Do-yeon Pi of PiQuant in the Republic of Korea is developing a low-cost spectroscopic device and monitoring system, the Water Scanner, that can be nationally deployed to rapidly detect and map Escherichia coli contamination in drinking water in low-resource settings. Water pollution causes up to 90% of diarrheal diseases, which kill 500,000 children under the age of five each year. Water quality is currently measured using spectroscopic devices that are expensive and time-consuming.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
Casey Brown of the University of Massachusetts in the U.S. is building a water distribution network with digital platform to provide affordable access to safe drinking water for poor urban populations. Public water infrastructure in low- and middle-income areas is often poorly maintained and insufficient for rapidly growing cities. This has led to additional water being provided in tankers by private companies, which is expensive and the water quality is often poor.
Clean Team Ghana Ltd (CTG) is a Kumasi based social enterprise, providing Container Based Sanitation (CBS) services in Kumasi. CTG provides a quality plastic toilet to the customer; who pays a small weekly fee for a “swap and go” service. CTG waste collectors collect the waste weekly, by sealing the used cartridge and replacing it with a fresh one. The waste is then transported to KMA’s sewage works, where it is safely disposed.
JOELEX makes water and sanitation accessible, affordable for the urban poor in Kampala, Uganda, by building, operating public water, toilets, showers, within slums, then collect the human waste and convert it into organic fertilizer. JOELEX has been operating over the last 20 months, have served at least 40,000 girls, women, children &youth with water, sanitation &showering services, successfully implemented its pay per user model on its facilities and done a pilot on the viability of converting the human waste into other products such as organic fertilizer.
Sankoya Technologies is launching the next-generation toilet to reverse the devastating impact of poor sanitation where 4.5B people use inadequate facilities causing environmental runoff and transmission of disease. Our off-the-grid sanitation appliance, a “micro-waste treatment system”, destroys pathogens at source at source within 24 hours, thus negating the need for either connected sewers or downstream services, and completely avoids the consequences of inadequate fecal sludge management.
El Nino Southern Oscillation led to more than five years of below average rainfall in Somalia. The impact can be managed by supporting an early warning system for government agencies with information for preparedness actions: water rationing or planning for life saving water provision. Implementing an early warning system in fragile contexts has many challenges that have affected timely data collection, including but not limited to access, safety, and security among other logistical challenges.
Pit latrines are ubiquitous in conflict zones and refugee camps where resources like water and land are scarce. This causes nearby water sources to get contaminated by the leachates from pit latrines. Our innovative breathable laminate-lined pit latrines will protect the groundwater from fecal contamination without compromising safe excreta disposal. They will also provide an alternate sanitation solution to fully-sealed cess pits in high water table areas.
Wash services in IDP/refugee camps are often below par. These are further strained by insecurity in these areas, sometimes poor accessible during rainy seasons. Data on the performance of WASH assets in camps is usually very scanty, often times in analogue format and comes from staff doing their regular rounds or from complaints. As a result, there is little data driven decision making going on, no early warning in place on wash assets performance.
Development of HydroIQ, a Global Positioning System (GPS) and internet-enabled device plugged into existing water supply systems and along water distribution networks to automatically monitor water use, water quality and water leakages using sensors and send data to an online platform in real-time, thereby turning traditional water systems into smart water grids to improve water use and billing efficiency, sanitation and hygiene in urban areas.