Outdoor Activity Tips - Getting Water

In the open air, especially the hot area and desert area, water supply is pretty important.Sources:The sources of water in natural world are shown as below:Surface water: River, lake, brooksUnderground water from well,water,underground reservoirWater in organisms: some plants contains rich water, such as bamboo, cactusEthereal water: rain, snow, dew, water from melting icePurification:You can drink the water from rain,water,well,and brook directly since these kinds of water flows continuously. You should never drink the still water or the one that flows slowly directly since these kinds of water contains a great amount of organic matter or bacteria. Purification means that remove the organic matter or bacteria contained in the it. In some cases, you can use some simple methods to purify it.Get a container. Canvas bag, polyethylene bag, can, socks can be used as container. Put a thin layer of fine gravel in the bottom of container,then lay a layer of sand and carbon fine powder. Repeat this process as many as possible (the more layer, the better).The thickness of one layer should be about 2.5cm.If there is no sand available, just use the fine gravel instead.Drill some holes in the bottom of container and pour the water into it. Put a cup under the container to collect the water.In addition, there is another method to purify water. Dig a shallow pit near the source (about 1 meter away).After some time, the clean water exudes through the pit.Sterilization:Sterilization through boiling: In the area with sea level, you must boil the water for one minute; in the area with high elevation, the boiling time should increase by 3 to 4 minutes for each 1000 meter.Chemical sterilization: sanitizer such as iodide, halazone etc can be used.Disinfection:For disinfection, one of the following methods can be used:
Water-purification tablets are easy to use. Before going into the desert, you can buy the tablets from the drug store and please remember to follow the direction for use. You don't only need them in the outdoor, car and plane; also you should prepare this kind of tablets for home use. Generally, one water-purification tablet is enough for purifying one liter water and two tablets can purify one liter of dirty one. Before using the purified water, let it settle for 30 minutes.
Iodine:Three drips of iodine for one liter of water, doubled for dirty one. Let it settle for 30 minutes.
Household bleach solution (5 ¼ 5 ¼…HClO2): Two drips for one liter water, doubled for dirty one.
Disinfection can be achieved through boiling for 3 to 5 minutes. Put a little of carbon into the water to remove the dirty color.
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