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How to cheaply deliver lots of clean water to the poor?

Some nights I have trouble sleeping because I start "day" dreaming while trying to go to sleep.  Last night it was about developing a solution to deliver clean water to the ultra-poor who live near salty or brackish water.  We usually write about water conservation for rich Americans.  You know, how to get free rain barrels to save a few dollars irrigating your lawn.

I think I was stuck on this topic after reading a Time Magazine article about the thousands of people dying in Somalia because of the drought and resulting famine.

A few years ago while thinking on this same topic I was researching ways to evaporate sea water so you are left with clean H2O.  I had read about the deserted island survival tip about digging a whole, putting a cup of salt water in it, placing a plastic sheet over the hole and a rock on top of and in the middle of the sheet, and a clean cup under the now sagging plastic sheet.  This way the salt water evaporates and then clean water collects in the clean cup.

After doing some research I found the Watercone, which uses the same idea but is way simpler. While I had trouble sleeping last night I was thinking about using solar thermal system to heat up salt water so a lot more of it could be evaporated.  Well it looks like the same company behind the Watercone, MAGE water management, has also thought of this same idea and calls it SAL-MEH water generation modules.

So how do we get East African entrepreneurs to start building these facilities like crazy, then hiring the millions of unemployed to bring the clean water farther inland?  What are some other ways to cheaply deliver clean water to those who really need it?

 

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Hello Day Dreamer, I have known about this method for many years and I can somewhat agree with you but, therein does not lie the problem. The problem is, and has been proven over and over again, that the rich, the elite and the powerful grab the provisions, food, water, systems, and even money for their own profit. They will commandeer the supplies or resources and sell them to the very people they were awarded for, yet the PC world does not want to deal with it. Why don't they deal with it? Because, they are shaking hands and making deals with these crooks for oil, gold, diamonds, information and whatever else, like selling arms. And who do they use these arms on? The poor and defenseless, of course. If you want to help these people you need to wipe-out the rich and powerful scabs at the top. Ever heard of Idi Amin? When he was chased off into hiding Uganda took a turn for the better but, they made a big mistake, they forgot to get rid of Fatboy's cohorts. They forgot to remind the up-and-commers what will happen to them if they go that way. It's a job that needs to be well sewn up. For a few Wake-Up facts take a look on YouTube at this recent series of videos, Type in: Mike Ruppert CIA 911 It will take about 2hours 45mins to watch all 15 videos but the first 3 will get your ire up. You will see that it is not just an American issue either. Regards, Eion
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is looking ways to create clean water from dirty in third world countries as I type this out. I will have to check out the YouTube link...
Well first you need to clean away the problem,the bad guys,then educate the remaining people,may be able to get it all done in about 100 yrs.

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