Saving Our Water Resources, One Innovation at a Time
The global water crisis is upon us, and has caught the eye of many activists, investors and the media. In light of this, investment influx for water sustainability development and research has resulted in some groundbreaking innovations and inspiring acts of Corporate Social Responsibility.
The global water crisis is getting progressively worse, having already left 1.2 billion people in water-scarce conditions. This number is projected to grow to 4 billion in just 10 more years. Between agriculture, personal use, and energy requirements, our growing population has been depleting and polluting the world’s water resources at unsustainable rates. Having been declared the number one global concern, the global water crisis has now caught the attention of many organizations and local and international leaders.
There has been a significant inflow of financial resources to fund water research and even more investment from global companies. This has resulted in some key breakthroughs in innovative water-use related products from the tech world. It is these breakthroughs that make response to the water crisis impactful, affordable and effective. Large corporations, obligated to complete a minimum amount of socially conscious work under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), have identified this innovative research and either thrown in more funds or taken on their own ventures for sustainable living. The Coca-Cola Company is running one of the biggest water sustainability programs across the globe today, and has achieved hugely impressive results from the same. While the water crisis is not close to being solved, recognizing progress and adopting new techniques can only help each one of us live a more sustainable and green life.
The first issue to be tackled was not drinking water, but agriculture. With water being the backbone of this massive and vital industry, investors first looked at ways to uphold widespread cultivation and maintain a steady food supply. Two of the main two techniques that emerged were dry farming and drip irrigation. These replaced water-intensive crops and flood irrigation that was found to be extremely demanding and wasteful. Dry farming requires little or no irrigation, while drop irrigation uses water more efficiently with the help of specially designed tubes installed above and below ground. Over time, however, water became a major public health issue. From water-borne diseases to contaminated drinking water, unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation grew to contribute heavily to Under-5 Mortality Rate and annual death rate. There are now unique inventions available that serve to solve this issue and make water safe for all.
What is great about the new products that have surfaced is that they are not only easy and eco-friendly to make, but many are portable, cheap and distributable to the most cut-off populations. The Lifestraw, for example, is no bigger than a small cigar, and serves as a filter for many microbes that could cause cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea. With just this small device, the billions living in water-scarce regions can obtain safe drinking water from almost any otherwise-contaminated water source. Other similar products include ‘Pure’ Water Bottles, which include filtration and chlorine tablets that can purify the most unsafe water and make it suitable for drinking. Among the most effective filters, the Lifesaver and Life sack have become the most popular. Both of these not only filter water, but also double up as containers, using UV and thermal radiation techniques to purify water. One of the most interesting and multi-purpose innovations in the market today is the Water Purifying Bicycle. This bike serves not only as a means of travel but also harnesses kinetic energy that is used to purify water, making it one of the most health-friendly and eco-friendly inventions. All these innovations have been distributed in developing areas, giving poor and remote populations a means to harness clean and safe drinking water and improve their sanitation and health status. There are still several other projects that are still underway and on the verge of being launched — like the wastewater recycling project at the Columbia Water Institute in New York and the HOPE project at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
At Stellenbosch, bottles are being reused and teabag-style water filters are being developed and tested for water purification. These disposable filters use carbon fibers as a purifiers and have been found to be quite effective. In New York, Dr. Kartik Chandran and his team are working on techniques to re-use wastewater. This project aims to recycle wastewater into usable form. The basis of this project is that not all our water needs require safe and pure drinking water, so why not re-use the undrinkable wastewater for other needs? Using bioreactors and bacteria and chemical-altering abilities, the team working on this project has been able to successfully purify wastewater not to drinkable, but to usable standards. In an interview earlier in 2016, Dr. Chandran stated that re-using and re-cycling waste water could actually save 100s of gallons. While separating water gives us maybe, 10 gallons per person, taking all of our wastewater and de-contaminating it saves us plenty. “This is about water sustainability”, he says, and it’s “not just a conversation” anymore. These projects are impressive, and are only made possible by funding and investment in research, bringing us to one of the main contributors to water sustainability efforts worldwide — the Coca-Cola Company.
“This is about water sustainability”
The Coca-Cola Company launched a sustainable initiatives act aimed at solving resource depletion and inadequacy issues by 2020. Their focus on water includes the establishment of a water fund to finance water crisis related research, launching of several awareness programs in local communities, new partnerships, and most impressively, a 100% water replenishment goal. Africa and India have been the company’s main targets so far, but there are still several other populations in need. The water replenishment goal is a unique and challenging one, but by giving back the same amount of water as that used in its manufacturing plants, the Coca-Cola company has managed to improve water-use efficiency in leaps and bounds. The company is on track to meet this goal, having already returned about 155 billion liters of water to in-need communities and nature through water projects in over 60 countries. This was above and beyond the 126 billion liters that the company uses in its manufacturing processes. Coca-Cola’s ambitious goals are the kind that when chased and achieved, make a true difference to sustainable use and resource conservation.
There are still miles to go, but wonderful initiatives have stemmed from extreme water crisis, awareness and activism. Progress like this provides hope that with the right kind of funding, commitment, and innovative research, we might just be able to fall into a sustainable and symbiotic relationship with the our planet.
