Solar-powered decentralized drinking water production
Safe drinking water for communities in Suriname
Although Suriname is a country rich in water (covered by 93% rainforest), the communities along the rivers in the rural inland areas still lack access to clean and safe drinking water. River water needs to be boiled using wood fires before it can be used as drinking water, and this results in enormous CO2 emissions.
Furthermore, in the wet season during floods, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change, the river water becomes even more polluted so that boiling is not an option anymore.
As such, the supply of safe drinking water to decentralized communities in Suriname is currently endangered and further development is needed towards climate resilience, including both technological innovation and socio-environmental adaptation strategies.
Water purification by Q-Drop, a cutting-edge plug-and play modular water technology
Q-Drop is a cutting-edge plug-and-play modular water technology, which is powered by renewable energy and100% CO2 neutral. Itcan purify any source of water into high-quality drinking water while requiring minimal maintenance. The energy storage systems in the Q-Drop units will be optimized to achieve maximum CO2-emission reduction.
Taken a step beyond technology development, a program will be developed to stimulate sustainable behavioral change in water use and reuse, hygiene and sanitation within the local communities, towards reducing the incidence of water-related diseases. The improvement of public health is, therefore, of utmost importance through the development of a future-oriented water policy at het level of each village.
Thirteen villages or roughly 10,000 people along the Suriname and Saramacca rivers will be provided with easy access to safe high-quality drinking water through climate-resilient and future-proof decentralized production using Q-Drop. Q-Drop will purify the available river water into high-quality drinking water, which will then be distributed to the villages via standpipes. This will result in the mitigation of at least 2,300 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
The inland communities will have access to safe and sustainable drinking water all year round since Q-Drop’s innovative technology is able to adapt to changing water quality levels while consistently providing high-quality drinking water. The potential availability of energy surpluses will also be investigated in combination with the energy storage system of the Q-drop units for additional benefits to strengthen climate resilience of these communities.
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