Water Conservation is today’s need.
Since 71% of the earth is covered in water, many of us can’t help but wonder—why should we conserve and why there is a water scarcity?
If we have that much of water, then why thousands of people and animals have to suffer terribly and die every year in a quest of water? Can we change this? Yes!
Fortunately, there are various innovative approaches to make your water to last nowadays. But no single solution fits all situations.
The solution that works in Africa may not be effective in super cold Canada; and the one which is convenient to urban localities, may not be feasible in rural areas.
Rainwater harvesting can create wonders in regions that receive good amount of rainfall each year.
But what if you are living in a desert with almost no rainfall?
That’s why finding a single solution on global water crisis is far more complicated and difficult than you think.
Let’s have a look at various super innovative solutions that are making our world a better place.
In This Article:
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Solution 1: Develope New Technology To Conserve Water
Now You Can Drink While Driving
Ford made a system to turn condensation from your car’s air conditioning into drinkable water.
Anyone running their car’s AC system in hot weather often notices the water dripping and drooling from the bottom of the car, especially after parking. This water just ends up watering the road and pavement.
What if we can collect these droplets of water that would normally go waste?
How it started?
A few years ago, Doug Martin, an engineer at Ford, read an article about an unusual billboard in Peru which captures the humidity in air and turns it into hundreds of gallons of clean water every week.
He wondered, if a billboard can produce potable water, then why wouldn’t a car?
Air-conditioners in cars do something similar to the Peruvian billboard. i.e. generating water by removing moisture from the air.
So, Martin and his colleague John Rollinger, developed a system to collect AC condensation and turn it into filtered drinking water for people inside the vehicle.
How it works?
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Capture the condensate:
Once installed, the system recovers water from the air conditioning condenser and stores it in a container under the car.
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Purify the water:
When the driver activates the system, water is pumped up through a 0.1 micron filter to remove any organic or fine particulate impurities.
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It’s ready to drink:
The purified water comes out through a small faucet near the cup holder in the center console.
Pros:
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Easy access to fresh water:
It could be really handy in remote locations and arid regions or simply while you are struck in a traffic.
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Reduces plastic waste:
As pure and clean water is available in your own car, you don’t have to buy plastic mineral water bottle unnecessary that increases the load on landfills.
Cons:
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Mentality Matters:
Some people may not feel comfortable with the idea of drinking something that otherwise leaks out of the car, as it may sound gross and unhygienic to them.
It will take some time to create awareness about this technology, so that the people will actually start accepting and appreciating it.
Impact:
The system is capable of producing approx 2 liters (half a gallon) of clean water an hour by simply utilizing the car’s AC runoff while driving.
That’s amazing. Isn’t it?
Solution 2:
They are literally creating oasis in the desert with unique artificial glaciers.
Ladakh, India Source
Renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture, Ladakh is a mountainous desert in India with an altitude of roughly 3,500 m (approx. 11500 feet) where,
- 80% of the population relies on farming.
- It has a distinct climate where you can get frost bite and heat stroke at the same time.
- The region receives very low rainfall (50-70 mm a year) and locals rely on the water from the melting glaciers during the summer months to irrigate their fields. There is no other source of water.
A typical annual cycle in Ladakh:
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By mid-June:
Natural glaciers, situated in mountains at above 5,000 m (approx. 16400 feet) height and 20-25 km away from the villages, start melting rapidly, due to which, there is an excess of water and even flash flooding.
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By mid-September:
Winters are severe in Ladakh. Hence, all farming activities end and there are no winter crops. A smaller stream flows throughout the winter steadily but wastefully going into the Indus river without being of use to anybody.
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During April and May:
During the sowing season, there is hardly any water left. Most villages face acute water shortage and all the villagers compete to water their newly planted crops.
The problem of water shortage is getting worse with time as Himalayan glaciers are disappearing due to global warming and local pollution, which is also causing:
- Heavy and unpredictable snowfall
- Less rain
- Hotter summers
- Freezing winters
These poor local villagers needed a simple yet effective solution to get the water throughout the year for farming as well as daily activities.
And one day, everything changed. Let’s see how…
A) How A ‘Crazy’ Engineer Became The Ice Man Of Ladakh?
Chewang Norphel solved Ladakh’s water crisis by building simple artificial glaciers
How it started?
Years back, on a bitingly cold morning in a remote mountain village of the cold desert -Ladakh (India), civil engineer Chewang Norphel observed a pipe of running water outside his home had flowed into a nearby pit and frozen there, just like a glacier.
Looking at the pit of frozen water made Norphel wonder, if there was any way to create an artificial glacier that would provide people with water.
He took inspiration from this incident and started finding ways to create glaciers at relatively lower altitudes which would melt sooner due to relatively higher temperature and considerably mitigate the water woes of the local community.
Thirty years ago, when Norphel first proposed this solution, no one took him seriously. His journey was not at all easy, as people initially used to laugh at him and called him crazy.
But all these comments didn’t shake his strong determination, and he continued to work on a solution for the betterment of his region and future of the next generations.
In 1987, he built 1st artificial glacier at Phuktsey village, which was a big hit and changed the perspective of the locals in a good way.
After the success of his experiment, he went on to create many such artificial glaciers across Ladakh, thereby earning his nickname ‘The Ice Man’ as well as ‘The Glacier Man’ of Ladakh.
How it works?
In simple words, it is a network of water channels and dams along the upper slope of a valley.
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Make Plan:
The artificial glacier is located between a village and a natural glacier at different altitudes so as to ensure that, the water melts at different times.
Often, multiple glaciers are created for one village at different altitudes. -
Divert:
The work to construct a glacier starts in November when the villagers divert the glacial streams through appropriately designed distribution channels on shady side of the mountain (To avoid direct sunlight).
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Reduce the speed:
A quickly-flowing water will not freeze that easily. Hence, at each dip in the terrain, retaining walls are built that further slow down the flow of water (acting like mini-dams) and facilitate its freezing in the form of steps.
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Let it freeze:
Depth of a lake and channels is kept in such a way that, water can freeze easily.
In winter, when temperatures plunge to -30°C (-22°F), the water would freeze at night, creating glaciers that grew each day as new water flowed into the basin. The entire mountain slope then becomes an artificial glacier.
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Watch it melting:
As the temperature rises, glaciers from lower to a higher altitude start melting. The glacier located closest to the village is at the lowest altitude and melts first, providing irrigation water during the sowing period in April-May.
As the temperature rises, the next glacier at a higher altitude starts melting. The process of melting at different times continues to assure irrigation water to the agricultural fields below.
Pros:
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Beneficial for farming:
No need to totally depend on nature for irrigation. The water from the artificial glacier is utilized for farming, which would have otherwise just got unused in winter.
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Simple to plan and implement:
This method is simple to understand and easy to replicate in other places.
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Cost effective:
The initial cost of construction is far more cheaper than Sonam Wangchuk’s ice stupas.
Cons:
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Need frequent maintenance:
They need a constant maintenance, which is not an easy task due to the high altitude.
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Melts faster:
A north-facing valley was needed to shade the ice from the spring sun. Still, these artificial glaciers being flat, with a large surface area, melted too fast
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Not convenient:
As these glaciers couldn’t be created in lower altitudes, where people actually live, they were built at a very high altitudes (above 4,000m), and villagers were reluctant to climb so high.
2 B) Unique Ice Stupa Is The ‘Height’ Of Creativity
Super talented Sonam Wangchuk’s version of artificial glaciers is simply out‘standing’.
Mechanical engineer Sonam Wangchuk from Ladakh took inspiration from Norphel’s technique to create the improved version of the artificial glaciers called Ice Stupa.
How it started?
One day, Sonam Wangchuk saw ice under a bridge in the month of May and understood that it’s the sun that makes the ice melt, not ambient temperature and under some circumstances, ice can last a long time, even at low altitudes.
He knew the limitations and drawbacks of the Norphel’s technique and wanted to create something simple, effective and most importantly, convenient for all.
In 2014, Wangchuk constructed a prototype with a team of SECMOL students on the banks of Indus River near Phey Village at an altitude of 3170m (approx.10,400 feet)
He chose a spot that was fully exposed to sunlight and located at the lowest altitude and the warmest possible location.
The reason behind choosing such point was, if it could work there, it could have worked anywhere.
How it works?
The concept is similar to the Noephel’s technique, but with a different mechanism and design.
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The science of shape:
In order to make it more convenient for locals, Wangchuk wanted to construct the glaciers near villages, which were at a lower altitude. Such glaciers can melt away more easily due to relatively warm temperature and direct sun exposure.
The melting speed of artificial glaciers is linked to their surface area exposure. Lesser surface area means lesser sun exposure, and as a result, it will slow down the melting and make the water last longer.
Also, the ice needed to be shaded, but covering it or using reflectors was not practical at scale.
So, Wangchuk thought of using conical shape to make ice shade itself and also to minimize the surface area so that, it can withstand even direct sunlight.
This way, they will take much longer to melt compared to an artificial glacier of the same volume formed horizontally on a flat surface.
A cone is also very easy to make with ice, because any dripping naturally forms a cone underneath.
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Chose location:
Melted water from the glaciers travelling downstream, is directed through long pipes dug six feet deep to a pre-decided place (near village).
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Use gravitational pressure:
We all know that, water maintains its level. Therefore, water piped from upstream would easily rise to the same level when it reaches the village (based at lower level).
The idea is very simple and needs no pumps or power. As a result, the pressure in the pipes moves the water upwards and it gushes out from the ground to reach the tip without using any pump or electricity.
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Let it freeze:
When the water gushes out of the pipe, it gets exposed to the cold air (-20°C) and freezes by the time it reaches the ground to slowly form a huge conical structure or Ice Stupa.
The process continues until the water level reaches close to the height of the source. Wangchuk’s Ice Stupa has broken the Guinness’ Book of World Records of the biggest man-made ice structure (78.4 feet high).
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Use melted water:
As the temperature rises, ice stupas from lower to a higher altitude start melting and over the year, the system supplies water for agriculture in a controlled fashion.
With a dream of making this desert greener, Wangchuk is also using this water to grow 5000+ trees in this region.
In 2016, this innovative technique won a prestigious Rollex award
Pros:
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Effective solution:
Ice Stupa melts slowly and provides water for a longer time.
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Requires no electricity:
The structure relies on the principles of ‘water finding its own level’ and doesn’t require electricity, fuel or heavy machinery to pump the water to a higher level.
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It’s convenient:
It can work at low altitude and even in very warm temperatures with no shades. Hence, Ice Stupas can be constructed right there in the village and much closer to the community than Chewang Norphel’s artificial glaciers.
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Attracts tourists:
Due to their unique shape and functioning, Ice Stupas have become a huge tourist attraction, and are helping to boost Ladakh’s economy.
Cons:
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It’s not that simple:
Wangchuk’s Ice Stupa model is more complicated than Chewang Norphel’s method of creating artificial glaciers.
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It’s Expensive:
Because of the piping infrastructure required to carry the water from a higher point on the stream to the outskirts of the village, the initial investment can be steep.
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Needs maintenance:
As the fountains can freeze when the pipes ice up, Ice Stupas need a lot of manual involvement.
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It’s a temporary solution:
The Ice Stupa needs to be erected every time and cannot be treated as a permanent/passive solution.
Impact:
The system is releasing up to 13,000 gallons (approx.50,000 litres) of water each day in the summers, and a new lease of life to 5,000 trees through a drip irrigation system.
With the help of these methods, we can grow trees in the driest of places and transform an arid landscape into a beautiful oasis.
Well, that’s a freezing cold ‘Height’ of innovation!
Don’t just stop here.
There is so much more to explore… Hop on it NOW!
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Reference:
- https://jalopnik.com/ford-engineer-develops-system-to-condense-drinking-wate-1786850878
- https://www.firstpost.com/living/watch-the-iceman-of-ladakh-how-chewang-norphels-artificial-glaciers-improved-the-regions-water-woes-3826071.html
- http://icestupa.org/
- https://www.firstpost.com/living/world-environment-day-2017-sonam-wangchuks-ice-stupas-ensure-theres-water-in-ladakh-3504143.html
- https://www.tripoto.com/trip/sonam-wangchuk-the-face-behind-the-artificial-glaciers-in-ladakh-5a8ea71ea509f
- https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/ice-stupa-sonam-wangchuk/index.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xuBvI98-n4&list=ELWXyYqQTD-GWKQat2BIUK5Q&index=2
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdVijr10DZ0&ab_channel=RolexAwardsforEnterprise
- http://www.ecoideaz.com/expert-corner/water-conservation-methods-india
- https://water.usgs.gov/edu/gwdepletion.html