Potable water refers to water that is 'drinkable' and will not cause harm or sickness to your body. When determining whether water is potable, look at a couple things: is the water moving naturally either in a body of water or river? is there a lot of sediment floating in the water? does the water smell? Is there algae growing in it?

If the answers to these questions are yes, no, no, no; you might be alright to drink it. otherwise there are 2 different methods to purify water: 1.) boil the water, 2.) Pick up iodine tablets from your local outdoor store.