Finding water in the wilderness comes down to understanding where water collects. Finding valleys, old river beds, and natural springs can be great places to find drinkable water in a survival situation. Identify any hazards nearby that may indicate water not safe for drinking such as feces, residue, and strange smells.

Basics of Finding Water

Stop and listen, take some time to evaluate your surroundings. Panicking can cause your senses to be overwhelmed and you may miss the obvious. Let your heart rate and breathing slow down so you can concentrate on all your senses.

After sitting still for few minutes you may hear water in the woods. While this seems really obvious, I guarantee you will hear things you never even noticed.

If you don’t hear anything, then look around and assess your environment. If it’s hilly, then you may be able to find a low spot. We all know water flows downhill, so looking in low-spots and valleys is almost guaranteed to get you water.

Even a small trickle of water running out of the ground will be enough to sustain you, Look at nearby cliffs and rocks to find possible trickles of water. The advantage to these natural spring is they are almost always safe to drink right away.

Digging For Water

In all types of environments, it’s almost always possible to dig for water. The great part about this is the water is purified by the soil so there’s no need to worry about boiling or filtering it.

Here is an awesome survival shovel from amazon. These things are perfect for a scenario like this and have many more uses!

By digging several of these wells, you can have a relatively constant supply of water. While some wells are filling up and filtering, others will be ready to collect water from.

#1: Find a damp patch of dirt (low elevation)

Old river beds and low spots in the terrain always collect rain water. Even if there is no visible surface water, damp soil is often an indication of water below the surface.

If you can find a small amount of surface water nearby but it looks contaminated then you can use this method. These small pools of water are often full of parasites and animal feces so use extreme caution.

#2: Start digging

Find a nice digging stick and start to dig a hold roughly 1 foot in diameter until you start to see water seeping from the soil. It may take several tries to find a successful spot with water so be patient.

If you are using this method to purify a stagnant pool, start digging your whole roughly 10-15 feet from the edge of the water. This will allow the water to be filtered through enough soil to be safe. Digging your whole too close to the water could allow contaminants into your well.

#3: Let it filter

Let the hole will with water and sit for around 20 minutes, this makes sure all the sediment is settled to the bottom. If the water is slightly brown, that is alright because it is just small particles of dirt which is safe. Skim off any particles resting on the surface of the water and enjoy!

Building a Filter

Building a filter is relatively simple with the right supplies. If you already have a filter like this awesome life straw, then you have nothing to worry about. But, we are learning to do it without that.

When done properly, a filter is a maintenance free way of purifying water that is very sustainable. There are just a few materials you need to make a basic filter:

Sand or finely ground rock

Dirt (preferably low clay content)

Charcoals (coals from a burned fire)

For more tips on building a safe filter to purify water, check out this video. It walks you through the process step by step, I’ve followed it myself and the results are great.

Boiling Water

We all know this is the most obvious way to purify water, but there are a few tricks that can keep you safe when doing it. In a survival situation, even the slightest illness can turn into a life threatening scenario.

Boil for at least 60 seconds (rolling boil) A rolling boil mean the water is bubbling rapidly

Do not pour the water into a container that has been contaminated with non-boiled water

If the source of water has residue on the dirt from evaporation, do not use it This residue is likely chemicals which are not removed through boiling



Boiling Water With Rocks

If you don’t have a container that can withstand the heat of a fire, then use rocks. This is an ancient method that has been used for a long time. It is actually much easier than boiling water over a fire.

Collect your water in some type of container; this could even be a depression in a rock that holds water.Put several baseball sized rocks in your fire depending on how much water you are purifying. Let them heat up for about 10 minutes then use sticks to dump them in your water. Finally, let your water boil for at least 60 seconds.

Creative Ways To Get Water

Finding water seems like a pretty cut and dry task, locate and boil it. However, there are so many creative ways you can find water in the wilderness to help supplement

#1: Plant Transpiration

We all know that plants need water, so you should be able to take their water right? Well, it turns our you can use the leaves of most plants to create a small amount of water.

Take a hand full of leaves and put them in a zip lock bag or any plastic container available. Then, set that container in direct sunlight and let it sit for several hours. This method is best with multiple setups to maximize the water you get.

The sunlight evaporates the water inside of the leaves creating water vapor. This water vapor then condenses and sticks to the container. The water you get from this process is clean because the plants filter it and it comes directly our of the plant.

#2: Morning Dew

This seems obvious, but there is a trick to this that makes collecting dew very efficient. You could go around and lick the dew off leaves, but what if you could collect this water another way.

Take some find some cloth that can absorb water (towels and shirts), and tie them around your ankles and shins. Walk through grassy vegetation in the morning while the dew is at its peak. The towels will absorb the dew, then you can squeeze that into a container!

#3: Watch The Birds

Birds expend lots of energy in flight and need a very regular source of water. Luckily for us, they are very easy to spot and track with very little effort.

In the morning, birds will typically fly to a water source as their first task. Watch for groups of birds flying in a generally specific direction. This method may lead you to a nearby stream or body of water.

However, do be careful when drinking from that water source because you can get a parasite or worse. Birds have a natural tolerance to these sorts of ailments in comparison to us humans.

How To Tell If Water Is Clean

Knowing if your water is clean is never a 100% answer, it is a risk you take. With this in mind, I’ll give you information from my past experiences and advice from the CDC.

Chemical Smell

If your water source has a ring of residue around the edge or has a chemical smell then forget it and move on. There is no way to purify this water and there are definitely chemicals in this water that are likely harmful.

Stagnant Water (Still)

Stagnant water is a sketchy water source but you can work with it. Make sure the edge of the water has no residue or strange chemical smells. Before drinking this water, you will need to purify it.

Water that sits in pools like this is typically filled parasites. This is because all the feces and urine from animals collect in here since it is likely their source of water. Boiling this water for several minutes will make it safe to drink.

Mountain stream (Olympics)

Natural Spring

A natural spring is a small leak of water coming out of the ground. Any source of water trickling through the dirt or down a hill is likely a natural spring. This water is almost always safe to drink, just make sure there is no strange smell or color.

Sometimes these springs can even be small trickles of water coming off rocks. Check the source of drips off cliffs and identify if it’s a natural spring.

Lakes and Rivers

Big lakes and rivers, even creeks, are almost always free of chemical pollution. However, you still need to purify this water because it likely contains parasites. Just be sure there is no strange smell or residue around the water before you decide to purify it.

Conclusion

We all know how important water is in a survival situation. Hopefully you have learned a few new things in this article that might help you out some day.

If there is anything you should take away from this, just use your common sense when it comes to picking a water source. If it just doesn’t smell or look right, then trust your instincts. Making a mistake in that situation could be a matter of making out of the woods alive.