TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Affordable

Our solutions are low cost and utilize materials easily found most anywhere in the world.

Produced locally

Our implementation model is driven by the local community actors who use them.

Open-source

Our solutions are free to use for all without restriction.

GROUNDWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM

On our aquifer, arsenic and fluoride are prevalent in community water supplies, causing dental and skeletal fluorosis, developmental disorders in children, skin problems, and even cancer. Around the globe, upwards of 300 million people are affected by arsenic and fluoride in their drinking water supplies.

Low-cost, appropriate solutions for arsenic and fluoride simply do not exist. So, we had to create one. Working in partnership with North Carolina State University and Engineers Without Borders UK, we have spent more than 15,000 hours over the last four years developing a low-cost treatment system that removes arsenic and fluoride from community water supplies.

Unlike commercial options, Caminos de Agua’s Groundwater Treatment System requires no electricity, does not waste any water, and can be designed and adapted to address a given population’s needs and levels of arsenic and fluoride. The system can be calibrated for individual homes or entire villages – producing 20 liters/day or 20,000 liters/day (and anything in between) – providing a safe and healthy water 100 times cheaper than buying water.

CERAMIC FILTER

Safe water is free of biological pathogens (aka: “bacteria”), which are a principal cause of childhood mortality as well as the number one cause of water related illness and death globally. Today, more than 2.1 billion people live without access to safe drinking water.

Our certified Ceramic Filter is affordable, extremely effective at eliminating biological pathogens, and can be adapted to any container. The Ceramic Filter is about the size and weight of a liter of bottled water, but can produce upwards of 30,000 liters of safe drinking water over its 5-year life. The Ceramic Filter is a crucial final component in most of our water treatment systems, to assure that water is fit to drink. Our recent improvements will make our Ceramic Filter even more versatile — for wider adoption by NGOs throughout Mexico and for emergency relief throughout Latin America. Read more about our Aquadapt below. 

AGUADAPt

Currently we are improving our Ceramic Filter design. These improvements make it possible to attach our Ceramic Filter to nearly any container with no training. Additionally, besides only removing bacteria, these improvements make it possible to remove also organic chemicals, and it can even be modified to remove arsenic, fluoride, and other contaminants. With the size and weight of a 1-liter bottle of water, Aguadapt can produce more than 27,000-liters of drinking water over its lifetime at a price accessible for a family living on less on $2 USD per day.

The design includes a certified Ceramic Filter, a refillable cartridge, and a universal adapter, all open-source and made from commonly-available materials. As gravity pulls contaminated water through the Ceramic Filter, the pores, while controlling the flow rate, exclude solid particles and large bacteria. Colloidal silver kills the remaining microorganisms. The water then passes through the refillable cartridge full of high-temperature biochar, which physically adsorbs organic chemicals, producing water that’s usually fit to drink. However, if a water source has other contaminants, you can easily connect multiple media cartridges designed to target the locally-relevant toxins. The universal adapter allows anyone to install the system into common containers and choose the appropriate treatment steps for their water.