water

Are Nanoparticles the Water Detox Solution We’ve Been Looking For?

HydrateLife Water Pollution, Water Technology, Water Treatment No Comments

Do you ever drive by a gas station that’s fenced off and there are workers digging a huge hole in the ground?  That’s because tanks that hold the gas have leaked and contaminated the ground under the station.  Around the world there are thousands of sites where toxic chemicals have been spilt accidentally or dumped in the past and left.  Up until the 1970s it was widely believed that the soil would act like a natural filter and clean thecontinue reading

PHAST: Helping People to Help Themselves

HydrateLife Health, Sanitation, WASH 1 Comment

Today I’m going to be talking about a methodology called PHAST that is used by organizations around the world and is based around the idea that for something to be successful you need to get the people it’s supposed to help involved.  PHAST, which stands for Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation, is a participatory method that engages communities and educates them on hygiene and sanitation as well as encouraging them to take responsibility for the management of water and sanitationcontinue reading

Another Damn Dam: The Grand Renaissance Dam

HydrateLife Dams, Environment 1 Comment

A while back I wrote about the Gibb III Dam in Ethiopia and the efforts by the Friends of Lake Turkana to stop it (FoLT and the Gibb III).  Today I’m going to write about another dam being built in Ethiopia (coincidentally by the same Italian company), the Grand Renaissance Dam.  This dam which was started about a year ago is on the Blue Nile and will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa.  When completed it is saidcontinue reading

Water Saving Technologies: Film Farming

HydrateLife Agriculture, Sustainable Practices, Water Technology 12 Comments

I recently ran across an article on an amazing new technology being introduced in the farming industry called film farming.  This system was released by Dubai-based owners Agricel back in March, but has been in development for a number of years.  Realizing that the world will be facing water and food shortages in the coming years Agricel wanted to come up with a solution, and it looks like they did.  This technology reduces the amount of water and fertilizer neededcontinue reading

World Bank-RWSN COWASH Webinar

HydrateLife Facts/Statistics No Comments

Yesterday I sat in on another webinar talking about Community-Led Accelerated WASH in Ethiopia, or COWASH.  The presentation was given by Arto Souminem who is the Chief Technical Advisor of the COWASH program in Ethiopia.  Arto also works for Ramboll Finland which is a large consulting firm, and has a Master’s of Science in water supply and sanitation as well as over 25 years experience in leading rural and urban bilateral water and sanitation projects funded by the Finnish governmentcontinue reading

Water Heroes: Rajendra Singh – The “Waterman of India”

HydrateLife Dams, Sustainable Practices, Water Heroes, Water Technology 7 Comments

Welcome to this week’s edition of Water Heroes where we’ll be meeting Rajendra Singh, also known as the “waterman of India”, “bearded man of check dams”, or “elder brother” depending on who you ask.  As a big proponent of traditional water harvesting methods and appropriate technology I was amazed at all that Rajendra has done over the years to help people in India to revive their watershed, and in turn return to their traditional ways of life.  Also impressive iscontinue reading

WASH and Equity Webinar – Part 2

HydrateLife Facts/Statistics No Comments

Welcome to part 2 of my WASH and Equity Webinar summary.  If you missed part 1 it’s below this post so just scroll down.  Let’s get started.  This first slide shows the inequality of urban drinking water coverage between the rich and the poor (note there’s a typo in the heading, the poorest 20% should say “left” end of the bar).  It’s pretty shocking and makes it very easy to see the divide between rich and poor.  This information wascontinue reading

WASH and Equity Webinar – Part 1

HydrateLife Facts/Statistics No Comments

Yesterday I listened in on a webinar give by Andrew Trevett – Senior Adviser, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, UNICEF, and Rolf Luyendijk, Senior Statistics and Monitoring Specialist, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, UNICEF.  The webinar talked about WASH and equity, focusing primarily on rural populations vs urban and was based off of a WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report on drinking water.  This presentation was talking mainly from a monitoring standpoint so it’s mainly a look at statistics gathered over the past 10continue reading

Wastewater Solutions: Artificial Wetlands

HydrateLife Environment, Water Pollution, Water Technology, Water Treatment 1 Comment

 A problem that is common for cities around the world is what to do with their wastewater.  In western societies the most common way to treat wastewater is through a wastewater treatment plant where chemicals and biological elements are added to treat the water.  However, for a lot of the world these plants are too expensive and they lack the expertise required to run the plant.  A cheaper and more ecofriendly way to treat wastewater is by using the environment,continue reading

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