Aqualuz – Safe Drinking Water For All
Support this projectMillions of people do not have access to clean drinking water. To help solve the problem, Anna Luísa Beserra Santos created an affordable device that uses the sun to purify water in cisterns.
Today, 785 million people lack safe drinking water, and 2 billion people don’t have access to a toilet. Diarrheal disease is a leading cause of death worldwide. For these men, women and children, clean water would help turn problems into potential – unlocking education, economic opportunities and improving health.
Using technology to support rural communities
Anna always wanted to be a scientist and, at the age of 17, she overcome financial and technical challenges to design Aqualuz. This cheap yet efficient device uses the sun to purify water in cisterns (for up to 20 years), with no need for chemicals or complex filters. 10L of treated water cost just US $ 0.02.
Based on solar water disinfection (SODIS), this innovative filter is an ideal way to meet the needs communities who use rainwater harvesting systems – in her native Brazil, this represents 1 million people especially in the rural semi-arid northwest. So, far 1,500 people use the device and have been given training, so they can actively participate in deploying the technology and become replicators in their neighbourhoods.
Over the next 3 years, Anna hopes to optimise manufacturing costs and reach 1 million people by taking the technology to other countries in America, Africa and Asia.
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