After making shelter, acquiring water should be one of your primary objectives. However, not all water that is found in the wilderness is safe to drink. Water can be polluted by organisms, metals, toxins, that can all be harmful or even deadly is consumed. There are many ways to remove or kill these pollutants making them safe to drink. One such way is to boil the water. By doing this the “organism is destroyed by pushing the bacterium/virus past it’s heat range. 100*C(212*F) will effectively kill most organisms, not just bacteria. However, boiling will not remove metals or harmful chemicals”(Survival). Another effective way to remove organisms and some chemicals from water is to distill it. Distillation is the process of heating water to steam and condensing the said stem to separate the water from impurities. Distillation can remove “heavy metal materials like lead, arsenic and mercury from water and hardening agents like calcium and phosphorous”(Distillation) in addition to salt. However, distillation does not remove “chlorine, chlorine byproducts, or VOCs”(Distillation) from water. A third process that will be best utilized in addition to distillation is the use of a carbon filter. Carbon filters can remove “chlorine, benzene, radon, solvents trihalomethane compounds, volatile organic chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides and hundreds of other man-made chemicals”(Jacobs). However, one may say, “where am I going to get a carbon filter in the outdoors?” Simple, “Charcoal is carbon. Activated charcoal is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to open up millions of tiny pores between the carbon atoms”(What). By running packed charcoal in something like a filter a couple of times, these chemicals will be removed.
(Free)
Works Cited
“Distillation.” AllAboutWater.org, Allaboutwater, http://www.allaboutwater.org/distillation.html. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017.
Free, Lucretia. “Water.” THE VAIL VOICE, Thevailvoice, http://www.thevailvoice.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/app-water-treatment-and-disinfection_Header_1.jpg. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017.
Jacobs. “What Do Carbon Filters Remove From Water?” LIVESTRONG.COM, Livestrong, 4 Aug. 2010, http://www.livestrong.com/article/193977-what-do-carbon-filters-remove-from-water/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017.
“Survival Water Purification.” Practicalsurvival.com, Practicalsurvivor, http://www.practicalsurvivor.com/waterfiltration. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017.
“What Is Activated Charcoal and Why Is It Used in Filters?” HOWSUFFWORKS SCIENCE, Howstuffworks, 1 Apr. 2000, science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question209.htm. Accessed 28 Apr. 201
Wilderness Survival 
