This system, in development by Project Hope House in collaboration with the Full Belly Project, has been developed to provide clean water to remote and under-served areas. While being specifically designed in response to the recent cholera outbreaks in Haiti, it can also be easily applied to equatorial areas throughout the world. This system relies on the SODIS method of treatment for water-borne diarrheal and parasitic pathogens which kill thousands each year and are among the leading causes of child mortality. The SODIS method effectively pasteurizes water by exposing it to the heat and UV radiation of the sun in clear polyethylene (PET)containers. This strategy is currently promoted by the World Health Organization as an effective way to treat sources of water. Current manifestations involve filing clear plastic water bottles with water and leaving them exposed to the sun for up to six hours. This practice is not only labor intensive, but also creates waste in the form of non-biodegradable plastic containers in locations where recycling and responsible disposal infrastructure is non-existent. Furthermore. these types of containers are rare in the developing world. as blue and green tinted plastic bottles are cheaper and more readily available. The SODIS PUMP is an evolution of the existing SODIS practice, providing a more readily distributable, less time consuming, and more ecologically and economically sensitive method of water treatment.
The SODIS PUMP consists of four simple and widely available components: (1) a water source, (2) a rooftop array of clear plastic tubing, (3) an ergonomic modular pump,(4)and a dispensary container. Each morning. water is loaded into the system from individual or community supplies. Water is drawn into an arrangement of common clear plastic tubing on a roof or other area exposed to the sun using the modular concrete "Rocking Water Pump" developed by The Full Belly Project. These ergonomic pumps are made from simple materials such as concrete, rubber or latex sheet material, and steel bar stock. The pump's chambers are made using a fiberglass master-form, which can mold an unlimited amount of distributable pump housings near where they are needed. The cache of water in the loaded system is left exposed through the heat of the day. Here, water-borne pathogens are deactivated through a combination of heat and UV radiation. That evening, the clean water is emptied into a concrete container which is sized to match the volume of tubing in the corresponding array. This container is also made using an adjustable fiberglass master form which can provide properly sized containers for a myriad of system capacities.
This system will be incorporated into the Hope House's off-grid utility components.
For more information on The Full Belly Project visit thefullbellyproject.org.
For more information on SODIS CLICK HERE.
