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Humans have a long history of taking water out of holes in the ground. Whether those holes are wells, ponds, lakes, rivers or aquifers, they all have one thing in common: We're taking water out of them faster than nature can put it back in. The solution lies in getting water from somewhere other than a hole in the ground. Conservation: The obvious first step is to stop wasting water. Between showers, flushing the toilet, doing laundry, washing dishes, cleaning and cooking, the average American uses 350 gallons of water a day. You can find all sorts of ways to conserve water here. Rainwater Collection: Your roof collects a surprising amount of rainwater. Unfortunately, most people let that naturally softened water run off into the ground around their home's foundation. Rainwater systems range from humble barrels to large folding units to full blown cisterns. My favorite recent find is the Waterwall. You can find all kinds of rainwater harvesting products by typing in "rainwater collection" at Google, and looking at both the search results and the ads. You can find free DIY tutorials on the subject here. Greywater Systems: In a greywater system (also called "graywater"), a building's plumbing sends water to one of two places. Water from the toilet and from the kitchen sink (if you use a garbage disposal) are considered to be "black" water, and go right to the sewer or septic system. Water from the shower drain and clothes washer are considered to be "grey" water, and are reused to flush the toilet and water the lawn. For the system to work, only non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning products can be used, but you should be doing this anyway. It's much easier to install a greywater system into new construction than it is to retrofit an existing home, but it can be done. Even just capturing water from the clothes washer as it drains and using it in the garden helps reduce water usage significantly. Some cities don't allow their residents to reuse greywater. They're afraid that people might release contaminants into the water table. Check with your municipality first. You can learn more about greywater systems here: Branched Drain Greywater Systems Air Water Extraction / Atmospheric Water Generators / Atmospheric Condensers: Air conditioners take water out of the air, but discard it. Dehumidifiers do the same thing. Air water extraction technology takes water from the air, but purifies it to the highest standards. In the process, it also cleans and dehumidifies the air. Available models (often referred to as AWGs) provide anywhere from 1 to over 2000 gallons of purified water a day. Many also provide additional features, such as hot and cold water spigots, the ability to purify tap water, air conditioning, water oxygenation and units that can run on solar or wind power. The typical unit provides at least 3 stages of purification: air filtration, carbon filtration and ultraviolet (UV) light treatment. When I first created this page in 2004, I could only find 3 manufacturers and distributors of this technology. Now, the number seems to grow every month. Expect more features and lower prices as companies compete for your business. The prices listed below are as of April 2008. WaterMaker Africa: Distributor.Air2Water Air2Water Caribbean: Distributor.Aquair: Out of business? Hope not! They have a 12v unit & an oxygenating unit. AquaMagic: High-capacity commercial units. Miracle Water: Florida Aquamaker distributor.Envirosource: Australian manufacturer of small & large AWGs. Also leases units. Air To H2O: Australian Envirosource distributor. Also leases units. Island Sky: Residential and small business units. Prices range from $1800-$2800 USD. Hendrx: Air2Water won a 1.2 million dollar judgement against Hendrx in May 2008 for patent infringement. Proto Developers & Technologies: Indian Hendrx distributor.Hidroair: Spanish manufacturer and retailer. MauiDew.com: H2O LiquidAir distributors. Residential and commercial units. Mirage Water Maker : They have 48v units, which some solar & wind systems can use. They'll be coming out with a 24v unit, and ultimately, a 12v unit, for use with all DC systems. Planet's Purest Water: Makers & retailers of Everest AirWater Generators. Air to Water Rainbow Co.: USA Everest AirWater distributor. (But located in Canada. ?)Wataire: Manufacturer of home, office and commercial models. EnviroSource Hellas: Greek Wataire distributor.Water Master DEC Green: WaterPure distributor.WaterStar: Has air conditioning option available. On a side note, there was a Mirage at the September 2004 Texas Renewable Roundup. It was a humid day and they were practically begging people to take free water, because the Mirage was filling up so fast. The water was delicious! Better than bottled water. UPDATE: Both the Mirage and the AquaMaker were at the 2006 Roundup. The water from both tastes great, and I say this as something of a water snob. Solar Stills: Solar stills use evaporation to purify water. Particulates, including the salt in seawater, are left behind during evaporation, and bacteria and viruses are killed by the heat. The pure water runs off into a collector. The process doesn't require electricity. It takes a lot of surface area to evaporate significant amounts of water, so this is a tertiary system that's nice to have around "in case", or for camping and boating. Solar stills are easy and cheap to make. You can find tutorials here. You can also purchase ready-made solar stills with a wide range of capacities: AquaCone It's worth noting that solar stills are improving lives around the world, including in the colonias on the US side of the Mexican border. Other Potable Water Solutions: The Cuz'n Magic Wand captured my imagination. It's similar to a method used in ancient Egypt and requires no filters, chemicals, electricity or even sunlight! Of course, it won't remove pesticide residues, heavy metals or particulates, but in the conditions common in so many countries, it could save lives. Better yet, Potters For Peace has developed a ceramic filter that can be manufactured easily anywhere in the world and removes 99.98% of harmful microorganisms from water. There's also the LifeStraw, which is low-cost and effective. |