Fresh water

Fresh water is Naturally occurring and widely available. It is water obtained from the natural environment with a sufficiently low salt content (0.5g/L) that it is not considered salt water. This does not imply that it is safe to drink.

Uses

Primary

• Feedstock for water

Natural occurrence

Fresh water can be obtained from many sources:

• Groundwater (springs and wells) is generally fresh water.
• Fresh Water occurs naturally as both rain and dew, as well as snow, sleet, and hail.
• Generally flowing water is fresh, so rivers and streams are good sources of fresh water
• Lakes usually contain fresh water
• Structural water occurs in many minerals. (e.g. Epsomite)
• Many plants contain an abundance of fresh water.

Hazards

• Drowning
• Overconsumption (>= 2L/hr for multiple hours when normally hydrated) can lead to hyponatremia
• Contaminated water can contain many pathogens

Production

Collect in watertight containers from any of the sources above.

Purification

• Filtration is often the first step
• Distillation is the primary method of water purification, but may require on the order of 3h20m of time and fuel per liter of water distilled (assuming 2 drops per second distillation rate, 20 drops per ml)