Survival guides · Water & Food

Find Water Outdoors

WHEN TO USE THISOut of water, away from taps. You can last only about 3 days without it.

1. Go downhill

   • Water collects low: valleys, ravines, hollows.
   • Bright green plants in dry country mean water underground.
   • Animal trails that join and head downhill often lead to water.

2. Listen and watch

   • Listen for running water — it carries farther morning and evening.
   • Bees stay within a few miles of water.
   • Birds flying low and straight at dusk are often heading to it.

3. Dig a dry streambed

   
   • Dig 1–2 feet on the outside of a bend.
   • Damp soil, mud or dark sand = water close below.
   • It often seeps in within an hour.
   • Line the hole with cloth to keep grit out.

4. Always treat it

   • Any water you find must be treated — however clean it looks. Clear streams carry Giardia.
   • Boil it, or use bleach or tablets.
   • The one exception: rain caught straight into a clean container.

Sources: US Army FM 3-05.70 Survival · FEMA / Ready.gov

General information to help in an emergency — not a substitute for training or professional care.