It has been awhile since I last wrote. During this time I have traveled to Saudi Arabia where I worked to bring into existence, inshala, a program to treat the waters which are being discharged into the Red Sea and into a large lake which is filled with untreated sewage. It is remarkable that many, if not most of the people there with whom I have interacted understand the serious nature of the public health and safety issues and also have formed a belief in the efficacy of the treatments which have been proposed...and yet...programs to stop the pollution and to treat the pollution are delayed and postponed without apparent reason.

Water Polltion in China

Estimates by some authorities indicate that more than 60% of all water in China is so badly polluted that it is unfit for any purpose.

Let me say that again: ESTIMATES ARE THAT MORE THAT 60% OF ALL WATER IN CHINA IS UNFIT FOR ANY PURPOSE!

Creative solutions are imperative if China and its people are to continue to develop and to survive.

A recent series of articles impresses the severity of pollution issues in China. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/world/asia/14china.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=d1b8105aa37183d8&ex=1192593600



Here is a video about one small area
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/10/14/world/asia/choking_on_growth_3.html#story3

An Australian Invention for Low Cost Water Purification

An Australian invention that will convert almost any source of contaminated water into Clean Healthy Drinking Water.


http://www.solarwaterpurifier.com/

The Solar Water Purifier™ has no moving parts, no electronics, no costly filters and uses no chemicals. Water enters a chamber of cascading trays, and as the sun shines through the glass into the water, the sun’s radiated heat rays are partially absorbed by the water and then more completely by the black plastic panel of cells. The heat is then conducted to the water which vaporises and condenses on the underside surface of the glass and then runs down into the purified water collection channel. ‘The Solar Water Purifier™’ will convert many types of contaminated water, including sea water into ‘Potable Healthy Drinking Water’. By using the sun’s energy to convert impure water into clean, safe and healthy drinking water, the Solar Water Purifier™ is the worlds most advanced and efficient solar evaporation water purification system. The evaporator tray must be kept wet at all times to reduce the effects of UV rays on the plastic panel from sunlight. Stringent testing of many water samples containing different forms of toxins and chemicals including arsenic, have been tested under NATA Laboratory conditions. The results produced figures ‘far better’ than the ‘standards’ recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Drinking Water requirements. The system performs better with Acidic Water samples, however prior to installing a system water test results can be verified with the SWP System supplier. Petroleum and caustic liquids cannot be used with the Solar Water Purifier. Working at an ambient temperature between 35°C and 40°C, the water within the Solar Water Purifier is heated to more than 85°C. This pasteurizing effect partially kills bacteria and pathogens dramatically reducing the risk of water borne diseases. Prolonged exposure to the sun’s ultra violet light transmitted by the special glass cover completes the germ killing process. It is best to discard the 1st hour (5 litres) of Purified Water as part of the operational maintenance procedure. Water output is purified to a level of 1-2 parts per million (ppm) of totally dissolved solids, which is better than standards recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Operating Solar Water Purifier systems have produced results with sea water which was initially measured at 35,000 ppm and the resultant output purified water was tested at 1-2ppm. Because the Solar Water Purifier™ uses the sun’s energy, it is very simple to use and it has no moving parts, therefore there is hardly any maintenance. The cleaning maintenance is an easy procedure which is generally completed by filling the panels with a solution of citric acid in clean water and leaving the panels to soak for about 2 hours, then flushing to remove the citric acid. Solar Water Purifier™ units can be connected together to produce larger quantities of water for communities. How SWP Works The unit works by receiving impure water to an inlet at the top of a ‘cascading tray’. The trickle of water gradually flows down through each chamber to an outlet at the bottom of the unit. As the temperature of the water rises due to the suns heat, the water vaporizes and then condenses on the under side of the glass panel. Droplets of water slowly run down the glass to a pure water channel which transfers the clean water into a ‘clean water container’. Low Maintenance Very little maintenance is required, in fact the purifiers are self cleaning while water is running through the units. Very Low Operating Cost Operating from the sun’s energy the Solar Water Purifier™ is the most efficient device to produce pure healthy drinking water. The Solar Water Purifier™ has no moving parts, no electronics, no costly filters and uses no chemicals to purify water. Water output is purified to a level of 1-2 ppm (parts per million) of totally dissolved solids (TDS), which is better than standards recommended by the World Health Organisation. Operating Solar Water Purifier systems have produced results with sea water which was initially measured at 35,000 ppm, and the resultant output pure water was tested at 1-2 ppm (TDS). Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in parts per million (ppm). This value indicates the presence of inorganic chemicals such as carbonate, sulphate and chlorides, as well as metals such as sodium, calcium etc Working at an ambient temperature of 35°C, the water within the Solar Water Purifier is heated to more then 85°C, and this pasteurizing effect partially kills bacteria and pathogens dramatically reducing the risk of water borne diseases. Prolonged exposure to ultra violet light transmitted by the special glass cover completes the germ killing process. The Solar Water Purifier™ has been tested under strict NATA laboratory conditions with Total Bacterial Count, E.coli and Coagulase positive Staphylococci at 37,000ppm. All tests resulted in a bacterial count of less than 20ppm which is below recommended World Health Organisation Standards. The SWP Arrays can be set up with a small feed water tank by gravity feed. An in-line tap restricts the flow to a desired level, and if there is too much water flowing in to the array, overflow output returns this water back to the feed water tank. The Clean Water output from the Solar Water Purifier array is gravity fed into a large, closed clean water tank for storage. The more sunlight the better the SWP array performs, however on slightly cloudy days, the SWP units will keep working as the built-up-temperature in the Array and in-feed tank would have been heated to a reasonable temperature. To obtain even greater purified water output, several sets of 12x Array SWP systems can be banked together. The banked arrays can all be supplied from a single impure input water feed tank. The Clean Water output for a 12x array system operating in Southern Australia can produce on average 30 - 40 litres of pure water at an ambient temperature of 35° C Clean Water Output at a latitude of 20° from the equator from a 12x array may be around 50 to 60 litres at an ambient temperature between 35°C and 40°C. The SWP Panels have been engineered to international standards, using components that maintain quality of purified water and withstand a range of environment conditions.

The Solar Water Purifier™ Just add Sunshine The World’s most advanced Solar Water Purifier System

Water Restoration and Treatment Solutions

Interesting or even good examples of solar desalinazation technologies that could be applied to roof-top and other forms of urban gardening?

Here is one of the most interesting and unusual ways to treat not only salt water to potable standards but also other polluted waters. Oguz Capan deserves world recognition and support.

Oguz Capan

ROC Energi Ltd.

Solar Desalinization and Water Purification, Turkey

Clean water for drinking, cooking, and crop production is hard to come by in the Turkish village of Taslica Peninsula - population of about 350 people. Borrowing technology from the petroleum refining process, this innovative water purification system harnesses atmospheric pressure and solar thermal energy to vaporize contaminated/salt water at a low temperature. The system is self contained, requiring no additional replacement parts, and is therefore suitable for small and large applications in rural areas located in sunny regions. The business model is also innovative: a private company, that includes village leaders on the Board of Directors, has been formed and local residents are given the option to finance the upfront cost of the system using their company shares. Run time: 3:19

http://www.kidzonline.org/webcast/case/archive/webcast.html?ID=233

Water

Long, long ago water ran everywhere drowning out the hopes of all the people.

Starvation, disease, hopelessness filled the light of day and made the nights even more intolerable.

The cries of the people were heard by their lord whose heart was filled with sadness and despair.

Seeking ways to bring into being a life better and with hope for the people of the three kingdoms, messengers were sent out amongst all of the people.

Three thousand years and more from those ancient days we see our people again fairly badly with their water resources.

While in those earlier times we sought ways to contain and prevent the water from flooding and damaging, our efforts today take us to seek ways to secure sufficient water that is safe for our consumption and use.