Knowing Where Water Sources Are

When you know where to find water, you can make it safe for your family to be able to drink it. But if you’ve never had to search for water outdoors, you might not be aware of exactly how to find it.

Remember that water isn’t always silent. When you’re searching for water, stop moving to pay attention to the sounds of nature around you. Water has a very distinct sound as it moves across rocks. You’ll be able to hear the trickle of it over rocks in a creek bed and the solid rushing sound if it’s a river. You might end up having to hike for awhile to find it, but keep stopping to listen for the sounds of it.

You should also note that water has a tendency to cause whatever grows near it to be thick. So look for areas of thick plant growth. Also, keep in mind the slant of the ground when you’re searching for water.

If you’re in a hilly area, water will run down a slope, but it won’t collect there. Since you want to get to the main body of water, you’ll need to travel downhill or to the area where the ground is the flattest.

Water is more likely to pool where the ground is level. Some people believe that water that travels down mountain rock to a spring is cleaned as it travels over the rock but this isn’t true.

Bacteria, bug carcasses and animal feces can still make its way into the water – so before you use any of it, make sure you treat it through a purifying process first.

Nature will always leave clues so that you can easily find sources of water when you need to. Every creature that lives outdoors must have access to water. Wild animals know where to find water and by studying the signs of animal activity, you’ll be able to locate the water.

Pay attention to mosquitoes as well. They’re more likely to congregate in moist areas and that usually means that a source of water is nearby. Of course, there are areas of the country where water is more plentiful than it is in other areas.

If you happen to be an area that’s experienced a drought, it will be harder, but not impossible to find water. If you live too far away from a large supply of water, then you’ll need to take steps to make sure that you can hold on to rain water when it does rain.

One of the best and safest sources of water is rainfall.  Whenever it starts to rain, you’ll need a reliable system that you can use to trap that water. In an emergency situation, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It can be something as simple as plastic that you use to form a pouch so that it catches water. Use whatever you have to collect the rainwater (buckets, cups, tarps, or even rain jackets).

Although rainwater is not usually as bad for you as standing water as far as having bacteria, there is still the possibility. As it rains, the water travels over the leaves of trees and other things in nature where there can be bird feces that could contaminate your water.

It’s always better to be safe and treat any water that you plan on drinking.

If you miss the moment to capture rainfall, you can continue to look for rainwater runoff. Pay attention to birds and insects, and they will lead you to runoff.

One trick that you can use to find water is to remember the firmness of the ground. In areas where the ground is firm, the soil beneath it is usually not covering any water sources. But if you’re walking in an area and you notice mud, it means that the soil is too saturated with water below the dirt for the ground to be able to absorb it all. If you start digging, you’ll see that water will then spring up from the ground.

It won’t look good and it won’t seem that appealing, but you can treat the water and still be able to use it for your drinking needs.

It’s not hard at all to find water if the emergency situation takes place during winter and you happen to live in an area that gets snow. You can collect snow and melt it down into water. Always make sure that you change snow into its liquid form before you attempt to use it. Even though it can be tempting to believe that snow is pure and should be okay to use without purifying it, you shouldn’t take that chance. Snow can still contain contamination that can harm you.

When you’re looking for water, you should pay attention to the dew that falls on plants. Plants with wide leaves will hold a greater amount of dew. You can easily collect dew from these plants and you can let it trickle into containers. It’s a slow process, but you can gather enough water to be able to survive if you have to.