“For over two years, MSF has witnessed firsthand how access to water, sanitation and hygiene are being used against the whole population of Gaza in the genocide perpetrated by Israeli authorities.” - Médecins Sans Frontières, Water as a Weapon: Israel’s Destruction and Deprivation of Water and Sanitation in Gaza.

I've been researching how to get clean, drinkable water from nature for a while now, and today I learned a breakthrough kind of information! So I am going to share it with all of you, in case you also need to get some clean water someday.

What needs to be filtered out of water so it would be drinkable comes in a few different categories. Visible contaminants are mud, sand, dead bugs, chemicals, heavy metals. Those are not as difficult to remove, you can do it at home. If you remove the accumulation of chemicals at the top layer, allow dirt and sand to settle down at the bottom layer, then put the rest of the water through layers of rocks, sand, cotton and activated charcoal, you'll get water without any visible particles of dirt. But a homemade filter won't be able to remove viruses and bacteria from the water, and this is where things get tricky.

Water in the nature, even rainwater, is likely to contain some amount of E.coli, Giardia, Legionella, Shigella, and these will make you sick. If the water isn't coming directly from an underground spring, you can't consume it without a risk of illness.

Usually the facilities that purify water have a few different purifying methods in order to remove dirt and trash, and then biological contaminants and bacteria. Bacteria can be removed by exposure to UV lights, by distillation, ozonation, adding chlorine, or boiling. Now boiling is the most accessible, but imagine having to boil water every time you want a drink. That isn't going to taste nice, and takes a lot of fuel to do. I looked into chlorine tablets, which make sure the water stays clean and doesn't develop bacteria when sitting around, and they're too expensive! It's not a great method. Distillation takes a lot of energy and specialized equipment, I don't think I can get my hands on ozone. There's also a few more complicated methods that require a whole lab.

Then I looked into commercial filters to see how they do, and they are of course, advertised to perfectly purify any water, but their target customers are people who believe tap water is unsafe and needs to be additionally purified from chlorine. So they're mainly used for filtering tap water, and I haven't seen any proof that they actually filter out bacteria, which made me believe this isn't a guaranteed virus and bacteria free water.

Then I found something that felt very promising; a way people have been filtering water ages ago: a ceramic filter. These are created by mixing small organic particles into the clay, then during the process of firing, the organic matter burns away and the clay around it shrinks, creating microscopic pores. Some of the pores should be as tiny as half a micron. This is enough for water molecules to pass through, but most bacteria is too big for it! So it works by creating such tiny spaces for water to go through, that bacteria is left behind.

I thought this was super smart, I could in theory make a clay filter, if I had a kiln to fire it in, which I don't, and I'm a long way away from making one. But in an emergency, I thought, I would maybe purchase a ceramic filter. They're environmentally friendly, can be cleaned and reused many times.

And then today I saw this video (sorry there is a guy in it) where a guy grabs some swamp water and puts it in a jar. He then cuts few grape vines, dips them in a jar, and bends them down so they're dripping water into another jar. He sends both waters to the lab for testing, and while swamp water has e.coli, grape vine filtered water is clean of it.

He then explains it's because vines have so many microscopic tubes, and not all are connected completely, some of the passages are so tiny the bacteria cannot get through. The same exploit as the ceramic filter! But of course plants can do it too, they just have the structure that blocks bacteria out, because plants are the best.

Apparently this has been tested in professional labs many times and has been proven to work, and I'm so happy science has gotten this far! It would work with grape vine and cyprus wood, I wonder what else! Any toxic plant would leak some poison in there so they are a no-no.

The guy confirms the grape vine method does not filter our viruses, but it's mentioned that leaving it in direct sunlight for 6hrs will expose it to UV radiation which will take care of viruses. But like what if its not sunny that day. You can only get virus free water in summer then?

Also since I'm talking about water filtration, I need to bring this picture up because it's been driving me insane.

I've been doing so much research and nobody ever mentioned this as a valid method of water filtration, but every time I look at this picture it makes me feel so dumb. Tell me this wouldn't work. Not for viruses and bacteria of course, but for sediment and sand and trash? Water travels up cloth but I don't think clay or sand would. I think doing this to water before even putting it into a filter would be so sparing and nice to the filter.

And a simple grape vine can do even better than this. All we need is plant.

"Namibia is the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, and home to two of the world’s most ancient deserts, the Kalahari and the Namib. The capital, Windhoek, is sandwiched between them, 400 miles away from the nearest perennial river and more than 300 miles away from the coast. Water is in short supply.

It’s hard to imagine life thriving in Windhoek, yet 477,000 people call it home, and 99 per cent of them have access to drinking water thanks to technology pioneered 55 years ago on the outskirts of the city. Now, some of the world’s biggest cities are embracing this technology as they adapt to the harshest impacts of climate change. But Namibia leads the way.

How did this come about? In the 1950s, Windhoek’s natural resources struggled to cope with a rapidly growing population, and severe water shortages gripped the city. But disaster forced innovation, and in 1968 the Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant in Windhoek became the first place in the world to produce drinking water directly from sewage, a process known as direct potable reuse (DPR). 

That may sound revolting, but it’s completely safe. Dr Lucas van Vuuren, who was among those who pioneered Windhoek’s reclamation system, once said that “water should not be judged by its history, but by its quality”. And DPR ensures quality. 

This is done using a continuous multi-barrier treatment devised in Windhoek during eight years of pilot studies in the 1960s. This process – which has been upgraded four times since 1968 – eliminates pollutants and safeguards against pathogens by harnessing bacteria to digest the human waste and remove it from the water. This partly mimics what happens when water is recycled in nature, but Windhoek does it all in under 24 hours...

Pictured: These ultrafiltration membranes help to remove bacteria, viruses and pathogens. Image: Margaret Courtney-Clarke

“We know that we have antibiotics in the water, preservatives from cosmetics, anti-corrosion prevention chemicals from the dishwasher,” Honer explains. “We find them and we remove them.”

Honer adds that online instruments monitor the water continuously, and staff ensure that only drinking water that meets World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines is sent to homes. If any inconsistencies are detected, the plant goes into recycle mode and distribution is halted until correct values are restored. 

“The most important rule is, and was, and always will be ‘safety first’,” says Honer.  The facility has never been linked to an outbreak of waterborne disease, and now produces up to 5.5m gallons of drinking water every day – up to 35 per cent of the city’s consumption.

Namibians couldn’t survive without it, and as water shortages grip the planet, Windhoek’s insights and experience are more important than ever.

Interest from superpowers across the globe

In recent years, delegations from the US, France, Germany, India, Australia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates have visited Windhoek seeking solutions to water shortages in their own countries. 

Megadrought conditions have gripped the US since 2001, and the Colorado River – which provides 40 million people with drinking water – has been running at just 50 per cent of its traditional flow. As a result, several states including Texas, California, Arizona and Colorado are beginning to embrace DPR.

Troy Walker is a water reuse practice leader at Hazen and Sawyer, an environmental engineering firm helping Arizona to develop its DPR regulations. He visited Windhoek last year. “It was about being able to see the success of their system, and then looking at some of the technical details and how that might look in a US facility or an Australian facility,” he said. “[Windhoek] has helped drive a lot of discussion in industry. [Innovation] doesn’t all have to come out of California or Texas.”

Pictured: The internal pipes and workings of Namibia's DPR plant. As water becomes scarcer in some parts, countries are looking to DPR for solutions. Image: Margaret Courtney-Clarke

Namibia has also helped overcome the biggest obstacle to DPR – public acceptance. Disgust is a powerful emotion, and sensationalist ‘toilet to tap’ headlines have dismantled support for water reuse projects in the past. Unfortunately, DPR’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness, as the speed at which water can re-enter the system makes it especially vulnerable to prejudice, causing regulators to hesitate. “Technology has never been the reason why these projects don’t get built – it’s always public or political opposition,” says Patsy Tennyson, vice president of Katz and Associates, an American firm that specialises in public outreach and communications.

That’s why just a handful of facilities worldwide are currently doing DPR, with Windhoek standing alongside smaller schemes in the Philippines, South Africa and a hybrid facility in Big Spring, Texas. But that’s all changing. Drought and increased water scarcity worldwide are forcing us to change the way we think about water. 

Now, the US is ready to take the plunge, and in 2025, El Paso Water will begin operating the first ‘direct to distribution’ DPR facility in North America, turning up to 10m gallons of wasterwater per day into purified drinking water – twice as much as Windhoek. San Diego, Los Angeles, California, as well as Phoenix, Arizona are also exploring the technology."

Of course, DPR is not a silver bullet in the fight against climate change. It cannot create water out of thin air, and it will not facilitate endless growth. But it does help cities become more climate resilient by reducing their reliance on natural sources, such as the Colorado River. 

As other nations follow in Namibia’s footsteps, Windhoek may no longer take the lead after almost six decades in front.

“But Windhoek was the first,” Honer reminds me. “No one can take that away.”"

A Guide To Drinking Water And It’s Benefits

First of all, you should be consuming ‘drinking water’, also known as ‘potable water’ which is basically water that’s safe to drink. That’s why filters exist!

If you don’t have a filtration system or potable water in your area, the best thing you can do is boil water. This is to ensure you kill harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses and parasites.

Now, as far as the amount of potable water you should drink, this varies in different sizes, ages, environments, activities and condition.

Yet as a general rule, men should drink about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of water each day, while women should drink 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of water each day. Although some doctors recommend a minimum of 6 to 8 cups of water a day.

As for the benefits of consuming water, here are 7 reasons why you should be drinking potable water regularly:

1. Being that blood is over 90% water, and blood delivers oxygen throughout your body, water is essential for your circulatory system.

2. Water lubricates your joints, which aids in shock absorbing and prevents you from getting pain in your joints.

3. Water forms necessary body fluids such as saliva, which keeps necessary body parts moist and helps you digest food better too.

4. Water actually helps in keeping your skin young and healthy.

5. Water regulates your body temperature.

6. Water can also help you boost your energy, exercise better and lose more weight.

7. And finally, water helps you release body waste properly such as urine and sweat.

Well there you have it. I hope this was helpful. Just make sure to keep drinking water, as that will totally be helpful too.

Not to mention the fact that you can only live about three days without water.

And while you’re still alive, feel free to visit my other articles here to learn more about how to live a healthy lifestyle.

OK, that’s all I’ve got for now.

Yet remember that sharing is caring and I believe you’re a caring person, so share this to help others too.