Water Purification Using Lugol's Solution (Iodine)

I have always wanted to have my own place in the country on maybe 10 or more acres with livestock and crops. However, to survive in the event of economic collapse or disaster, one has to have access to the basics at one's home including clean ground water. Ever wonder how you would make it if an apocalyptic "end of the world as we know it" scenario occurred? By make it, I am referring to the most critical component of life - purified water... because you and your family won't survive long if you don't know how to make fresh water when city services are turned off or the municipal water supply is tainted. This is a common scenario when hurricanes reek devastation. I have heard many people say they will simply end their lives if such a tragedy occurs. These are the very same people who won't be smart enough to have a suicide pill in their first aid kit to enable their decision. If my guess is right, they won't even have a first aid kit let alone a gun, knife or rope. All of these items are necessary whether you plan to tough it out or end it all.

This post was written for those who plan to tough it out during the days or weeks following a disaster.

Over the years, as a hiking advocate, I have come up with a couple ways to purify water on the run. There is the old island trick of digging a hole deep enough to hit the water table and let the hole fill with naturally purified water. Of course, you have to be close to a body of water for this to work.

The other solutions are Lugol's Iodine Solution, bleach, and the SODIS method.

• Lugol's Solution:  A small bottle that is light weight and goes a long way. Can be used for both water purification and dressing wounds. Can also protect your thyroid in the event of nuclear fallout. 
• Bleach: Can be carried in a small bottle but is not as concentrated as Lugol's so it takes up more space and is heavier. To last months or even years you'd need a lot.
• SODIS: Requires you to carry a clear bottle at all times - 2, 1-gallon size bottles per person. This requires sun so it will only work in sunny climates. The hotter the climate the more water you can purify but also the more water your body requires. 

I like a combination of the Lugol's and the SODIS method if it is at all possible. Purchasing collapsible bottles from your local camping store for your emergency kit is the best preparation one can do.  

Remember that in a rural setting you won't have access to gasoline to run a vehicle so you might as well prepare to carry water on a pack animal such as a donkey. Okay, well, that is a whole other subject so I will  save it for later. Bottom line is, learn how to purify your water.

Using Lugol's Solution is fairly straight forward. It requires

Here are the basics of the SODIS water purification method. SODIS is a non profit group based in Switzerland.

Solar water disinfection - the SODIS method - is a simple procedure to disinfect drinking water. Contaminated water is filled in a transparent PET-bottle or glass bottle and exposed to the sun for 6 hours. During this time, the UV-radiation of the sun kills diarrhoea generating pathogens. The SODIS-method helps to prevent diarrhoea and thereby is saving lives of people. This is urgently necessary as still more than 4000 children die every day from the consequences of diarrhoea.

SODIS (abbreviation of Solar Water Disinfection) is an initiative of Eawag. 

More on Lugol's
Iodine tincture is poisonous, Lugols solution is not.  All of the other halogens, flourine, chlorine, and bromine are also poisonous and replace iodine (which is a necessary nutrient) in the body. 

Elemental iodine is very insoluble in water so it needs something to help it dissolve. Lugol's solutions uses a salt "KBr", while tincture uses ethanol and a lot less KBr, or NaBr. Your body can hack alot more ethanol than it can iodine.