F12: Reflecting On Clean Water

Given all of the technologies we have at our fingertips, it's almost impossible to believe there are still billions of people in the world without access to clean drinking water. Many of these people live in the landlocked areas of India and Africa, who only have access to brackish groundwater. Luckily, there’s a solution on the horizon for this scenario from researchers and engineers at Kings College London, MIT, and The Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energy Systems

It's hard to imagine what life must be like for these people.

So, when the entire city I live in lost access to running water recently, it allowed my young family to talk about the world and water, and how there are so many little things we take for granted.

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F12: REFLECTING ON CLEAN WATER 

AS I’M RECORDING THIS EPISODE, I’M FEELING A SENSE OF APPRECIATION FOR THE THINGS WE OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED. I’M THINKING ABOUT THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES AND WHAT RESIDENTS ARE GOING THROUGH FROM THE HISTORIC FIRES – HOW LIVES HAVE SUDDENLY BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. AND WHILE IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO COMPARE WITH WHAT’S HAPPENED IN LOS ANGELES, I’VE RECENTLY GAINED SOME PERSPECTIVE WHERE I LIVE. WE JUST HAD OUR FIRST WINTER STORM OF THE SEASON, AND IT CAUSED ALL SORTS OF ISSUES AT THE CITY’S WATER TREATMENT PLANT. SO, FOR THE LAST FOUR DAYS, MY FAMILY AND I….AND THE OTHER 250,000 RESIDENTS OF THE CITY, HAVE BEEN WITHOUT WATER.

AT FIRST IT WAS NO BIG DEAL. THE KIDS ENJOYED PLAYING IN THE SNOW AND WE USED STORE-BOUGHT WATER FOR COOKING AND DRINKING. LUCKILY, WE WERE ABLE TO FILL OUR BATHTUB WITH WATER JUST AS THE ISSUE WAS ANNOUNCED, SO WE HAD WATER TO FLUSH OUR TOILETS. THEN, AS BOTTLED WATER BECAME SCARCE AND THE WATER IN THE TUB WAS USED UP, WE HAD TO GET CREATIVE AND BRING SNOW INTO THE BATHTUB…UNTIL THERE AS NO MORE SNOW TO GATHER.

AS THE DAYS WENT ON, IT GOT…WELL, IT GOT BAD.

THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THIS IS, THE ORDEAL FORCED MY FAMILY, AND PROBABLY THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF RICHMOND, TO PAUSE AND REFLECT.  

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT CLEAN WATER, AN EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENT IN CLEAN WATER ACCESS FOR AREAS OF THE WORLD STRUGGLING TO FIND IT, AND, EQUALLY IMPORTANT, NOT FORGETTING THE LITTLE THINGS MANY OF US SO OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED.

EPISODE

AT THE UNITED NATIONS SUMMIT, BACK IN 2015, WORLD LEADERS ADOPTED A SET OF 17 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AIMED AT BRINGING THE WORLD TOGETHER TO INCREASE PROSPERITY AND BETTER PROTECT THE PLANET BY THE YEAR 2030.

GOAL NUMBER SIX ON THEIR LIST WAS TO ENSURE ACCESS TO WATER AND SANITATION FOR ALL.

AMBITIOUS, I KNOW, BUT AS HOCKEY PLAYER WAYNE GRETZKY FAMOUSLY SAID, “YOU MISS 100% OF THE SHOTS YOU DON’T TAKE.”

WELL, THE GOOD NEWS IS, SINCE 2015, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE WITH ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER HAS INCREASED FROM 69% TO 73%. THE BAD NEWS IS, IT’S 2025. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE DEMAND FOR CLEAN WATER KEEPS RISING AS THE WORLD’S POPULATION INCREASES, SO IT’S A MOVING TARGET WHEN IT COMES TO CLEAN WATER PRODUCTION.

A FEW MONTHS AGO, A RESEARCH TEAM AT KINGS COLLEGE LONDON, IN COLLABORATION WITH MIT AND THE HELMHOLTZ INSTITUTE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS IN GERMANY, ANNOUNCED A NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD ACCELERATE ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER FOR SOME OF THE MOST AREAS OF INDIA AND AFRICA FACING EXTREME WATER SCARCITY.

THE PROBLEM IN THESE ARES IS THAT, BECAUSE THEY’RE LANDLOCKED, THEIR ONLY ACCESS TO WATER IS GROUNDWATER, WHICH IS ALMOST ALWAYS BRACKISH AND UNDRINKABLE. THEIR INVENTION IS A SOLAR-POWERED DESALINATOR THAT TAKES GROUNDWATER AND APPLIES THE PROCESS OF ELECTRODIALYSIS TO REMOVE THE SALT, LEAVING FRESH, DRINKABLE WATER, FREE FROM CONTAMINANTS THAT MAY CARRY WATERBORNE DISEASES.

THE SYSTEM IS INEXPENSIVE, DOESN’T RELY ON ACCESS TO AN ELECTRICAL GRID, DOESN’T REQUIRE BATTERIES, AND HAS ZERO EMISSIONS. THE SOLAR PANELS THAT POWER THE UNIT ARE VARIABLE, SO THEY ADJUST TO THE AMOUNT OF SUNLIGHT AUTOMATICALLY TO PRODUCE A STEADY FLOW OF WATER, REGARDLESS OF CLOUD COVERAGE.

OF THE 1.6 BILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHO FACE WATER SCARCITY, 56% HAVE ACCESS TO GROUNDWATER THAT’S UNDRINKABLE DUE TO THE SALINE CONTENT, SO THIS SYSTEM HAS ENORMOUS POTENTIAL.

BUT POTENTIAL IS ONE THING - THEY NEEDED TO SEE IF THE DESIGN WORKED. THE RESEARCHERS FIRST TESTED THE UNIT IN THE VILLAGE OF CHELLERU, NEAR THE CITY OF HYDERABAD, A LARGE CITY IN CENTRAL, SOUTHERN INDIA. THEY WERE ABLE TO PRODUCE ENOUGH CLEAN DRINKING WATER FOR 3,000 PEOPLE PER DAY WITH A SINGLE UNIT.

ONCE THEY PROVED IT WOULD WORK, THEY THEN REPLICATED THE TESTS IN OTHER AREAS, AND EXPERIENCED SIMILAR RESULTS.

AT THIS POINT, THE TEAM IS SOLICITING FUNDS FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND WILL COMMERCIALIZE THE PRODUCT TO FUND THE TECHNOLOGY, WITH THE HOPES OF SCALING THE OPERATION IN THE COMING YEAR.

OF COURSE, THIS IS ONE SOLUTION, AND IT DEPENDS ON ACCESS TO GROUNDWATER, BUT THIS IS SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT – ONE THAT SHOULD ACCELERATE THE CHANCES FOR THE UNITED NATIONS TO ACHIEVE AT LEAST PART OF GOAL NUMBER SIX: SAFE AND AFFORDABLE DRINKING WATER FOR ALL.

2030 IS ONLY FIVE YEARS AWAY, BUT WITH TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LIKE THIS, THINGS ARE LOOKING UP.   

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, MY FAMILY WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO RECEIVE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING WE ASKED FOR FROM SANTA. WE ATE WELL AND ENJOYED WARM FIRES IN THE FIREPLACE. BUT, AS IT GOES, THERE WAS PLENTY OF COMPLAINING AND ARGUING GOING ON. THEN WE SUDDENLY FOUND OURSELVES IN A HOME WITHOUT WATER -  OUR CLOTHES WERE DIRTY, OUR TOILETS DIDN’T WORK, AND WE STRUGGLED TO EVEN WASH OUR OWN HANDS.  

IT REMINDS ME OF THE AESOP FABLE, THE DOG AND HIS REFLECTION.

IN THE STORY, A DOG, WITH A FRESH BONE IN ITS MOUTH FROM THE BUTCHER, WAS HAPPILY RUSHING HOME WHEN HE CROSSED A FOOTBRIDGE AND CAUGHT HIS OWN REFLECTION.  WHAT HE SAW WAS ANOTHER DOG CARRYING A MUCH BIGGER BONE THAN HIS OWN. WITHOUT THINKING HE JUMPED INTO THE WATER TO GET THE BIGGER BONE, ONLY TO FIND HIMSELF SWIMMING OVER TO THE BANK, WITHOUT ANYTHING TO EAT - AND HE REALIZED HOW FOOLISH HE WAS NOT TO APPRECIATE WHAT HE HAD WHEN HE HAD IT.  

THE ORDEAL HAS ALLOWED MY FAMILY TO HAVE A GOOD CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW LUCKY WE ARE. IT’S EASY TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE THINGS WE DON’T HAVE WHEN WE’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO ALL THE LUXURIES WE’RE SO ACCUSTOMED TO HAVE SITTING RIGHT IN FRONT OF US.

NOW, OVER FOUR PAINFUL DAYS, OUR KIDS REALIZE THAT CLEAN DRINKING WATER, AT ANY TEMPERATURE THEY WISH, AT THEIR FINGERTIPS WHENEVER THE WANT, ISN’T SOMETHING TO IGNORE.

IT'S AMAZING WHAT A LITTLE BIT OF PERSPECTIVE CAN DO.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-024-00213-w

https://water.org/about-us/news-press/why-on-earth-does-water-matter/

https://fablesofaesop.com/the-dog-and-the-shadow.html