Mission: Haiti 2009
Drinkable Water
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Josh Carroll surveying the river valley from which water must flow uphill.
Space technology splashing down in Gentilhomme
Have you ever given the Space Shuttle much thought? Perhaps you've marveled at the liftoff sequence or walked though the Air and Space Museum in wonder or been amazed by a mid-flight rendezvous with the International Space Station. From our perspective here on Earth, space shuttle missions appear to be a never-ending series of miracles that we can only begin to understand. As for astronauts, even the simplest routines of daily life take teams of engineers to solve. From their perspective everything must feel like a miracle.
One such engineering masterpiece was originally developed for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station: potable (drinkable) water systems. To take enough tanks of drinkable water for each short-term space mission and long-term stays on the IST would be a logistical nightmare. NASA developed filtration units for use on their crafts that capture wastewater and filter it for re-use.
Russell Kelly of New Zealand has secured an agreement with NASA to use the iodine technology to benefit worldwide water needs. Having lived in Kashmir on the India/Pakistan border, and having traveled widely through Asia, Russell and wife Sue set about inventing a simple filter system that was portable, required low maintenance and that could be operated easily. Currently they offer Gravity, Manual, Pedal, and Generator driven units.
Pedal-powered filter.
After returning from Mission: Haiti 2008, team member and Colorado-based Engineer Josh Carroll has been involved in conversations with Mr. Kelly. “This technology is exactly what we need in Haiti,” Carroll said on a recent phone call with distributors. The units have been invented and developed for small communities with no electricity or as a first response unit in the aftermath of flooding, earthquakes, etc.
The proprietary water system is made up of six separate filtration processes and all contained in one unit:
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Initial sediment reduction filter bag inside 200-liter drum reduces particulate matter and cysts down to 1 micron. It can be reversed to rinse off accumulated debris.
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Granular Activated Carbon cartridge to reduce herbicides, pesticides and organic matter.
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Patented Ceramic cartridge 20" x 4" x 0.02 micron, filled with MCV®* – an iodinated resin developed for and used by NASA for the Space Platform.
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Nanoceram electrostatic filter cartridge.
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Iodosorb® – an iodine scavenging resin to remove all iodine from the treated water.
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Carbon/KDF to remove the last vestige of taste and odor and to reduce heavy metals.
(Information c/o World Wide Water)
The filtration units can filter up to eight liters of water per minute and require little effort. These units are capable of sustaining the needs of 1,500 to 1,800 people at 5 liters per person per day.
To secure these units at the cisterns in both Gentilhomme and Malasi would ensure that both villages had access to SAFE, CLEAN water for six or eight months before we would need to service/replace filters.
Josh Carroll has been in contact with distributors throughout Latin American and the Southern U.S. The technology does not come free, as each pedal-powered filtration unit will cost $2,900 to be delivered to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Additional filters can be then purchased and taken to Haiti for about $325 per set. The set-up and commissioning costs would be very minimal with these units. They are relatively complete on arrival. Josh Carroll and missionary Miguel Rubén Guante can have each unit up and running with less than a day of work.
As part of Mission: Haiti 2009, these filter systems will be purchased, delivered, transported, and constructed in Gentilhomme and Malasi.
Posted 1/28/09 |