Purify Water

Purify water from wild sources to make it safe for drinking using field-available methods.

When to Use

• You need drinking water in a wilderness setting without access to treated water
• Available water sources are of unknown quality (streams, rivers, lakes, ponds)
• Emergency survival situation where dehydration is a risk
• You need to make water safe for cooking or wound cleaning

Inputs

• Required: A water source (flowing or still)
• Required: A container (metal pot, bottle, or improvised vessel)
• Optional: Purification supplies (chemical tablets, filter, UV pen)
• Optional: Fire-making capability for boiling (see make-fire)
• Optional: Cloth or natural filter materials for pre-filtering