http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/19/fieldtrate-lite-water-filtration-_n_7624560.html
This Clean Water Device Creates A Tap From A Backpack, And It's Saving Lives
The Straits Times, Singapore | By Olivia Ho
Posted: 06/20/2015 9:00 am EDT Updated: 06/20/2015 9:00 am EDT
June 20th is Impact Journalism Day, a global media campaign to
spotlight solutions. The Huffington Post is one of more than 45 news
organizations committed to publishing solutions-based stories that can
inspire change on a global level.
It weighs no more than 300 grams, fits easily into a backpack and
looks like any other plastic bag. But the simple device is a
life-saver for people who have no access to clean drinking water.
The bag, called Fieldtrate Lite, filters dirty water, such as river
water, through a membrane and turns it into potable water in the same
time it would take to run it from the tap.
It is the brainchild of Singapore start-up WateROAM, which designs
portable water filtration systems for use in disaster relief
operations or among rural communities without access to clean water.
The social enterprise, set up last August, is run by four young people
- Mr David Pong, 26, Mr Lim Chong Tee, 24, Mr Vincent Loka, 22, and Mr
Pooi Ching Kwek, 27. They were schoolmates at the National University
of Singapore (NUS).
Mr Pong, WateROAM’s chief executive, said: “Our vision is to build a
world where no man shall face prolonged thirst.”
The Singaporean, who has a degree in business administration, added:
“In the areas we went to, such as Phnom Penh and Bintan, we saw kids
stunted in growth from not having proper nutrients and clean drinking
water.
“They don’t want to go to school because they feel sick all the time,
they can’t help out on the farm, they are sidelined in job interviews
because of their physical stature.
“Water affects everything in life.”
The team hopes that Fieldtrate Lite will be the answer to the problem.
The filtration system, which costs $35, is easy to operate and does
not require electricity. Each bag, made of medical-grade plastic, is
fitted with a tube that dispenses filtered water.
It takes just an hour to filter a full bag of six to 10 litres of
water, which can serve a household of five to seven people.
It can last three to five years because it uses ceramic membranes,
which are more durable than the widely-used polymeric membranes which
tear more easily.
The WateRoam team says they are the first to use ceramic membrane
technology, which is more commonly used for industrial waste
management, in portable water filters.
WateROAM's team brought a 30kg Fieldtrate Plus system to a village of
about 300 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in June 2014. The filtration
system, which looks like a large suitcase, can produce up to 500
litres of clean water per hour.
WateRoam also has a more elaborate filtration system, called
Fieldtrate Plus, which was invented before Fieldtrate Lite.
Fieldtrate Plus, which is the size and weight of a large suitcase at
30kg, is sold for $1,500. It can produce up to 500 litres of clean
water per hour, enough to cater to the needs of a few hundred people.
To date, WateROAM’s filtration systems have provided drinkable water
for nearly 1,000 people in three countries, including an orphanage in
Bintan, Indonesia, a village in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and victims of
last December’s floods in Kelantan, Malaysia.
Mr Lim, who is the chief marketing officer of the start-up, said he
got interested in water sanitation after a trip to Phnom Penh during
his junior college days.
There, he saw a young boy drinking dirty water from a flooded well.
“The water was very brown, even greenish, but he drank it anyway. When
I first saw that, it really affected me.”
He then decided to study environmental engineering at university, so
that he could help tackle water problems. He is now three years into
his degree course.
Mr Loka, who is WateRoam’s financial controller, said clean water can
be scarce in his hometown of Medan in Indonesia because of frequent
flooding.
“I took this path because I hope to contribute to my country some
day,” said the final-year environmental engineering student.
WateROAM now sells the filters to non-governmental organisations such
as World Vision, Canact and Relief.sg, which bring them to overseas
communities.
The team members also fly in – sometimes paying for flights out of
their own pockets – to help install the systems and educate users on
water hygiene.
Mr Pong, who went to Kelantan in March, said: “Three months after the
flooding, many people were still relying on relief aid for bottled
water. We want to help deploy systems which are more sustainable.”
WateROAM’s next step is developing Fieldtrate X, a filter which can
handle water containing arsenic, which is a major issue for ground
water in areas such as Phnom Penh and Bangladesh.
A prototype is being tested by the Bangladeshi government, and the
team expects it to be ready for use in the field in six months’ time.
Mr Pong graduated from NUS last year; the rest of the team are
juggling their WateROAM responsibilities with their studies.
But Mr Lim said the pressure was “not daunting” and added: “This is my
dream job.”
He returned to Phnom Penh last June, this time with the Fieldtrate
Plus in tow. “When I saw the village kids running around the system,
finally able to play with clean water, I felt whatever I’m doing is
worth it.”
Received on Sun Jun 21 2015 - 12:53:12 EDT