I think that we can all agree on the fact that water is a valuable resource that’s necessary for life. However, I also think that we often forget how necessary it is for survival since water is such a readily available resource here in the United States. The reality is that nearly one billion people don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one out of every eight people on the planet. In places like Ethiopia or Kenya, finding drinkable water may take up to six hours! “The United Nations estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa alone loses 40 billion hours per year collecting water; that’s the same as a whole year’s worth of labor by France’s entire workforce!”
The problem of supplying clean drinking water to communities in third world countries has plagued inventors and philanthropists for years. How can we create a low maintenance, yet durable system that will provide clean water to rural communities? It’s impossible to integrate modern technology since remote villages don’t even have a repair man that could fix such complex technologies.
However, industrial engineers Arturo Vittori and Andreas Volger may have solved this problem by creating a product that extracts fresh water from air.
It’s called Warka Water. “At first glance, the 30-foot-tall, vase-shaped towers, named after a fig tree native to Ethiopia, have the look and feel of a showy art installation. But every detail, from carefully-placed curves to unique materials, has a functional purpose.” The outer frame is made from lightweight junca stalks which are woven in a pattern that provides stability. The inside is made from a mesh or polypropylene net that collects dew droplets as warm air cools. As the water vapor condenses, the droplets roll to the bottom of the net into a container where people on the ground can access the water from a faucet.
So just how much water can you harvest from the air? Field tests have shown that one Warka Water tower can supply more than 25 gallons of water throughout the day. Vittori says that “the most important factor in collecting condensation is the difference in temperature between nightfall and daybreak; the towers are proving successful even in the desert, where temperatures, in that time, can differ as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.”
In addition to providing a surprising amount of water, the entire structure is made of biodegradable materials. The entire contraption is also easy to clean and can be set up in less than a week without any mechanical tools. Vittori hopes that once the Warka Water has been accepted by one community, they will spread the news and teach other communities how to build their own Warka Water. It’s also very affordable too; each structure only costs $500 while other proposed ideas cost more than $1000.
“‘It’s not just illnesses that we’re trying to address. Many Ethiopian children from rural villages spend several hours every day to fetch water, time they could invest for more productive activities and education,’ he says. ‘If we can give people something that lets them be more independent, they can free themselves from this cycle.'”
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-tower-pulls-drinking-water-out-of-thin-air-180950399/?no-ist
http://www.architectureandvision.com/projects/chronological/84-projects/art/492-073-warkawater-2012?showall=&start=1
http://thewaterproject.org/poverty
Tags: africa, li, pisanibabich, poverty, warka water, water
wow, thats literally awesome. Is that 25 gallons in a rainforest or 25 gallons in the climates they will be used? Because that would be important. Super cool idea, and I’d love to see it in action!