WATER INDEX
Water Is The Single Most Important Element In Staying Alive.
It is essential that every person have enough water, and it be safe to drink.
DRINKING WATER, OVERVIEW...
Updated 19-Jan-1999
Quantity Needed
Calculate 1 gallon (roughly 4 litres) DRINKING water per person per day as a rule of thumb.
This does not include water for cooking, bathing or pet allowances.
If you have a medium-size dog, for example, plan at least another 1 gallon of water for each
dog per day, 1 pint per day for each cat.
Needs differ according to age, physical condition, activity and environment.
Pregnant women should try to use the boiling, stabilized oxygen or ultra violet methods, and
avoid the chlorine, iodine, and other methods of purification.
If chlorine is the only way you have to purify, then extra care should be taken to remove the
chlorine.(oxygenation, pouring from one clean container to another will evaporate chlorine
rapidly)
Signs of too little water intake are strong odor or heavy yellow color to urine, lack of the
need to urinate, lower back pains, nagging headaches, muscle fatigue and muscle stiffness.
Lack of heavy manual labor will sligltly reduce the need for intake, and extra work will
require larger than normal demand for water in the body.
Don't try to ration water on a daily basis. Drink your fill, and try to find more tomorow.
You will cause more problems by not taking in enough water than you will save effort in trying
to find more.
Staying hydrated in extreamly hot or cold survival situations is mandatory!
The body can not regulate temperature while dehydrated!
Storage Of Water Insuring a safe supply.
Assuming clean and deodorized food-grade containers are used, untreated water straight
from your tap should keep 6 months, but MUST be changed
thereafter.
Bacteria-free water, which means successful treatment by one of the accepted methods, listed
below, will keep several years depending on heat, light, degradation of the container, etc.
Store your water away from paint and petroleum-based products, acids or anything releasing
objectionable odors like fertizer or household cleaners.
While able to hold water, these lower grade containers are permeable to
certain gases.
Contaminants: Nasties that we are trying to avoid.
Water borne contaminants fall into three basic groups, and have subgroups contained in
those groups.
Pathogens and chemicals in partcular can be in any untreated water source, even if it is clear
and looks clean.
The three basic groups are:
1. Solids, such as heavy metals, and minerals.
2. Chemicals, such as herbesides, pestecides, house hold waste, ect.
3. Pathogens, those little living nasties that want to make you lunch.
I saved Pathogens for last because they are the most interesting, and what we can do something
about in an emergency situation.
There are four subgroups of Pathogens, and they are;
1. Parasitic, nasties that have you on the menu, including but not limited to;
Ascaris Lumbricoides, Ancylostoma Duodenale (Hookworm), Taenia Spp. (Tapeworm), Fasciola
Hepatica (Sheep Liver Fluke), Dracunculus Medinensis, Strongyloides Stercoralis, Trichuris
Trichiura (Whipworm), Clonorchis Sinensis (Orential Liver Fluke), Paragonimus Westermani
(Lung Fluke), Diphyllabothrium Latum (Fish Tapeworm), Echinococcus Granulosus (Hydatid Disease).
2. Protozoa,
Giardia Lamblia, Entamoeba Histolyica, Cryptospordium, Blastocystis Hominis, Balantidium Coli,
Acanthamoeba, Cyclospora Coccidian, Ect.
3. Bacterial,
Escherichia Coli (E. Coli), Shigella, Campylobacter, Vibrio Cholerae, Salmonella, Yersinia
Enterocolitia, Aeromoanis.
4. Viral,
Enterics (Over 100 Types) Hepatitis A, Hepatitis E, Legionnaires' Disease, Norwalk Virus, Polio
Virus, Ect.
TIP:
To improve the taste of any treated water, pour water from one clean container to another
several times.
This will help re-oxygenate the water and remove some of the flat taste noticed after
treatment and storage.
Adding powdered drinks like Kool-aid or Tang will help disguise any offensive tastes in water.
These two products are also good sources of Vitamin C.
Instead of using powdered drinks, a pinch of salt per quart may be introduced to improve
treated water's flavor, and help replace salts lost in labor or extreamly hot climates.
Salt & Lemon juice (Shelf Stable lemon juice sold as 'Real Lemon') will make hot weather
canteens much more palatable, and be better for the user than plain water.
Treatment Methods Are Listed In Order Of Recommendation For Safety, Ease Of Treatment, Necessary
Chemicals & Treatment Apparatus, Ect.