Transcript Clean water Clean water - Engineers Without Borders Australia

WATER
What are engineers ?
What are engineers ?
Biomedical
Mechatronics
Aerospace
Civil
Electrical
Chemical
Engineers in Australia
Respond to the needs of society:
• e.g. Better computers, more roads,
faster cars? iphones?
Engineers in South East Asia
Respond to the needs of society:
• e.g. Access to clean drinking water
So Who Are Engineers Without
Borders...?
Engineers who work to
improve quality of life
through education and
sustainable engineering
projects.
What are the problems ?
3 billion live
on less than
$2 per day
1 billion lack
access to
clean water
2 billion lack
access to
sanitation
High Prevalence of Water Borne Diseases
• Cholera
• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Ringworm (Tinea)
• Guinea-Worm Disease
Waterborne Diseases
• Unsafe drinking water
causes 80% of diseases
in the world
• Diarrhoea kills 1.8 million
children each year
Escherichia coli bacteria
Source:
http://www.thebacteriabusters.com/eColi.html
Haiti vs Chile
Haiti vs Chile
Problems?
• Damage to infrastructure
• Lack of medical supplies &
overcrowded hospitals
• Disease
• Poverty & lack of money to
rebuild
• Lack of food and clean water
What about solutions ?
Our focus: Clean water
Clean water: Bio Sand filter
• Water passes
through layers of
sand, gravel and
charcoal
• After repeated use,
a “biofilm” layer
forms on the sand
• This sticky layer
traps bacteria and
“eats” them.
Clean water: Activated
Charcoal
• Activated charcoal has
been treated with
oxygen to open up
millions of tiny pores
between carbon atoms
• Huge surface area to
trap organic (carbon)
compounds.
Source: user:Ravedave, Wikipedia
Clean water: Solar Radiation
• Cover half of a plastic
bottle in black paint and
lay in the sun
• UV Radiation kills
bacteria in water
• Water must be heated to
65 C for 6 minutes
Ceramic Water Filters
• Materials - powdered clay
and rice husks
• Clay is naturally porous, the
water will pass through
leaving impurities in the pot
• The inside of the pots are
coated with silver to kill
bacteria
Resource: Development International Cambodia http://www.rdic.org/waterstart.htm
Activity:
Make your own water filter
In country groups,
• Decide what to do
• Buy materials
• Make filter
• Test filter
• Present to class
How does the activity relate to the real world?
Activity
Real World
Different amounts of
money per group
• Based on actual country’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP)
Illegible instructions
• Based on actual country’s illiteracy rate
• Lack of education and access to information
Resourcefulness of
groups with little
money
• People in poorer countries have their own
coping mechanisms
Collaboration between
countries
• North-South co-operation
• Richer countries formed the G8 and OECD
• Poorer countries formed the Group of 24
What you can do?
• Get informed
• Think about international
development – we can help
others
• Get involved in science and
technology – create new
solutions