Thames Water, the company that provides drinking water for the city of London, has unveiled a new long-term strategy that will recycle sewage to provide drinking water for the entire population. The strategy looks to address the challenges the city will face in the next 25 years as the population the company serves grows from 9 million to 10.4 million by 2040. This will increase demand by between 230 and 340 million liters per day, with about 80 per cent of this rise expected in London.

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Post tags: city of london, clean water, drinking water, London, river thames, sewage, sewage treatment, Thames Water, water issues

With bottled water and potable tap water both so readily available in developed countries, it’s easy to take clean drinking water for granted. But when natural disasters strike, one of the first things to sell out on store shelves is bottled water, and running water may be either turned off or compromised by pollutants. Domestic water purifying pitchers and faucet filters are perfectly fine for every day use, but most of them simply weren’t designed to filter untreated water like the kind you may need to drink in emergency situations. Unlike those other off-the-shelf, refrigerator-sized water filters, Big Berkey water filters were actually made to purify water from untreated sources like remote lakes, streams and stagnant ponds and are used by relief organizations such as UNICEF, the Peace Corps, and the Red Cross. They use a much more powerful filtration system that removes harmful pathogenic bacteria, cysts, parasites, and unhealthy chemical contaminants such as chlorine to levels higher than 99.99%, a capability that would be invaluable to your family in a disaster situation where you were unable to secure clean water. Big Berkey water filters can be a lifesaver in emergencies, but they’re also a smart, elegant and beautiful green product to use in your home on an everyday basis (as a great alternative to bottled water or a refrigerator water filter) because they filter water so powerfully, and the high-tech filters last for 3-5 years as opposed to a few months.

Read the rest of Berkey Water Filters Provide Clean, Fresh Drinking Water At Home and In Disaster Relief

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Post tags: berkey, berkey light, berkey water filter, big berkey, clean water, drinking water, emergency drinking water, emergency water filtration, potable water, purify water, royal berkey, water filter, water filter system, water filtration, water filtration system, water purification, water purifier

Clean water is a humanitarian issue that doesn’t just require design in the form of wells and water systems – but design thinking. The 1 billion people who don’t have access to safe water need the kind of problem-solving that underlies human-centered design – ideas that create sustainable solutions and don’t, for example, just build wells without training people how to fix them if they break. MiiR is a company that embodies this vision, by designing water bottles that not only give purchasers BPA-free, anti-bacterial bottles to drink water from, but the company also gives $1 to give one person safe water for one year by funding water projects.

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Post tags: bpa-free water bottles, Charity Water, clean water, drinking water, green water bottles, MiiR, One Day’s Wages, reusable water bottles, water bottles

In the developing world, disease caused by poor sanitation is the second largest cause of death in children under five years old, and according to the World Health Organization, 1.5 million lives are lost each year to diarrhea and contaminated drinking water. Now a group of undergraduate students from Arizona State University participating in the 2012 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition have developed an inexpensive biosensor that can detect major pathogens.

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Post tags: Arizona State University, bacteria, biosensor, diarrhea, DNA, drinking water, igem, MIT, stanford university, World Health Organization

Many countries in the Middle East have been researching desalination – the process of removing salt from sea water so it is fit to drink. It makes sense especially in hot, dry countries where drinking water is not abundant. However, a team of European researchers from CORDIS believe they can make the entire process even more efficient, by harnessing the region’s high levels of solar power to develop a high-efficiency and low-cost desalination system.

Read the rest of European Team Develop Solar-Powered, Low-Cost Desalination System

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Post tags: "solar energy", CORDIS, desalination, drinking water, Middle East, Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), reverse osmosis, RO-Solar-Rankine project, Solar Power, solar powered desalination

In remote areas without access to fresh drinking water, there is often the dual concern of a lack of electricity — which is what makes French company Eole Water’s innovative wind turbine, the WMS1000, so intriguing. Eole’s modified turbine not only harnesses wind for energy, but includes a compressor similar to that of a dehumidifier, which pulls in air to generate condensation. The condensate is then harvested to produce up to 1000 liters of fresh, clean drinking water each day.

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Post tags: "wind power", "wind turbine", clean water, drinking water, eole water, green energy, green power, rural infrastructure, Solar Power, water scarcity, water wells, Wind Farms

999 Bottles is not just another water bottle – it’s a beautifully designed system that helps you track and visualize the positive impact you can have on the environment by drinking from reusable bottles instead of disposable ones. Artefact, the company that designed the 999 Bottles, is currently running a campaign on Kickstarter to fund the manufacturing of the bottle – donate today to support this great green project!

+ 999 Bottles

+ 999 Bottles Kickstarter

+ Artefact

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: 999 bottles, 999bottles, drinking water, green design, green products, green water bottles, reusable water bottle, sustainable design, tap water, water issues

Wouldn’t it be nice if clean, filtered water was available everywhere? OASIS International and Philips Lighting are partnering together to make this dream a reality, one water cooler at a time. Philips’ newest innovation, the InstantTrust UV water disinfection system, cleans drinking water instantly on small and large scales and will be implemented in almost all OASIS water dispensing products soon.

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Post tags: clean drinking water, clean water, drinking water, instanttrust, oasis, oasis international, oasis water, Philips, philips instanttrust, philips water, philips water disinfection, public water news, water disinfection news, water issues, water news

Hold on to your office chairs, research-loving infographic fans – we’ve got a doozy for you here. Researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands have compiled a report on the “water footprint of humanity” (from 1996 to 2005) that comes complete with comprehensive water consumption statistics for every country on Earth – including water consumed by industry. The researchers found that 92% of freshwater use is in the agricultural industry, that the United States (with 3% of the world’s population) is the third-largest water consumer, and that 1/5 of water used on Earth is for products exported out of the country where they are made or grown. The report also comes complete with water pollution data, some interesting infographics, and it’s accompanied by a “product gallery” where you can see how much water goes into the production of say, a a cup of tea. When you add up all the water needed to make food, energy and other products, the average person on the planet Earth uses an incredible 1,056 gallons of water per day — that’s enough to fill up 21 standard bath tubs.

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Post tags: drinking water, freshwater, freshwater resources, home water use, united states water use, water consumption, water issues, water levels, water pollution, water scarcity, water use, water use agriculture, water use per capita, water use production, world water consumption, world water use

Read the rest of Eliodomestico: Solar Terracotta Water Filter Distills 5 Liters of Water a Day

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Post tags: Design for Health, drinking water, eco design, eliodomestico, gabriele diamanti, green design, humanitarian design, potable water, solar powered water filter, solar still, water filter, water issues, water still

Read the rest of Sarvajal’s Solar Powered Water ATM Franchises Provide Clean Water in India

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Post tags: clean water, drinking water, eco design, green design, humanitarian design, India, sarvajal, solar powered atms, sustainable design, water franchises, water issues

Texas is in the midst of a drought so severe that local water management teams have decided to distribute reclaimed wastewater (aka urine). From toilet to tap, the treated wastewater will be mixed with reservoir remains for a refreshing and clean H2O cocktail.

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Post tags: colorado river municipal water district, conservation, crmwd, drinking, drinking water, Drought, filtered water, green design, green infrastructure, greywater, h20, infrastructure, municipal water, orange county, potable, potable water, purification plant, rainfall, recycled water, reservoir, reverse osmosis, southern california, tap water, toilet to tap, urine, wastewater, wastewater treatment, water conservation, water issues, water management, West Texas

Researchers from Purdue University are on the cusp on creating a new type of mobile technology that not only coverts non-potable water into drinking water, but also extracts hydrogen to generate electricity. The technology revolves around an aluminium alloy that the team believes could bring both water and power to poor villages around the world.

Read the rest of Purdue University Students Turn Ordinary Saltwater into Hydrogen Power and Drinking Water

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Post tags: aluminium alloy, clean technology, drinking water, green technology, Hydrogen Gas, hydrogen power, jerry woodall, portable drinking technology, Purdue University

While you might mistake designer Jonathan Liow’s Solarball for a familiar hamster’s toy, it’s actually a really cool new product for  humans that purifies water using the sun. The Monash University graduate’s project is specifically geared towards aiding residents of underdeveloped areas with no clean drinking water, particularly small villages in Africa.

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Post tags: Australian Design Award, Cambodia, drinking water, Hamster ball, james dyson award, Jonathan Liow, Milan International Design Fair, Solarball, water purification system

A new water filter that employs cotton dipped in nano-sized silver wires and copper tubes works 80,000 times faster than filters that simply block bacteria from getting through. The filter, developed by Stanford University researchers for use in developing countries, efficiently conducts a tiny charge of electricity, zapping 98 percent of all bacteria.

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Post tags: drinking water, nanotechnology, sarah heilshorn, stanford university, yi cui

We all know that sharks are scary, but if you’re stranded at sea, dying of dehydration is an even more likely threat. Enter the SeaKettle, an ingenious design selected as a finalist in the Dyson Awards, which combines a liferaft with a desalination system in a way that made us exclaim, “Why didn’t we think of this?” Not only is the SeaKettle a solution that address two issues in one product, it could also very well save your life!

Read the rest of The SeaKettle is a Raft + Water Purifier That Could Save Your Life

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Post tags: Design for Health, drinking water, dyson, dyson awards, eco design, green design, green products, life preserver, life raft, seakettle, sustainable design, The SeaKettle is a Liferaft, water desalination, water issues, Water Purifyer and Lifesaver in One

Most large urban areas are located next to a large body of water – whether it is a canal, river, lake or ocean. As a way to combat commuter and residential pollution, parts of these waterways can be utilized as ‘off the grid’ marina-style living spaces. Created by Heck Yes Design, the Uboat is a floating, green urban living space that comes well-equipped with self-sustaining technologies. It features three solar panels to generate electricity, a geothermal pond loop for temperature control, a heavy-duty PAR to capture grey water, and rain collectors for drinking water. This concept aims to create a completely independent home that requires no energy from the city, and that positively contributes as much to the user and their urban lifestyle as it does to the environment in which it is settled.

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Post tags: boat houses, drinking water, geothermal pond loop, grey water, heck yes design, rain collection, Solar Power, uboat, Urban design, urban living

In a study funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, researchers have found that the process of layering nanoparticles could be used to provide safe and affordable water filters to the developing world. The process is called “atomic layer deposition” and involves layering nanoparticles onto a metal or a ceramic to create a thin film of cells. The layer can be applied to the particles used in water filtration devices. The metal or ceramic filtration particles would remove large impurities and the film would neutralize bacteria.

Read the rest of Nanoparticle Science Helps Create Low-Cost Water Purification Systems

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Post tags: atom, atomic layer deposition, atomic particles, biology, cells, chemistry, developing world, drinking water, nanoparticle, particles, safe drinking water, social design, water filter, water filtration

Happy World Water Day! In honor of this day of international awareness, Annie Leonard has released a new video talking about the evils of bottled water. Entitled “The Story of Bottled Water“, the new short film is done in the same style as her hit video The Story of Stuff, with simple cartoons, hard-hitting facts and compelling information. Even if you were against bottled water before, this video will make you cringe at how wasteful bottling water in plastic can be.

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Post tags: annie leonard, Bottled Water, drinking water, eco design, green design, safe drinking water, the story of bottled water, the story of stuff, water issues, world water day

Atrazine (the most common herbicide on Earth) has been clogging the news waves lately with a recent study that showed it caused male frogs to become female. Atrazine was outlawed in the EU for its possible links to cancer and has been found in levels above EPA regulations across the Midwest where it is commonly sprayed on cornfields. Now 16 cities in four states are suing the manufacturer of Atrazine, Syngenta Co., for the costs of the expensive water filtration systems that will make their drinking water safe again.

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Post tags: atrazine, contaminated, corn, drinking water, environmental protection agency, epa, farm, field, frogs, herbicide, midwest, national resource defense council, nrdc, pesticide, pollutant, Pollution, syngenta, water contamination, water pollution