Here is a homemade recipe you didn’t know you needed: purified water.

You likely have water on hand, but maybe you don’t exactly trust your source. You can use any of the three following water-purifying methods to clean the water you already have, to make drinking water for emergencies, or to get water on camping trips.

The various methods to make purified water each have their perks in removing contaminants found in water, such as particulates, bacteria, minerals, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, but none can be relied on solely to provide 100% “clean” water — if such a thing even exists in today’s world. However, they may come in handy in a variety of situations, even as an educational tool for children.

3 Ways to Purify Water at Home

1. Ionized Water

I learned about ionized water from Andreas Moritz’s liver cleanse program. Moritz claims that boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes causes it to become charged and saturated with negative oxygen ions. Because toxins and waste carry a positive charge, the ionized water attaches to them and discharges them from the body. Boiling also kills 99.9% of bacteria. This method, however, will not get rid of dirt and other solid matter in the water. Moritz suggest consuming ionized water while it is still hot (like tea) by storing it in a thermos flask and taking a few sips every half hour all day long.

2. Solar Still

A definite feature on an outdoor survival TV segment, the solar still is a more wilderness-apropos solution to cleansing water, but you can also try it at home. This distillation-type purifying system only works if you are in an area with plenty of sun.

First, find a bowl that has a wide and flat bottom surface – this could be a large bowl, a type of pot, etc. Place a weighted cup or jar in the center of the bowl. The height of the cup or jar should not exceed that of the bowl. Fill the bowl with the water you want to purify. The cup or jar should be weighted down and thus not floating. Meanwhile, the water should not be poured so high that it enters the cup.

Next, tightly cover the pot with plastic wrap. Place a rock or heavy object on top of the plastic wrap over the spot where the cup is. The rock will lightly press down on the center of the plastic wrap, but not so much that the rock touches the cup.

Let the contraption sit in the sun. The sun will evaporate the water, but the water will be unable to escape and will collect along the surface area of the plastic covering, and will eventually travel in the direction of the weighted part with the rock and drip into the cup. This can take days to take place, so be patient!

3. Filtration System

Make a homemade filtration system with layers of grass, rocks, charcoal, and sand. Poke holes into a bottom of a large container. Next, start layering filtering substances into the container, starting with a layer of grass wedge, cloth, or gravel. Then, add a layer of charcoal, followed by a layer of sand. Pour water into the top of the container, and retrieve it from the bottom with a collection container. Pass the water through the filter numerous times. Strain before consumption.

This filtration system is not to be used alone. While the sand removes some bacteria and the charcoal can remove some chemicals, it is not thorough enough to deem impure water safe to drink, unless you are in an emergency situation.

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Segway inventor Dean Kamen also invented a robotic arm and a wheelchair that can climb stairs and lift a person to standing height. He’s a man of many inventions and talents with 150 patents. But more recently, the inventor has taken on clean water.

Over the past 15 years, Kamen has worked to develop a portable means of delivering clean water to the more than 900 million people worldwide who don’t have reliable access to drinkable water.

“There are nearly a billion people in the world that get up every morning and their primary goal is to find water,” Kamen told Popular Science. “Many travel great distances to find water that won’t kill them. And sadly, hundreds of thousands of times a year it does kill, mostly kids.”

Segway inventor Kamen uses a system called vapor compression distillation to produce drinkable water from any water-based liquid including sewage, seawater, and chemical waste. This means that water laced with arsenic, poison, heavy metals, viruses, and bacteria can be purified.

It works by re-liquifying water at a precise temperature. Dirty water gets sucked into the system where it warms to a boiling point and enters an evaporator. It’s boiled to still hotter temperatures so that bacteria, viruses, and spores get hit twice. Steam rises from the evaporator into a compressor and clean water drips into the final chamber.

The device, about the size of a dorm fridge, is delivered with the help of a transportable container that Coca-Cola helped design.

According to Popular Science:

Created primarily by Coca-Cola and Deka Research and Development, the New Hampshire company founded by inventor Dean Kamen, the container is meant to be a kind of “downtown in a box”: a web-connected bodega-cum-community center that can be dropped into underdeveloped villages all over the world. Coke calls it an Ekocenter. It’s a pithy name, but it masks the transformative technology hidden within the container.

Kamen’s water technology feats are described in a new documentary premiering at Sundance.

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Image: UK Department of International Development

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Our lives depend on water, but we’re guzzling much more than our fair share.

Water is essential to every part of our daily lives, whether we are coming into direct contact with the liquid or not. Water is necessary for anything from keeping us hydrated to growing the food we eat and many of the raw materials needed to produce the objects we use. We tend to see water as a readily available substance that appears when we turn on the tap, not realizing how every single choice we make affects the world’s constantly declining supply of water. We are currently using up so much of the world’s water that it is projected that by 2030 water demand will exceed supply by 40 percent. That’s only 17 years away – what will we do?

It takes up to 2,000 gallons of water a day to sustain the lifestyle of an average U.S. citizen, and according to water expert Sandra Postel, more than half of it goes into our diet. A single pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water while 132 gallons of water are required for a pound of wheat and 119 gallons for a pound of potatoes. Beverages also have highly varying water footprints, as 1 gallon of coffee requires 880 gallon of water, while 1 gallon of tea requires 128 gallons of water and a gallon of wine requires 1,008 gallons of water. We can obviously make wiser dietary choices when it comes to our water footprint by choosing lower impact foods. But it seems that most of the country has been slow to do so, seeing as we consumed more than 52 billion pounds of meat in 2012 for example.

Global agricultural production alone accounts for 92 percent of the total water footprint, but food crops make-up only part of the equation. Textiles, biofuels, paper, fiber composites, coal and oil all require water use. We use these resources all the time, but not many of us consider that more than 700 gallons of water were used to produce just one of our many cotton t-shirts or that more than 13 gallons are necessary for five sheets of paper.

One of the main reasons our society does not understand the true value of water is our disconnection from the origin of our products and their supply chains. Most of the water use for the products we consume occurs far away from our daily lives as several large companies have outsourced their production to countries where water is over-exploited and valued at lower prices. Half of China’s industrial production and 40 percent of its agricultural activity occurs in the country’s driest regions despite extremely high risk of damage to long-term water supplies. The ‘Made in China’ label can means much more than possible labor exploitation, poor working conditions and cheap materials – it also demonstrates how the largest water footprint of the USA lies in the Yangtze River basin.

Fresh drinking water is another issue that many of us in first-world countries don’t really have to consider, as we can easily get it from our filtered tap or buy it from the store. Although 70 percent of the Earth is covered by water, most of it is saline and ocean-based. Only 2.5 of the world’s water is fresh, with only 1 percent of it accessible, as the rest is trapped in glaciers and snowfields. Water scarcity already affects 2.7 billion people every year, but the amount of people facing that problem is set to grow. It’s estimated that by 2025 two-thirds of the world’s population will live in water-stressed or water scarce regions.

So what can you do to make a difference? The first step is to educate yourself, and understand the water footprints of the different products you buy, and find possible alternatives. Our choices as consumers make a significant difference to the way businesses operate worldwide. National Geographic has created an online platform that allows you to compare the water footprints of different agricultural crops and gives tips on how to conserve water on a daily basis. Educating yourself on greywater systems and how to effectively implement them in your toilet or irrigation makes an immense difference. You can also ask businesses and municipalities to adopt sensible water recycling schemes by writing to them, so make your voice heard. We are already in the middle of a water crisis, it just hasn’t become as pertinent in the lives of those who still have access to clean water. Let’s realize it by becoming aware and active in curbing the effects while we still can – every drop counts.

Image: likeablerodent

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You’re not the only one who will enjoy cleaner drinking water with a Soma Water Filter. Now, buying one also gives money to clean water projects in Africa.

Even with the Clean Water Act, enjoying a glass of safe, delicious H20 isn’t as easy as you might think. Chemicals, residual pharmaceuticals, and straight up bacteria linger in even the cleanest public water supplies. And despite the higher price tag, bottled water isn’t much better.

Many have resorted to water filtration, whether a refillable jug or an under-sink system, to add a double layer of protection. Even these extra precautions have their drawbacks, however. Most only last a month or two before the filter becomes compromised, and then you’ve got to spend a lifetime buying refills.

Soma is a water filter of a different kind. The result of a successful crowdfunding project, the Soma features a beautiful glass carafe and 100 percent compostable filter made from all-natural Malaysian coconut shells, vegan silk, and food-based PLA plastic. Replacement filters are delivered right to your door via subscription service so you’ll never forget to replace the filter on time. But a unique, sustainable design is only the beginning of the Soma water filter’s positive impact.

This month, Soma embarked on a partnership with charity:water, an organization that uses 100 percent of its public donations to fight the growing water crisis all over the world. Now, every time you purchase a Soma water filter, you’ll be helping to fund well-building projects in Africa, and giving people access to safe, clean drinking water for the first time in their lives.

As part of the partnership, members of the Soma team recently traveled to Ethiopia with a diverse crew of story tellers to record the every day life of those who struggle to find suitable drinking water, and how the projects funded through charity:water are changing their lives.

The charity:water partnership is “a reflection of the product–water without compromise,” Soma co-founder Mike Del Ponte told Fast Co. Exist. “We want to hit on every level: user experience, the charitable element, the subscription model, and with the storytelling, we don’t want the traditional video of one person talking. It’s experiential, auditory, visual.”

Image: SomaWater.Co

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The fight for clean water in America.

In 1965, high levels of sewage and toxic waste in the Potomac River led President Lyndon B. Johnson to call it “a national disgrace.” Several years later, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, a landmark piece of legislation that has been instrumental in ensuring the safety and cleanliness of America’s bodies of water for the past 40 years.

But the fight for clean water is far from over. Today, American Rivers released a list of the nation’s Most Endangered Rivers, with the Potomac topping the list. Not only does the river have high pollution levels, but its location in the heart of Washington, D.C., is emblematic of the recent Clean Water Act rollbacks in Congress, which will cut funding for river restoration projects nationwide. Take a look at the other rivers on the list, then join American Rivers’ efforts to preserve them.

(above) Potomac River (Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Washington D.C.)

Green River (Wyoming, Utah, Colorado)

Chattahoochee River (Georgia)

Missouri River (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming)

Hoback River (Wyoming)

Grand River (Ohio)

South Fork Skykomish River (Washington)

Crystal River (Colorado)

Coal River (West Virginia)

Kansas River (Kansas)

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View more photo collections here. 

Images: Craig Pennington, David, Viswanath Duvvuri, Darren Blackburn, US Army Corps of Engineers, pfly, The Greater Southwestern Exploration Company, apliiq, Patrick Emerson, American Rivers

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Water makes the world go round.

It is estimated that only one percent of the world’s fresh water supply is available for human use, in the form of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and other above and below ground sources. Given the world’s impending water crisis, it’s more important than ever that we keep our water sources clean and free of impurities. This Earth Month, take a moment to appreciate this photo selection of healthy rivers, then learn more about the world’s water issues from our vault.

(above) Trento, Italy

Susquehanna River Valley, Pennsylvania, USA

Luckiamute Falls, Falls City, Oregon

Southern Ontario, Canada

River Dodder, Dublin, Ireland

Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon, Arizona

Farningham, England

Munnar, Kerala, India

Budd Creek, Yosemite National Park, California

Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada

Strassel, Oregon

Firehole River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Chirkhuwaa Khola, Khanbari, Nepal

Moor Brook, Dartmoor, England

Amazon River, Peru

Vuoksa River, Russia

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