Contributors:

David Allison lives and works in Portland Oregon were he teaches and plays Capoeira Angola. He enjoys companion planting and has romantic science fiction projects that he works on from time to time. David is a single father who likes to spend time getting into mischief with his children. Some of his other hobbies include: dancing, flipping houses, volunteerism and meeting people.

The end result was a water product that is safe to replenish aquifers, surface water reservoirs and in some cases even go directly into the drinking water systems such as the system used in Denver, Colorado USA.

A planned Indirect Potable Reuse or Planned IPRwas the objective of this study and NEWater (recycled water from sewage treatment facilities) has historically been showing positive results in the US for more than 20 years, since as early as 1976.

The NEWater results from the Bedok Water Reclamation Plant where the study was performed, were satisfactory and above, receiving around 95% of its water from domestic wastewater sources and yet, still able to comply, and in some cases overachieve rigorous standards.

No specific pH standard was set but met at pH 5.9, TOC Removal was set at 97% while an actual 99% was achieved, Ammonia Removal was set at 90% while a 94% was actually achieved.

TDS Removal was set and achieved at 97% as was MF Filtrate Turbidity set and achieved at 0.1 NTU, meeting those two standards precisely.

What characterizes NEWater from other treatment systems is the use of advanced dual-membrane (microfiltration and reverse osmosis) and ultraviolet technologies that spend less energy to remove pollutants and chemicals with a cleaner, more efficient water product that is almost drinkable.

Drinking water parameters from the most current WHO and USEPA were used to analyze a total of 190 physical, chemical and microbial samples; measuring and relating their water quality.

By studying the effects of NEWater on one of the most sensitive species of mice as well as one of the most sensitive species of fish, over the long-term, no apparent dangers were reported, with tissue and health conditions remaining normal in both testspecies when compared to those exposed instead to raw reservoir water over the same period.

The study concluded that NEWater is considered safe for potable use based on two years of analysis, in compliance to USEPA and WHO standards and the Singapore Government should consider NEWater for Indirect Potable Reuse.

The Singapore Water Reclamation Study suggests that not only is the process safe, but blending NEWater with the Singapore reservoir water supply would help recover trace minerals eliminated in the reverse osmosis process thereby providing a better taste as well as improve public acceptance.

Media:
Oakley City Water Reclamation Facility – Interesting video on filtration membranes.

Google.org and The Google Foundation are planning to support research in western Kenya to find ways to prevent childhood water related deaths as well as offer new solutions on how to make water safe for drinking. This research is being conducted by Alix Zwane and Edward Miguel of UC Berkeley and Michael Kremer of Harvard University.

IRC:

This initiative fits in future plans of Google for the next 20 years, to spend 1% of its equity and profits, together around USD 1 billion (EUR 833m), on philanthropic activities focusing on world poverty and the environment. The money will be managed by Google.org which includes the work of the Google Foundation, some of Google’s own projects, and partnerships and contributions to for-profit and non-profit entities.The International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance calls upon Kenyan rainwater harvesters to contact Google and to explain their rural water supply solutions.

Ok great, I see lots of organizations out there collecting donations and talking but when are we going to see some action?

To purify water all it takes is:

1. gravel
2. sand
3. charcoal
4. a soda bottle
5. cheesecloth

I understand that you can not always lead people to fresh water but with the money Google is offering, and the funds “non profits” are collecting, you could surely create some low cost products for village people to sell or barter. Rainwater harvesting and purification kits would also be small and lightweight.

You can even harvest fresh water from a small popup tent or wrap a baggy around a tree branch to collect moisture. How about low cost solar water distillers? Do they have hot rooftops surfaces in Kenya? Yep, they sure do! This information has been around for years.