just a listing about purifying water, couldn't find the right place to put it.

Purification ABCs - if normal purification systems are not available

Clean Food-Grade Containers are required
Clean the containers in which you're going to hold or store the water. Use dish soap and water. Rinse thoroughly. After washing them, submerge them in a solution of 1 teaspoon of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to every quart (or liter) of water (making sure the entire surface of the bottle comes in contact with the solution for a minimum of 15 seconds), and then rinse thoroughly with a weaker mixture of bleach and water.


Don't use any container that has had milk or fruit juice in it. Milk protein and fruit sugars remain in the container and can fuel bacterial growth when water is stored. Plastic soda bottles are suitable.


Filter the Water to Remove Suspended Particles, Chemicals and Heavy Metals.
If the water is very cloudy, let it stand for about 30 minutes to allow particles to settle. The settling step is especially important if you're going to be using chemical purification because disinfectants are less effective in cloudy, murky, or colored water. Use a hose to siphon off the clear water into another container for filtering.

Your filtering apparatus will depend on your preparation. There are numerous commercial water filters available from small camping units to pour-through 3 liter household types. Be sure to follow manufacturer's instructions. If you live near the ocean, consider a portable desalinization unit.


Purify the Water to Kill Bacteria and Microbes
After filtering, using any of the following methods. If you can, combine boiling with a chemical disinfection method. Boiling is more thorough, and the chemical method will continue to keep the water safe when it's stored.


Boiling kills disease-causing organisms and is the most recommended purification technique. Boil the water for at least 5 to 10 minutes, then let it cool. Make sure it's a full, rolling boil. If you are more than one mile above sea level, boil 3 minutes longer.


Bleach. Disinfecting with unscented household bleach kills some, but not all, types of disease-causing organisms. The bleach must contain chlorine in order to work. Don't use scented bleaches, color-safe bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners. Neither chlorine (e.g., bleach) nor iodine alone is considered completely effective against Cryptosporidium, although they are partially effective against Giardia. Iodine should be allowed at least 30 minutes to kill Giardia. Chlorine is considered slightly better than iodine against Giardia. A more complete field solution that includes chemical disinfectants is to first filter the water, using a 0.2 micron ceramic cartridge pumped filter, followed by treatment with iodine or chlorine, thereby filtering out cryptosporidium, Giardia, and most bacteria, along with the larger viruses, while also using chemical disinfectant to address smaller viruses and bacteria that the filter cannot remove. Most household chlorine bleaches have 4-6% available chlorine, in which case you should add 1/8 teaspoon (8 drops) of regular, unscented, liquid household bleach for each gallon of water (2 drops per Liter), stir it well and let it stand for 30 minutes before you use it. Check the label; if the percentage of available chlorine is around 1%, or you don't know what the percentage is, use 40 drops per gallon/ 10 drops per Liter; if the percentage is 7-10%, use 4 drops per gallon or 1 drop per Liter. Double the amount of chlorine if the water is cloudy, murky, or colored, or if the water is extremely cold. If after sitting covered for 30 minutes the water doesn't have a slight chlorine odor, repeat the dosage and let sit for another 15 minutes. Liquid bleach has a manufacturer recommended shelf life of 4 to 6 months


Granular calcium hypochlorite (pool shock) works in the same way as household bleach. You can dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (about 1/4 ounce) in two gallons of water (1 heaping tablespoon for every 7.5 Liter or 1 gram for every Liter of water) to make a disinfecting solution. Then add one part of the disinfecting solution to each 100 parts of water to purify. Granular calcium hypochlorite has an almost indefinite shelf life when properly stored. A granular (dry powder) "pool shock" product that lists only Calcium Hypochlorite as the active ingredient should be safe to use for water purification. Any other products may include other algaecide or fungicide chemicals that are not safe for human consumption.


Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) can be used to disinfect water, it can be purchased from camping supply stores and pool treatment stores. The water should be colored slightly pink, 3 or 4 crystals in a quart or liter of water. Let the solution stand for at least 30 minutes. This is definitely a emergency measure, and should not be used for planned leisure activities. One year shelf life


Iodine. Disinfecting with iodine is generally less effective than chlorine in controlling the parasite Giardia, but it's better than no treatment at all. Add 5 drops of 2% iodine (from the medicine chest or first aid kit) to every quart or liter of clear water; add 10 drops if the water is cloudy. Let the solution stand for at least 30 minutes. One year shelf life


Purification Tablets. For commercially prepared chlorine or iodine tablets, follow the instructions that come with them. If you don't have instructions, use one tablet for each quart or liter of water to be purified. One year shelf life


Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) method - Pouring the water into clear plastic PET (small) bottles, and exposing to direct sunlight for at least 6 hours, has been shown to be an effective method of disinfecting for clear water. Cloudy water will not be purified since the entire volume will not be exposed to the Ultra-violet light from the sun.


Ultra Violet method - Commercially available electrically powered UV units can be used for preventing microorganisms from reproducing but does not kill them. Exposure of water to sunlight can re-establish their ability to reproduce and become harmful again. This is not a preferred purification method


To improve the flavor of purified water (boiled water can taste "flat", and disinfected water can have a strong chlorine taste) aerate it by pouring it from one clean container to another several times. Alternatively, add a pinch of salt to each quart or liter of water. If the flavor is still unpleasant, use a powdered drink mix, if available.


Close the container carefully. Don't touch the inside or the rim with you fingers, or else the water could become contaminated. If you're going to drink some, but not all of the water, don't drink directly from the container. Pour it into another container and drink from that. Contact with your lips and mouth can contaminate water that's going to be stored. If you don't drink the water immediately, write the date on the bottle. Store it in a cool, dark place for up to six months.

Other Option for Purifying Water

Water Distillation. This process is similar to the old moonshine stills and involves boiling water in a large closed-top metal vessel with a fire underneath. The steam is then directed by coils of copper tubing to condense the steam and direct the condensate to a clean collection container. This option takes constant watching and can be prone to explosions.

Solar Distillation. A solar still is simply two water troughs enclosed in an insulated box with a clear, sloped Plexiglas lid. The entire unit is placed in direct sunlight with the lid facing the sun. Contaminated water is placed in the rear trough and allowed to evaporate. At the evaporated water strikes the Plexiglas lid it condensed and runs down the slop of the lid for collection in the front, clean trough. This method is very slow, requires direct sunlight and does not produce much volume over a given amount of time.

Manual Pump Purifiers
Campers are familiar with these hand or foot operated units. They incorporate very small passage filters that screen out most harmful bacteria. Cloudy water can quickly clog the filters. Some units have activated charcoal layers that also remove some hazardous chemicals. Water filtered with these pumps should be boiled to provide a secondary purification step. These units are best for wilderness water purification and can be used for emergencies when traveling during a crisis that prevents normal access to pure drinking water sources.