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How do we tackle water scarcity in rural areas and in times of calamity?
Written by Ismail Weiliang and Bashir Ahmad, CEO and Founder of Liquinex, a water and wastewater treatment and recycling technology specialist
ISMAIL WEILIANG
The Climatebender
BASHIR AHMAD
Co-author
CEO of Liquinex Group
Views are entirely ours
and not connected to any company
Key for Sustainable Development
Water scarcity and poor water quality is a global crisis today and some 800 million people in the world go without clean water. Unclean water results in over a million childhood deaths per year. People living in extreme poverty and hard-to-reach communities are often overlooked while others thrive. This lack of basic services can ruin people’s lives and undermines the possibility of sustainable development. Having clean water can help to transform people’s lives and is key to sustainable development.
Context is key
It is the mission of thewaterbender.sg to serve the rural poor and refugees in building sustainable water solutions. With the accelerated impact of climate change, providing safe water becomes increasingly complex. The demands and needs of rural populations and refugees vary – from upgrading water supplies in rural areas to emergency demand for basic water supplies. One solution does not fit all, and in all our work we understand that context is key.
For the rural poor and refugees
In rural areas such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, Thewaterbender.sg partnered with registered companies in Singapore to deliver clean water through water pumps. These water pumps have estimated lifespans of more than 10 years. However, we acknowledge aquifer depletion risk which can lead to sinking and increased flood risk. Hence, risk assessment of the identified pump locations is crucial to deliver sustainable solutions for a resilient clean water supply. For refugees in Gaza and Yemen, Thewaterbender.sg partnered with registered companies in Singapore to deliver clean water through desalination plants and water trucks respectively. Gaza having regular blockades, limited electricity and water supply meant that solar-powered small desalination plants were more suitable than other methods. Water trucks gave immediate relief to the refugees in their water-scarce remote camps.
Clean Water, Anywhere, From a suitcase
A compact water treatment system for rural and disaster relief efforts providing clean drinking water to some 600 people per day from a suitcase has been developed in 2016 by Liquinex. The suitcase weighs under 30 kg, runs on the ubiquitous car battery or solar panels and is able to produce up to 500 litres of water per hour. This is an improvement from the bicycle and pedal type filter systems commonly used which are bulkier and heavier to transport. There is also no aquifer depletion risk as no groundwater is used.
It has been used in rural and disaster stricken countries such as Laos, Sulawesi, Kerala, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East by humanitarians and respected organisations such as the Red Cross. It has also gained awards and recognition such as the first place in Global Water Award by the UAE in January 2020 and Gold medal in Asia Invent 2020 in Singapore.
Authors:
Bashir Ahmad is the CEO and founder of Liquinex Group. He is a mechanical engineer by training and is bringing water purification technologies to the rest of the world, beginning with underserved communities in rural parts of Asia and disaster-hit areas.
Ismail Weiliang is a climate resilience consultant with over half a decade of experience and specialises in flood risk advisory for Asia. His work involves advising governments and development banks on strategies to transform climate risks into resilience. He also founded “The Climatebender” a non-profit organisation that provides humanitarian relief to communities vulnerable to the climate crisis.
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