Potable Drinking Water for Chile

Week by week, and drop to drop, twelve students from the Art Center College of Design are working towards social change.  In partnership with Un Techo Para Mi Pais, the students develop new tools for using, storing, and transporting water to improve the quality of life of impoverished families living in campamentos/slums, Chile. Last Week, we were transported to A Day in the Life of the poorest families in campamentos.  We learned the important role water plays and we also saw how families are being emotionally and physically affected by the lack of basic needs.  This week, follow, step by step, the exciting work of the students to find ways to make the families' dream of having Potable Drinking Water... a reality!

Health and Sanitation

Meet Erica and Elizabeth. They are the entrepreneurs of potable drinking water for Chile.  As changemakers they both consider imperative to address the Health and Sanitation issue in the campamentos. Erica says she is committed to the project, because she wants to contribute with creating healthier conditions of life for these families after she was sick during her stay in Chile.  She also wants to work for the improvement of the taste of water in campamentos. 

Last week, we learned that storing water in multiple cotainers increases the possibility of water contamination, since containers are not always stored properly and often pick up dirt and germs. The conditions in the campamentos make it difficult to preserve water quality.  Water can be contaminated at many points throughout its daily use. Even after treatment, water can be recontaminated through inappropriate storage and handling.  For this reason, Erica and Elizabeth are working towards eliminating these contamination risks by designing easy and responsible solutions. 

Erica and Elizabeth's conclusion of their study reaffirmed that:

• Inappropriate handling and storage of water leads to contamination and possible illness.
• Inaccurate measures of chlorine result in ineffective treatment or adverse long term effects from overuse. 
• Dislike for taste of treated water leads to substitution with soft drinks or boiled water with sugar, which is expensive, time consuming, and unhealthy.

Families in campamentos have tap water delivered but they store it for a long time in containers that are not kept clean.  They do use chlorine for cleaning and purifying water, but the main problem is that they are not measuring safe chlorination.    Thus, Erica and Elizabeth's solution proposal is to enhance strong chlorine measuring education and to encourage the use of a low-cost water filter.

A ceramic water purifier (CWP), is a potential low-cost filter solution for the families in campamentos.  The CWP is proved to be an effective filter that eliminates approximately 99.8% of most water germs.   It is imperative to have  a product that is accesible to campamentos' families.  Thus, the CWP is an appropriate and convenient solution since it is inexpensive and easy to make at home.  The Filter would help breaking the recontamination process of water in campamentos, improving water quality at use level.

Now that you have witnessed the first innovation of SAFE AGUA CHILE, you can ask yourself: how can I imitate the student's entrepreneur spirit to help my own community?  And if you feel like you haven't witnessed enough... join Stella and Nubia next week and follow step by step and drop to drop how they develop a low-cost but real world potential Pressurized Water System. See you then!

To learn more about Erica and Elizabeth's study, watch the presentation below.

If you want to see a real changemaker talk... we recommend to watch Elizabeth's testimony and explanation on their Potabe Drinking Water project. And remember... anyone can be a changemaker!