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This is kind of an expansion on my survival guide. I plan to make a website some day with more pages. Each page containing information on a single topic rather than all my information on one page. All the information in one place is a lot to read. Lots of pages that are manageable will be easier.

In case of a disaster you will need water. You can last quite some time without food, but water is VITAL. You can only last a few days without it. This is pretty commonly shared information. The usual statistic is that you can survive about 3 days. The truth is it really varies. If you were already dehydrated when starting the 3 day timer you will have less time. If you're in a hot environment and/or exercising so you swear a lot you will have less time. There isn't really a definite answer in how long you will survive so it's best not to take any chances.

Check your hydration. Checking your hydration is as simple as watching your urine. If you're well hydrated your urine is pale and somewhat yellow. If you're dehydrated your urine will be a dark yellow and you should drink more water.

The first thing you want is a container to carry water in. In my survival gear I have a 2 liter camelbak and a 1 quart canteen. You can get the canteens at a military surplus store for a few bucks. I actually got mine at Good Will for 99 cents. If you do get a canteen at a military surplus store you might want to consider a canteen pouch as well. They should cost roughly as much as a canteen itself. They should have a fuzzy inner lining. This insulates the canteen to keep cold water cold. It also has a loop you can feed a belt through to keep the canteen on your hip within easy access. A camelbak is a simple device. You have a plastic bladder (a bag) that you can fill with water. There's a hose you attach to it. On the other end of the hose is a bite valve. You just bite down on it and suck water when you're thirsty. As the bag empties it collapses on itself unlike the canteen. You can pick them up in any sporting goods store.

There are plenty of other containers you can use. A simple water bottle works well, but I don't personally like using them since they usually hold less than a canteen. If you're lost in the woods you want something reasonably portable that still holds enough water. If you're a nomad apocalypse survivor, in which I mean the s**t has hit the fan and you carry ALL your equipment with you everywhere I go I would also suggest keeping the weight down. If you're apocalypse surviving and you have a dedicated camp to keep your gear in consider a bucket or a water tank. Ziplock freezer bags are pretty heavy duty compared to regular ziplocks. The box says they aren't designed to hold liquids, but they've done alright for me. It's not my first choice but it works. Doesn't hurt to have plenty of water.

Water treatment is another important factor. There are two major types of contamination. There is chemical and there is biological. Chemical contamination such as toxins in the water supply can often be filtered. If you're traveling light I'm not sure you want to carry a water filter on you. That's your call if you think you will need it. If you're living out of a camp it won't hurt to have one. Biological contamination is where you have viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens in your water supply. You can get water purification tablets can be purchased. I will begin by noting that they don't technically purify the water. They kill pathogens but do not remove toxins. Anyway you simply put the tablets in the water according to instructions and wait for it to kill stuff. It should be noted that it can be harmful to use these tablets for extended periods of time. These tablets were designed to clean water gathered from "questionable sources" like a stagnant pond for example. Using them once in a while can be helpful but I wouldn't make a habit of it. Alternately you can simply boil your water to kill pathogens. Hikers might not carry a pot to boil water in though. You don't want to boil water in your canteen or camelbak. Apocalyptic survivors should probably have some sort of water to cook food in.

Water filter straws can be purchased for camelbaks and possibly for canteens. They won't filter the water before it makes it inside your container of choice. The straws are only rated to filter about 20 gallons but for a bug out bag that should last long enough.

Another method is distillation. This cleans out toxins AND kills pathogens. It's a simple method.You boil water. This creates steam. You have some sort of device that catches the steam and cools it turning it back into a liquid state. The boiling kills pathogens. The evaporation separates the water from most toxins. Once again hikers lost in the woods won't have a lot of equipment to build this, but if you're crafty you can figure something out. I've heard you can put water in a cup, put a piece of plastic on top of the cup, and set it in the sun. The water evaporates and collects on the plastic where you can drink the drops. It's very small scale, but I guess it works.

Better drink my own piss. If you spend much time online you may have seen pictures of Bear Gryllis talking about some situation and how he better drink his own piss. In extreme emergency you can drink your own urine but you must be careful. Urine is one means the body uses to get rid of toxins so when you urinate your body is expelling those toxins. When you drink your own urine you put those toxins in your system. The next time you urinate it is more toxic than it was before. All the old toxins from the last time you peed are there, but now the new toxins that built up in your system since then are there too.I've heard you can drink your pee twice in a row but after that you better stop. This is a good idea. Alternately you can use the distillation technique with the cup and piece of plastic to separate the water and drink it leaving the toxins behind.