# How to find water in the wild



## mwhartman (Jun 26, 2012)

Here is a good article from The Ready Store How to find water in the wild / Emergency Preparedness 101

Mike


----------



## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

Great article/videos. Did you see that snake Mike Hawke pulled out of the swamp?! 

I'm a huge believer of a witching stick after what I saw today. I had called the local septic tank person to come and do a regular "pump" on my septic, when he couldn't find it, he cut down a witching stick and I joked with him telling him I was going to put this on a survival site regardless of if he found it or not, sure enough, I saw that stick bend and my septic tank is now cleaned out. Wonderful "trick".


----------



## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

I know, right? A guy came from the plumbers a while back when my main sprung a leak. He pulls out divining rods, which I was told were a snake oil gimmick and a wives tale. Low and behold, he walks and walks around and all of a sudden they cross. He's like hand me that shovel. He gets digging, digs a few feet down and bingo- the cracked pipe spewing water. I was floored.


----------



## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

So if you want to drill for a well without paying thousands of dollars to have it done. Just get a post hole auger, about 50 feet of plumbing 1/2 pipe (3/4 is too heavy). Some collers to go on and start drilling. Check out post hole auger well on YT. You'll spend about $50 on the auger and about the same on the extra pipe. Should take about 3-4 hours to drill depending on how deep your water source is.


----------



## WoadWarrior (Oct 10, 2012)

I've always liked the concept of the in-ground solar still but haven't actually tested it. I've used the simple version where you pull several branches together and cover them with a clear plastic bag and found that it produces very little water. I live in what is classified as a High Dessert so finding water will be important and I should really be spending more time learning this.

But... I was wondering: Since the concept is to put green leaves in the still and draw out their moisture through evaporation, then in theory, I should be able to place a container with unclean water in the still and gain a larger volume of good water as the unclean water evaporates. Has anyone tried this? I've heard it's been done with saltwater to get fresh water. And... instead of having to dig.... I've often considered adding an old fish tank to the trailer and using that instead. It's lightweight, portable... but fragile. I could fill the bottom with plants or unclean water, place the container for fresh water in it, and then cover it with plastic. The clear sides should give me more sunlight and increase the evaporation rate.

For those that don't know what a solar still is... here's a pic:


----------



## Jerddd (Nov 2, 2012)

WoadWarrior said:


> I've always liked the concept of the in-ground solar still but haven't actually tested it. I've used the simple version where you pull several branches together and cover them with a clear plastic bag and found that it produces very little water. I live in what is classified as a High Dessert so finding water will be important and I should really be spending more time learning this.
> 
> But... I was wondering: Since the concept is to put green leaves in the still and draw out their moisture through evaporation, then in theory, I should be able to place a container with unclean water in the still and gain a larger volume of good water as the unclean water evaporates. Has anyone tried this? I've heard it's been done with saltwater to get fresh water. And... instead of having to dig.... I've often considered adding an old fish tank to the trailer and using that instead. It's lightweight, portable... but fragile. I could fill the bottom with plants or unclean water, place the container for fresh water in it, and then cover it with plastic. The clear sides should give me more sunlight and increase the evaporation rate.
> 
> ...


I think that's an awesome idea, as its very simple. If adding unclean water or some other modification could produce enough water to sustain you, I'd have solar still supplies in my BoB. Let me know if you try any of your ideas out!


----------

