UNDERGROUND WATER STILL

An underground water still will collect any residual moisture from the ground. Green leafy plants can be added to the underground water still if they are available. As with the aboveground water still it is possible to collect up to a quart of water in a twenty-four hour period. Because the process is so time consuming, you should start it before you actually need the water. In the meantime, implement other collection methods whenever possible. Please note that this is only a last resort way to find water. It is unreliable. In some areas the ground is so dry that you wont get any water using this method.

Materials needed for an underground water still:

    1. Shovel or other tool for digging
    2. Container to catch your water in. (You should
         find a one quart pot in your mess kit)
    3. Plastic sheet
    4. Something with a little weight to it, like a small
         rock.

Construction of the underground water still:

* Choose a low lying area such as a dry stream bed or a dip in the ground where water would collect if it rained. The spot must receive sunlight most of the day.

* Dig a hole about fifteen inches deep and up to three feet across. Slope the sides of the hole for your under ground water still like a bowl. A folding shovel would serve well for this, and many other purposes, and store easily in your survival kit.

* Cover the hole with a plastic sheet such as the Tarp 10x12 Blue Poly Tarp (which could also serve many other purposes) and seal the outer edges of your underground water still with your excavated soil to hold it in place and prevent evaporation. Place a small rock directly over your collection container to form an inverted cone. The condensed moisture will run down the plastic and drip into your container.

* If you use plants in the hole as an additional moisture source, you will need to dig the original hole larger to accommodate this additional material. Line the sloped sides of your underground water still with your foliage.

* Be sure the plastic does not touch the sides of the hole or foliage as the earth will absorb the condensed water. Again, be sure the edges of the plastic are held securely all around to prevent evaporation of moisture from your underground water still.

Although you can drink the water directly from your underground water still it would be safest to purify it by boiling it or adding Water Purifier Tablets Who knows what kind of bacteria is in the earth or on the greens that were placed in your underground water still.

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