Drinkable Water Scarcity


Water scarcity is an abstract concept for most of us. But what if you woke up one morning and your faucet wouldn’t turn on? Instead, you had to walk 4 miles to the nearest water source.

According to the UN, 783 million people do not have access to clean water. Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease. 70% of the world is covered by water, of that only 2.5% of water is fresh, and just 1% of our freshwater is available to drink. That’s only .007% of the planet’s water available for 7.5 billion people. In much of the developing world obtaining access to clean safe water is a laborious task.
 
In efforts to alleviate this strain on communities, Michael Prichard invented a filtration system called the lifesaver bottle. Before the lifesaver bottle, the best hand filtration had 200 nanometer pores. The smallest bacteria are about 200nm wide and the smallest virus is about 25nm wide. His filtration system’s pores are 15nm wide, so bacteria and viruses are unable to get through.


This system allows communities to filter the polluted water they have access to and turn it into safe clean drinkable water. These filters are usable for up to 6,000 liters. Once it has expired it will shut off protecting the user. He has also made a family size jerry can that would last a family of four for three years.  Because the filters need to be replaced this is not a permanent solution to the problem, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

For more information on the lifesaver bottle, see the video below. 

Resources:

Comments