Viable water technologies and solutions for developing countries Grant and Svetlana

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Viable water technologies and solutions for
developing countries Grant and Svetlana
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Main points

• Agriculture precision farming
• Early warning systems
• Groundwater resources
• Desalinization
• Wastewater management

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Precision Farming
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Precision Farming What is it and how would it
help?

• Precision farming, sometimes called
  site-specific farming, is an emerging technology
  that allows farmers to adjust for within-field
  variability in characteristics like soil
  fertility and weed populations.
• By using satellite data to determine soil
  conditions and plant development, precision
  farming can lower the production cost by
  selecting specific to the soil and the plant way
  of seeding, fertilizer, chemical and water use,
  thus increasing production and lowering costs
  for the farmer (Geotimes 2003)
• Precision agriculture can reduce the volume of
  the extra chemicals used in agriculture that
  will otherwise end up in the environment, thus
  benefiting not only a single farmer but also the
  rest of the community

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Precision Farming (Continued)

• Technology is being researched and developed in
  Alabama and Georgia in United States
• This technology despite its benefits is still
  quite expensive and difficult as well as
  experimental in methodology and uses
  research-oriented tools.

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Early warning systems

• Government funding, specifically US has put in
  place early warning systems to help predict and
  lessen the impacts of floods and droughts.
• Specifically FEWS (famine early warning system)
  which monitors the African Nations.

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Groundwater resources

• Operation USA has developed a military sensor
  that uses a low power radio frequency to locate
  ground water reserves at depths that were not
  possible before.
• According to http//www.opusa.org/technology/water
  /waterdetection.html
• The successful military and civilian
  demonstrations of Bakhtar EarthRadar for
  subsurface exploration and water table
  detection/monitoring and its low operating and
  maintenance costs make this sensor uniquely
  qualified for humanitarian applications such as
  water exploration.

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Ocean Water Desalinization

• With the help of the solar energy desalinization
  converts ocean water into fresh water
• Desalination can be done through the process of
  reverse osmosis, by boiling or freezing salt
  water, and other techniques.
• The process is still quite expensive, requiring a
  lot of energy.

• The technology exists and is being used in
  United States, several European Countries and the
  Middle East.

Desalinization Device
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Wastewater management

• It is absolutely necessary that developing
  countries develop means to treat wastewater.
• To cut back on environmental pollution as well as
  the spreading of costly disease.
• Certain manufacturers such as LAS International
  Ltd. Has developed a system called Aero Fac that
  once installed is nearly self sufficient .
• The company estimates that in 2-3 years the
  system can pay itself off in efficiency.(http//ww
  w.lasinternational.com/CaseStudies/DevCntryBroch.p
  df)

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