Water Source
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:21 am
Drinking water and daily-use water have been a major source of problem for many cities and countries - especially in densly populated countries like India.
The Sea, being the largest resource of water, is unusable, because of the salt and other metal contents. Desalination plants are huge investments and have heavy costs attached to it, because of use of semi-permeable membranes that are pretty expensive and hard to maintain, and also due to heavy volume of water desalination needs.
An alternate to this could be to apply the same desalination process, but at a divided level. The idea may not be that feasible in the practical world but juts an approach to have water all the season.
1. Use the existing pipeline or lay new, non corroding water supply lines (porcelain interior and metal exteriors).
2. Pump the sea water source into this line as normal water supply.
3. Install small units of desalination plants at every household or every corner of the street and pass the purified water to the households.
4. The plants can be supplied by the government to the individual or streets at subsidized rates and collect a monthly or early tax for the same.
5. Appoint a committee or group of people (the corporation), who would change the membranes at regular intervals and do a sanity check on it every time. Or place a automated water purity meter with every plant that would indicate the purity of the output water.
6. This has many advantages:
a. Cuts huge cost of single plant to the governments.
b. Cuts water transportation cost.
c. Small unit manufacture and supply is feasible and can expand from city to sub-urban fast and quick.
d. Create job opportunities for the government.
e. Also the water tax is replaced for the new instrument, the membrane and the cost of employees who attend to it (not much additional tax)
f. Also the maintenance is split among many people at the household, the street, municipality, where they themselves would get cautious and satisfied about the purity of the water they get, instead of the government maintaining it at the single location and the people doubting the purity of the water supplied.
This is just a thought, if it is really feasible it could add lots of values to the people in terms of all time drinking water.
Major problem that could be faced and overcome could be removing the salt deposits at periodic intervals within the pipe lines. If there is its water flowing all time, with no stagnation, then this problem could be overcome.
The Sea, being the largest resource of water, is unusable, because of the salt and other metal contents. Desalination plants are huge investments and have heavy costs attached to it, because of use of semi-permeable membranes that are pretty expensive and hard to maintain, and also due to heavy volume of water desalination needs.
An alternate to this could be to apply the same desalination process, but at a divided level. The idea may not be that feasible in the practical world but juts an approach to have water all the season.
1. Use the existing pipeline or lay new, non corroding water supply lines (porcelain interior and metal exteriors).
2. Pump the sea water source into this line as normal water supply.
3. Install small units of desalination plants at every household or every corner of the street and pass the purified water to the households.
4. The plants can be supplied by the government to the individual or streets at subsidized rates and collect a monthly or early tax for the same.
5. Appoint a committee or group of people (the corporation), who would change the membranes at regular intervals and do a sanity check on it every time. Or place a automated water purity meter with every plant that would indicate the purity of the output water.
6. This has many advantages:
a. Cuts huge cost of single plant to the governments.
b. Cuts water transportation cost.
c. Small unit manufacture and supply is feasible and can expand from city to sub-urban fast and quick.
d. Create job opportunities for the government.
e. Also the water tax is replaced for the new instrument, the membrane and the cost of employees who attend to it (not much additional tax)
f. Also the maintenance is split among many people at the household, the street, municipality, where they themselves would get cautious and satisfied about the purity of the water they get, instead of the government maintaining it at the single location and the people doubting the purity of the water supplied.
This is just a thought, if it is really feasible it could add lots of values to the people in terms of all time drinking water.
Major problem that could be faced and overcome could be removing the salt deposits at periodic intervals within the pipe lines. If there is its water flowing all time, with no stagnation, then this problem could be overcome.