gather some water into a pot and then place that over a fire to boil for around two minutes.


Although there are other options when trying to purify water, such as using carefully measured iodine or chlorine, it has been found that simply boiling water is the most effective way of removing these natural contaminants.

The reason this method is so effective is the fact that bringing water to boiling point (212°F / 100°C) will kill all pathogens, micro-organisms and such that are naturally in the water leaving it safe to drink, once it has cooled down of course.

This advice, however, must be taken with caution. Chemical contamination of water, such as oil slicks, pesticides and other such impurities will not be removed from boiled water and IS NOT SAFE TO DRINK!