Pitch:

Water Stream

We are students seeking for a way to improve the water resources management and multiply its usability focusing on local solutions globally scalable. Our belief is that the global changes come from the multiplying of microrevolutions that engage the people at their local and small communities against a problem that affect everyone, at a major or minor level. We witness this reality here in Poços de Caldas when it comes to the water resources: despite being a city with a high rate of human development [1], just only 30% of sewage is treated [2].

The water is a key resource to all aspects of the life in the planet and it’s urgent to take actions for its better management. According to the United Nations, the brazilians use in average 154 liters of water a day, above the recommended level of 110 liters and far away from African countries, many of those with an average use lower than 10 liters [3]. Surely, one of the main reasons derive from a very uneffective waters management system, such as bad distribution …. Many people care about this question and even have already installed water recycling system in their houses, but that systems just recycles the water one time before the elimination with the unesuful water. And if was it possible to keep the water recirculating through the system until it was really unuseful? This is the proposition of our project, Water Stream.

A system schema is shown below. It is separated from some water sources, such as bathrooms, in the same way as traditional water reuse systems. Therefore, in most cases, it will basically be necessary to add some sensors that detect physicochemical parameters of water to measure their potability and, through actuators, direct the flow. From the wastewater tank, there will be, before anything else, a connection that will deviate the bigger particles eventually present in the water stream to a solid waste collector [Figure 1] and, subsequently, to the sewer. Then, a first sensor [an example very similar can be viewed in Figure 2] that can direct the flow to the filtration system [similar to the model presented in Figure 3] or back to the distribution network if the parameters deviate too far from the treatable range. After passing through the filtration system, the water will flow into a reused water tank, which will distribute it back to appropriate domestic uses. Optionally, a chemical treatment step may be added followed by validation / control by another sensor-actuator system. All data will be processed and sent to a consumer access platform accessible through a smartphone app or website [whose interface can be previewed …].

The data shown may be user-adjustable and include other items, such as flow rate and diary consumption levels. Therefore, it will be possible to offer other services: for example, a preview of the maintenance necessary. In this case, if the filters were provided as modules and next to the soil surface, it’s possible a self-made operation by the users, with a guidance displayed in the platform and a supplying of a cleaning toolkit to be used before the maintenance operations. Also, it is possible to generate a big part of the energy necessary to the whole system with the addition of a mini hydroelectric generator [example: Figure 4].

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

In addition to residential use, the product can also receive a wide range of upgrades and developments. It can be developed into a condominium or neighborhood system to minimize overhead costs, with the reused water pipeline system encompassing the entire community. Eventually, the water may even be sold back to the utility, reducing utility and condo costs and water waste. Depending on existing water distribution infrastructure, the system can be expanded to ever larger scales. In addition, the data and information collected collectively by the whole community will lead to much greater integration among its agents: citizens, companies, NGOs, and ultimately the public authorities themselves, which can drive a whole chain of public policy much more. effective and efficient. In this way, a revolution in water management may be underway.

[1] HDRO calculations based on data from UNDESA (2017a), UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2018), United Nations Statistics Division (2018b), World Bank (2018b), Barro and Lee (2016) and IMF (2018). Access by the link: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi

[2] Municipal Water and Sewage Department of the city of Poços de Caldas, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Access by the link: http://www.dmaepc.mg.gov.br/Institucional/estatisticas

[3] UNESCO. “The United Nations world water development report 2019: leaving no one behind”. Paris, 2019.

https://github.com/Nascim/SpaceApps