What to do about water?

So you've survived the apocalypse. The sun rises over a desolate landscape, and your biggest problem today? Water. It's essential, and yet the streams, lakes, and even rainwater could now be riddled with contaminants—chemicals, bacteria, or even fallout particles. Without clean water, survival becomes impossible. Even if you’ve managed to stockpile purification tablets or water filters, eventually you’re going to run out. One of the most critical skills to rebuild civilization is knowing how to build a simple yet effective water filter from materials you can find or grow. Here’s how you can create a reliable water filter to ensure you and your community have access to safe drinking water. This basic design can be scaled to whatever size is needed, provided you can find or construct the needed vessel to hold the filtration layers.