A Solution for Flint, Michigan

I wrote a few posts ago about Flint, Michigan's water problem. The infrastructure is contaminated and the people not only can't drink it, they can't even bathe in it without putting themselves in contact with lead. To say it's bad is an understatement.

But I think I have found the solution - sort of. Watch the video above. I hope you'll catch the concept with me as I explain.

The video (in case you can't watch it) is of a system that uses solar power to pull the water from the atmosphere and turn it into clean drinking water. It's perfect for Flint, Michigan residents because it wouldn't require them to go through the pipes to get to the water.

It's better than bottled water because once the initial cost of the humidifier and the water drum to store the water in is paid for, they don't have to pay again to get the benefits.

You could set up one of these on a larger scale for each household. It wouldn't fix the pipe problem but it would still give them access to the water for drinking, bathing, and flushing their systems without having to worry about contamination.

And perhaps for far less than the $1.5 billion dollars Flint's mayor projected fixing the water problem would cost.

The man in the video showed his water going into a plastic 55 gallon barrel. It pulls 5-10 gallons per day, plenty for a household to get their basic needs met. One site showed a price of $1300 (less than most people's yearly water bill, fyi) for a unit that could pull 18L a day in low humidity. That's about 4 1/2 gallons of water a day.

There was one that can pull 35,000 gallons a day for $3.5 million dollars - a fraction of the $1.5 billion dollars. Put 10 of those systems in place for 35 million dollars and you have more than enough water for every man, woman, and child in Flint, Michigan to drink that is safe, clean, and healthy for them to drink, bathe, and use to keep themselves sanitary.

We have the power to help them. The only question is whether or not we have the will to do it.

Comments