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EMERGENCYWATERSTILL
To supplement supplies, an emergencywater still, requiring the carriageof
someequipment, can extract small amounts ofwater from soil that looks
quite dry, if set up in thismanner.
Foliage (if available) shouldbeplacedas illustratedaround thecontainer under
theplasticsheet. Clear polythenewhich ‘wets’ easily isbest for thepurpose
but ordinaryclear kitchenpolythenesheet (or preferably the thicker 100μm
varietysuchas is laiddownbeforeconcretefloorsetcarepoured) issatisfactory,
particularly if itssurface is roughenedso that thedropletsofwaterwill cling to
itmoreeasilyandwill not bewastedbydroppingoff before they rundown to
thepoint of thecone. It iswise tocut thesheets tosizeand roughen themwith
sandpaper before theyarestored in theaircraft, rather thanwaitinguntil one is
strandedsomewhere in theoutback. If a ‘nesting’ set of containers isobtained
and thesheetsand tubing rolled inside them, averycompact bundlecanbe
made. But see that it isverywellwrapped– itmayhave to liearound in the
luggagecompartment for a long timebefore it isneeded.
5 – forced land i ngs
DIRTTOANCHORPLASTICSHEET
PLASTICDRINKINGTUBE
ROCK
PLASTICSHEET
ONEORTWO
LITRECONTAINER
1m
200mm
500mm
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