# Social Category > General Chat Forum >  Water Solution available

## Electrode

There is no argue at this stage that water shortage is a real concern for every South African. Not just for farmers and for industry, but also for the general house hold. I have seen very little published about the system I will be introducing below. It is of note that sources did reveal previous publications of the same company and there technology. 

Still more awareness couldn't hurt. I decided to post this threat in the general chat section. My hope is to create more awareness of the technology and ho we as south Africans can benefit from this technology. Please copy and share the links to help with the awareness campaign.

Also a disclaimer, i am not earning from this, i am not affiliated in any way or form. This is strictly to try and help my fellow South African.      

http://ecoloblue.com/







400000 (four hundred thousand) Liter water per day can do much to add to our existing water resources and help places with little to no water resources. 

Please watch both the videos and judge for yourself. 

Thank you for taking note of this Thread.

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bones (23-Dec-15), Thato89 (10-Aug-16)

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## Justloadit

Nice ideas here.

The first video seems to be a concept based video. The cost is going to be huge if it has to occupy 500 square meters and with 1MWatt wind turbines, I did not catch the amount of energy from the solar panels.
The second video seems to be a complete unit, however what is not discussed is the amount of energy required to get the water from the air, and the actual cost of the unit. 

Effectively this is a refrigeration system, which cools the air to cause the water in the air to condensate. The more humid the air the more effective the system is.

Hmmm interesting to find out the cost per litre

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bones (23-Dec-15)

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## Electrode

> Nice ideas here.
> 
> The first video seems to be a concept based video. The cost is going to be huge if it has to occupy 500 square meters and with 1MWatt wind turbines, I did not catch the amount of energy from the solar panels.
> The second video seems to be a complete unit, however what is not discussed is the amount of energy required to get the water from the air, and the actual cost of the unit. 
> 
> Effectively this is a refrigeration system, which cools the air to cause the water in the air to condensate. The more humid the air the more effective the system is.
> 
> Hmmm interesting to find out the cost per litre


Considering what is at stake, I am not to worried about power consumption. 1 Megawatt of energy is not a lot considering how much water is being generated. Having background in how power stations are being utilized I assure you that it is minor consumption compared to basic infrastructures. I am not concerned about it. The country can afford these systems and even some private individuals. It will give us a reliable water source for agriculture, thus investing in such systems can be fruitful, and can act as a long term solution in very dry places.  

I think cost must be a secondary consideration, we need these systems because our water supply is under immense pressure. These systems will change that. Stability is very important and in time as technology gets better cost may well go down.

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## Phil Cooper

We visited our son on the little island of Aruba, in the Caribbean this year.

This island is - lieterally - a desert, 30km long, and 4km wide at widest point.  NO natiral water.

WHO says Aruba has best drinking water in the world.

It desalinates from the sea bu heating (boiling) the sea water, and chills the steam to cause water to condense.

But - wait - one further step.  The heated water generates electricity, and powers the island.  Water and electricity from one source...

Now - what other country do we know that has a water and electricity generation problem?  MMM - let me think....

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## AndyD

> .......Now - what other country do we know that has a water and electricity generation problem?  MMM - let me think....


 It's on the tip of my tongue Phil but I just can't quite think of it at the moment  :Wink: 

At 2mins 30sec in the top video it mentions vegetation and trees needed to produce humidity in the air and it shows ponds and water features, why not just filter that water rather than using an enormous refrigeration unit as a dehumidifier? Maybe I'm missing something but I'm not finding it easy to get excited about what looks like standard dehumidifiers.

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## Justloadit

NOTE - Dry regions have very little humidity in the air, so it will not condense water from the air as per the video. This is the reason that stuff does not rust so quickly up on the highveld.

Anyone who uses compressors knows what this means. Our 10HP compressor, which runs most of the day, during the winter months does not condense more than 5 litres a day, however in summer, when the rains come, it can condense 20 litres a day. This has to do with the amount of condensation in the air. At the coast, the relatively humidity is very high, so the plant would work well, but in the karoo, it will create far less water for the same amount of fuel spent.

If it was so easy there would be many plants already running. I know one of the South American countries is using a very large condensator successfully, but it has been placed in the path of the winds blowing over the ocean which is carrying a large amount of relative humidity.

Lets not get too enthusiastic about this process until we get all the facts. Very much like the huge hype in the UK with wind turbines, which in the end are not as successful as the marketing material advocates. I think a better option is using the sun to boil sea water and then condensate the steam to get the clean water. Just remember that this water is distilled water and requires the addition of the minerals to make it drinkable.

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## Electrode

It is hard to ignore the fact that we need this type of technology. Consider that the water can be transported or piped to where it is needed. With 10 of these plants operating for 10 days one can supplement a incredible amount of water into our existing dams and river. Consider for a moment 5 of the large plants get erected in every suitable city across the country. What effect will it have on our water supply as a whole?  Even if these large plants don't operate at 100% efficiency it is still a green system meaning it is off the grid and can also be supplemented with grid power when 100% efficiency is needed or when power is available.

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## Justloadit

I think that this is a better and more inexpensive solution even at purifying grey water
Desalination process

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## Dave A

The technology has got some local exposure, I see.

I saw Ray de Vries punting this on GMSA a couple of weeks ago. And there's also some info online with an SA bias.

http://www.techcentral.co.za/sa-firm...hin-air/58025/
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...air-20151029-2

Scanning through those two articles, there are a few notable points. From the first -




> Bottled water is R3 to R20/litre. Our water costs at most about R2,20/litre during amortisation of the capital expense. Once amortised, youll be paying around 70c/litre.
> 
> Energy consumption is not insignificant, however. A 100-litre/day unit consumes about 1,5kW of electricity, or a little less than a domestic kettle.
> ---
> The water produced by Cirruss AWG technology is slightly alkaline, he says. Filters remove particulates, and hydrogen sulfide  the gas that causes acid rain  in South Africas atmosphere is so low it doesnt have an impact on water quality.
> ---
> For peak production, relative humidity must be above 40%. In arid areas, it will often fall below that level during the day, but at night, when the temperature is lower, humidity rises, even in deserts.


From the second -




> The smallest machine made up to 32 litres in 24 hours, while the largest one made up to 1 500 litres a day. They retail for R25 000 and R785 000 respectively.

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bones (23-Dec-15)

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## Electrode

I am not really concerned about the cost at this stage. I would like to see our engineers and universities take a swing at this technology and come up with something that we can use locally, and also manufacture locally. Then it can become a local sustainable industry rather then another import solution. That said if we must import it then we must, I would like to see our farmers have a reliable water source so that South Africa can at least feed itself.

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## Electrode

> The smallest machine made up to 32 litres in 24 hours, while the largest one made up to 1 500 litres a day. They retail for R25 000 and R785 000 respectively.


In coming years South Africa will need to be able to feed more people as our population grows due to flooding of immigrants and our local population. Importing our food is also an expensive venture and not necessarily a healthy one. If for whatever reason we are no longer able to import food, South Africa will face a serious situation. A situation that historically crippled other African countries.   

If we can manufacture these devices locally or even under license we can bring the cost down to affordable levels. Other innovations can also contribute towards its sustainability. 

But to simply ignore the technology would be folly.

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bones (23-Dec-15)

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## bones

well no argue in that we need 
this our water resources are 
taking a hammering this year

yes i second this 

municipalities must look into
this

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## Electrode

I wonder if anyone ever attempted to redesign or to build something like this?

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## Electrode

Considering how bad it is going with the continued droughts, it is hard to believe that this type of technology is not implemented. Yes it would be expensive but must our infrastructure fail first before people wake up? 

I am truly at a loss for words, it feels so foolish that people will continue to ignore this type of technology.

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bones (08-Jan-16), IanF (04-Jan-16)

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## Electrode

Intense heat contributing to drought - Umgeni Water




> Durban  The persistent heatwave conditions during the festive season have contributed to the drought, an Umgeni Water official said on Monday.
> 
> While the bulk water supplier did not have any major demand issues during the holidays, the heat had caused higher than normal levels of evaporation, spokesperson Shami Harichunder said.
> 
> "It is certainly a contributing factor to the current drought we are experiencing. During the December period, around 124mm of rain was recorded. This is less than average.
> 
> The KwaZulu-Natal coast and most parts of the country had been experiencing 30°C weather for almost a week now.
> 
> Date: 2016-01-04 Time: 17:02


I don't know what is worse, people not seeing the potential or news publishers not giving this technology enough exposure? Clearly we can turn things around and make it a long term solution and yet after personally emailing many news groups NONE of them took interest.   

It is as if solutions are not news worthy?

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## Dave A

I've mulled over a few challenges that don't seem to be mentioned so far. In particular, for a plant of the proposed scale - Can you imagine the complexity of the Environmental Impact Assessment Study.

I have two particular concerns. One of them is heat.

The transition from gaseous to liquid state is going to require the removal of a lot of energy in the form of heat - which has to go somewhere.
Where is this energy going to go?

The energy involved isn't trivial. Take a look at this table on the properties of saturated steam.
At atmospheric pressure (0 bar g, absolute 1 bar ) water boils at 100 oC and 417.51 kJ of energy is required to heat 1 kg of water from 0 oC to evaporating temperature 100 oC.
Another 2257.92 kJ of energy is required to evaporate 1 kg of water at 100 oC into 1 kg of steam at 100 oC.
Reversing this process means *extracting* all this energy.

Those little units I pointed to not only required a substantial injection of energy, it seems the heat energy being generated is just being dumped into the atmosphere. Not an option on a plant of the proposed scale methinks.

My second concern is that had the plant *not* extracted the water vapour, where would that water vapour have ended up eventually? I assume precipitation somewhere... that is no longer going to occur.

A drop in the ocean on small scale plants. A totally different story if you're looking to generate enough water to significantly impact a nation's gross agricultural output!

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Justloadit (06-Jan-16)

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## Justloadit

I think that the heated water solar parabolic system to filtrate sea water may be a better option, this will mimic the natural evaporation process the planet has been doing for millions of years.
The salt by product could be used for industrial applications to make chlorine, and these plants could be placed in remote areas in which there would be small impacts to the local environment.

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## Dave A

> I think that the heated water solar parabolic system to filtrate sea water may be a better option, this will mimic the natural evaporation process the planet has been doing for millions of years.


You can also use the heat pump principle to take a significant portion of the heat extracted at the condensation stage and inject it into the evaporation phase of the process.

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## Electrode

I also agree if the impact is going to do more harm then good then it must be considered. 

There is another option available that I found interesting. 







> *Uploaded on Aug 13, 2008*
> Girja Sharan, a Hydrolic engeneer finds a way of solving the drinking water crisi with condensation


There is not much detail but I think it is possible to replicate.

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bones (08-Jan-16)

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## Justloadit

Reminds me of this project done by an Italian designer Arturo Vittori called WarkaWater Tower

The village people are taught how to build this unit.

There are a lot of skeptics out there who do not believe this can work. 
Any one who has lived in a rural area with corrugated iron roofs will attest to the amount of water collected on the roof before dawn every morning. A couple of litres at least.

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bones (08-Jan-16), Electrode (08-Jan-16)

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## Electrode

> Reminds me of this project done by an Italian designer Arturo Vittori called WarkaWater Tower
> 
> The village people are taught how to build this unit.
> 
> There are a lot of skeptics out there who do not believe this can work. 
> Any one who has lived in a rural area with corrugated iron roofs will attest to the amount of water collected on the roof before dawn every morning. A couple of litres at least.


I would like to construct one myself. It looks simple enough and actually will look good in the garden. here is more information. 

Warka WaterTowers Design

Included is a list of materials used. 




> 


It looks easy enough to build, but I wonder if a smaller version will work?

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bones (08-Jan-16)

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## Justloadit

> I would like to construct one myself. It looks simple enough and actually will look good in the garden. here is more information. 
> 
> It looks easy enough to build, but I wonder if a smaller version will work?


It will definitely work, the amount of daily water yield may be little. Surface area of the mesh and cooling stage are directly proportional to the amount of precipitated water collected.

It will be a good experiment for you to actually experience the daily yield of water collected across the seasons. From the data collected, it can be deduced if the project will work under large scale construction.

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bones (08-Jan-16)

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## bones

on this news clip they said 
something like 25 gallons = 
94.64 liters of water that is
not bad at all

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## Electrode

South Africa: Drought leads to failed crops, water shortages




> The main street of this dusty South African town is lined with empty buckets, marking each residents' place in line as they wait for their daily water ration to be brought in by unreliable trucks.
> 
> Keeping watch over her buckets, Pulaleng Chakela sleeps in a wheelbarrow on the side of the road to save her spot in the line. The 30-year-old wraps herself in a little blanket as temperatures drop overnight, and asks a male friend to sit nearby for safety.
> 
> "If I don't wait here all night, the water will be finished," she said.
> 
> *January 10, 2016 By Lynsey Chutel*


Perhaps an active environmental study needs to be done. I am not sure if South Africa will fully recover from this drought as our weather patterns may be permanently altered.  I don't know if we have the time to dally?

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## bones

http://www.islandsky.com/index.php?o...d=115&Itemid=3




> Skywaters Emergency Service Unit (ESU-20) is a crisis ready, emergency water generator that can deliver up to 900 gallons of pure drinking water daily. Skywater® ESU-20 co
> 
> ntains 3 Skywater® 300 atmospheric water generators, a 1275 gallon water storage tank equipped with advanced secondary water filtration, and a 30kw electric diesel generator housed within a customized Featherlite® 20ft mobile container.
> 
> 
> The Skywater® ESU-20 uses Island Skys patented air to water technology to produce fresh drinking water from water vapor in the air.  Skywaters adiabatic distillation process is unmatched in water vapor harvesting, converting available atmospheric humidity in the air into water.
> 
> In an average range of temperatures and humidity levels, the Skywater® ESU-20 will produce anywhere from 450 to over 900 gallons of water per day.


lookslike there is more then 
1 company that is doing this 
it is totally messed up that 
our animals had to die while 
this stuff was around 

sucks

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## Justloadit

A 30Kwatt generator consumes approximately 11 litres of fuel per hour, at R12.5 equates to R138 per hour in fuel cost, never mind the maintenance cost that must be taken into consideration.

They reckon 900gallons or 3,400 litres per day, but they do not state the humidity and at what temperature and the amount of energy to get those numbers.

If we have an area of 3cubic meters at 22Degrees and 100% humidity, it will yield 2 litres of water per day.
Lets take a semi arid region, which may contain say 30% humidity, that will yield just over 0.5L of water per day.

So working on their numbers I would hazard a guess of approximately 1000 litres of water per day, and costing approximately R23.80 a litre of water, if not taking the cost of investment of the asset into consideration.

At the end of the day there must be some realistic figures to value the quality of the water producing system.
If one uses salt water and a RO process, it will probably cost R2 or R3 a litre, and the asset cost would be a fraction of the cost.

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## Electrode

> A 30Kwatt generator consumes approximately 11 litres of fuel per hour, at R12.5 equates to R138 per hour in fuel cost, never mind the maintenance cost that must be taken into consideration.
> 
> They reckon 900gallons or 3,400 litres per day, but they do not state the humidity and at what temperature and the amount of energy to get those numbers.
> 
> If we have an area of 3cubic meters at 22Degrees and 100% humidity, it will yield 2 litres of water per day.
> Lets take a semi arid region, which may contain say 30% humidity, that will yield just over 0.5L of water per day.
> 
> So working on their numbers I would hazard a guess of approximately 1000 litres of water per day, and costing approximately R23.80 a litre of water, if not taking the cost of investment of the asset into consideration.
> 
> ...


I think cost will go down as the systems become more common and progress is made to allow them to run cheaper. Initial cost will always be high.

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## Dave A

When it comes to the Highveld, what we really need is someone to figure out how to turn that rising acid water in the old mines into potable water that could be used for drinking and agriculture.

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## Justloadit

The solution to clearing the mine acid water has been solved a good number of years back. The political will to implement is the delay.
Here is one company with a solution VEOLIA
There are a number of other companies

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## bones

i dont see why megafarmers 
cant implement some of the 
tech we see here

in the end they can benefit 
from it or learn from it and 
adapt it to work better

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## Justloadit

Its all about cost. In agriculture the volume of water used to irrigate is mind boggling. The amount of precipitated water just will not be enough for the application.

I think the best way would be targeted plant watering, but currently automated processes are not available and labour and equipment for this application are far too expensive to implement.

I heard of a local youngster, who has patented an idea in which seedlings are placed in a cardboard belt, with the correct distance for the type of seedling. At each point the seed is, it has a colour strip. SO when you place it into the ground, the colour strip is just above the ground. When watering one simply drops a few water squirts at each point. The card board strip then guides the water to the seedling. The cardboard also retains the water keeping the seed moist. The cardboard is manufactured out of biodegradable material which includes the correct nutrients for the particular seed. All printing is of the organic form and of the type to form part of the nutrients for the seed. Typical success yields varied from 60% for carrots to 100% for lettuce and spinach. The cardboard is then biodegraded into the soil where the roots of the seed feed to grow faster. 

I soon as I find a link I will post it.

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Electrode (14-Jan-16)

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## Electrode

Consider the cost to retrieve gold beneath the earth. We cannot eat gold. I see this technology as a possibility with the potential to revolutionise agriculture. It empowers the farmer to move away from restrictions and potentially harmful water sources to a system that offers quality and quantity along with availability. 

Food security is paramount and it is long term unlike mines and other heavy industry. In 80 years there may not be any coal left but there will still be the need for agriculture. Introducing the technology will allow for development and progress. 

It is true that the technology cannot provide the volumes needed. However it is a starting point and as technology moves forward it may well be able to provide larger volumes in future with lowered cost. 

Not pursuing this technology may end up costing more in the form of imports, causing us to be permanently dependant on the first world for food.

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## Justloadit

Its all about balance. It may be cheaper to import than to invest into the technology.

When there is an abundance of capital, capital for this type of investment is not an issue as you are preparing for a future event, however when you do not have the capital, and are living on the bread line, even a R1000 seems to be a major hurdle to climb over.

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## Electrode

> Its all about balance. It may be cheaper to import than to invest into the technology.
> 
> When there is an abundance of capital, capital for this type of investment is not an issue as you are preparing for a future event, however when you do not have the capital, and are living on the bread line, even a R1000 seems to be a major hurdle to climb over.



Being dependant isn't balance it is a risk. If for any reason that country does not want to provide anymore, you will be left with a very desperate situation. A situation that can be avoided. Yes water purification is a option but we do not have the infrastructure to transport large amounts of water from one destination to another. 

With this technology we can develop local infrastructure that can become less expensive over time. We may even develop our own systems locally. Abandoning this technology isn't an option. We simply cannot afford it. Our population is growing alongside the world population, we need to contribute to the food sector. If we do not and other countries buy up all the food for their own use, the situation can become dire.

I deleted the section about Zimbabwe being stronger then the Rand but I see that it remained. So now I am forced to elaborate on it. The meaning is clear... We are to become the weakest currency in the world and our buying power as individuals will be greatly diminished. When this happen food prices will go up and importing will become a bigger cost to us as a country.

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## Justloadit

and as the currency devaluates, so does the the affordability become even more difficult.

Since when has any government used logic to make and decisions?

Desalination using the sun to me is still the cheapest option.

One can lay a pipeline to pump the sea water to wherever it is needed, and at the point of consumption it can be made drinkable.
It does not have to be a large diameter pipeline, as the water being pumped is purely for drinking. Simply follow the current fuel line from the coast to Gauteng, or follow the gas line from Mozambique to the MTN head office.

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## Justloadit

This heat generation plant may be the answer both for electricity and for water purification.
Molten Salt storage - solar reserve

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## Justloadit

A smaller system then
Molten salt for roof top storage

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## Electrode

I agree commonsense is in short supply... Simply stated the longer we wait the harder it will become to implement any type of solution. I also agree that the systems will become unobtainable. But as a country we are down but not out. I do believe that if people take these systems seriously and our engineers and inventors stepup we can definitely develop a plausible solution. 

I also agree with you that solar power will become our only option as individuals and maybe some companies will build larger systems. 

I think people will figure something out. We are very resourceful when it comes to invention.

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## bones

sorry to say this boet but as 
a country we are screwed

i want to move to australia 
but cant because it is to 
expensive   

1 CNY = 0.221386 AUD
1 AUD = 4.51701 CNY

1 CNY = 2.55096 ZAR
1 ZAR = 0.392009 CNY

1 AUD = 11.5227 ZAR
1 ZAR = 0.086785 AUD

i cannot afford that now 
with a million rand i end 
up going to Australia 
broke

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## bones

> Durban  More water restrictions are on the cards for KwaZulu-Natal, after the uMgungundlovu District Municipality said there was a "compelling need" to have them in place.
> 
> A committee to evaluate water restrictions has been set up.
> 
> The uMgungundlovu District Municipality said it was forewarning businesses, ratepayers, and communities about the compelling need to introduce water restrictions to alleviate the effects of the ongoing drought.


news article

does anyone recall a project where 
we did Cloud seeding

maybe that could help the situation

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## Electrode

This as been sitting in my inbox for a while now. 

water restrictions still applies




> Offences are punishable with fines of R1 500 or more. Offences include the use of irrigation systems for gardens and lawns, washing of paved areas and vehicles with a hose pipe and not a bucket, and any other activity wasting water unnecessarily.


Fines will seemingly act as a good deterrent however how will the fine contribute towards replacing the water? 

Discouraging behaviour with fines lack effectiveness. It is really interesting to note how eager institutions are to gather funding in the form of contributions or fines, but how slow they are to find and implement solutions.

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## Justloadit

> Its all about cost. In agriculture the volume of water used to irrigate is mind boggling. The amount of precipitated water just will not be enough for the application.
> 
> I think the best way would be targeted plant watering, but currently automated processes are not available and labour and equipment for this application are far too expensive to implement.
> 
> I heard of a local youngster, who has patented an idea in which seedlings are placed in a cardboard belt, with the correct distance for the type of seedling. At each point the seed is, it has a colour strip. SO when you place it into the ground, the colour strip is just above the ground. When watering one simply drops a few water squirts at each point. The card board strip then guides the water to the seedling. The cardboard also retains the water keeping the seed moist. The cardboard is manufactured out of biodegradable material which includes the correct nutrients for the particular seed. All printing is of the organic form and of the type to form part of the nutrients for the seed. Typical success yields varied from 60% for carrots to 100% for lettuce and spinach. The cardboard is then biodegraded into the soil where the roots of the seed feed to grow faster. 
> 
> I soon as I find a link I will post it.


Finally found a link on radio 702
Claire Reed, at 16, simplified food growing with her award-winning invention

The home website
Real Gardening

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Electrode (21-Jan-16)

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## Electrode

> Finally found a link on radio 702
> Claire Reed, at 16, simplified food growing with her award-winning invention
> 
> The home website
> Real Gardening


Thank you for the links it is much appreciated. 

As a personal update, I got most of what I need to build my first small scale Warka Water Tower. I hope it will give me some indication on how it will preform.

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## IanF

> As a personal update, I got most of what I need to build my first small scale Warka Water Tower. I hope it will give me some indication on how it will preform.


This is interesting can you keep us updated with progress and photos.

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## Electrode

> This is interesting can you keep us updated with progress and photos.


If it is a success I will gladly share it with you. If it is a disaster I would humbly shy away.

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## Dave A

> If it is a success I will gladly share it with you. If it is a disaster I would humbly shy away.


Heck, even if it's a disaster it's still useful to pass on the result.

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Electrode (26-Jan-16)

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## Electrode

> Heck, even if it's a disaster it's still useful to pass on the result.


I will place my build here as soon as I am done with it. January is a very long month, I just need it to end. Once in the new month of February I will complete my build and share it with you regardless if it works or not.

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## Electrode

Good day everyone, if you feel like donating to this cause DROOGTERAMPFONDS  or DROUGHT DISASTER FUND

The link is provided here,

droogterampfonds

I personally use the SMS system that deducts R30 form your phone's funds.

All information can be found when you click on the following options. There is also a Handy English translation Button for ease of use. 

Please see picture below.

 
Thank you for your support.

Please also double check the link http://www.droogterampfonds.co.za/ just to make sure.

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## bones

> Good day everyone, if you feel like donating to this cause DROOGTERAMPFONDS  or DROUGHT DISASTER FUND
> 
> The link is provided here,
> 
> droogterampfonds
> 
> I personally use the SMS system that deducts R30 form your phone's funds.
> 
> All information can be found when you click on the following options. There is also a Handy English translation Button for ease of use. 
> ...


gave my bit got a nice 
thank you sms

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## Justloadit

I found this Fog harvesting to provide poor with water
and
Fog harvesting project for Mpumalanga

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Electrode (02-Feb-16)

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## AndyD

I can't help thinking that whilst some of the water harvesting schemes are very innovative and possibly would be a way to increase the amount of water available in certain areas, the immediate answer is to change everyone's mindset about water and reduce their consumption.

I think change needs to come from two sides, firstly the municipalities need to stop seeing high consumers as a cash cow and on one hand they're waving the finger saying there's a shortage and please curb consumption but the other hand is happy to completely ignore massive consumption as long as it's paid for at some extortionate unit price. Secondly it's a resource that shouldn't necessarily have a financial value attached to it that allows the wealthy to consume as much as they want simply because they can afford it. Maybe the first step is to set a maximum amount of consumption for any property or erf that's got a supply. Install water meters on every property that automatically shut off the supply to anyone who consumes more than a kiloliter in one day or 20 kiloliters in any 30 day period for example. Maybe even go so far as to make high or wasteful  water consumption a criminal offence.

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Electrode (02-Feb-16)

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## Justloadit

Limiting use of water per property may be another issue. So every time that I get a visitor who stays over night requires that I request more water usage to accommodate the visitor, because invariably the consumption is going to go up. Charging a higher rate for higher consumption is also not a solution, is dependent on how many people live on the property. I may have 7 or 8 people living on my property, and pay a higher rate for water and electricity services, compared to my neibour who only has 2 people living on his property. Surely the higher consumption is due to the higher number of people. If there were 2 properties with 4 people each, the consumption in total would be higher because of having electrical appliances to accommodate both properties, but the cost in total is less of the properties as opposed to the consumption of all on one property.

What we really need is people to have a life style change to ensure efficient uses of the resources, but I think this may be hard to find.
Lifestyle changes only happen when it is too late.

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Electrode (02-Feb-16)

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## Electrode

How we think about water will not help with preservation. Fact is how do we preserve water from evaporation, pollution and poor infrastructure? We as individuals have little to no control when it comes to securing the resource and maintaining it. We do contribute in the form of levies and taxes but this simply doesn't work. Finding ways to collect water and store it will be a individual and private endeavour.

Yes the approach is costly and may remain costly for the foreseeable future. But what future will we have without the resource? This year South Africa had its first true taste of what climate change has planned for us.  

We need a feasible proactive approach that will secure our agricultural infrastructure. Food and water is vital to our independence as a country. Creating awareness is a slow moving process and people hardly if ever respond positively to such programs. 

What we need is innovation and resource development programs. 




> Good day everyone, if you feel like donating to this cause DROOGTERAMPFONDS  or DROUGHT DISASTER FUND
> 
> The link is provided here,
> 
> droogterampfonds
> 
> I personally use the SMS system that deducts R30 form your phone's funds.
> 
> All information can be found when you click on the following options. There is also a Handy English translation Button for ease of use. 
> ...


I also donated again today, I hope people will consider helping out.

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bones (03-Feb-16)

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## Dave A

> This year South Africa had its first true taste of what climate change has planned for us.


With some assistance from El Nino, mind you. Which has certainly aggravated things.

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## bones

> With some assistance from El Nino, mind you. Which has certainly aggravated things.


all of us need water and all of us are 
dependent on the weather can we 
really risk it 

i dont think we can anymore 

what if this condition becomes 
permanent

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## Electrode

This is a very interesting question. Does the possibility exist that our new weather patterns are permanent? If so what will the long term impact be and how will it affect us directly? This year we need to import more food than ever before and that already is telling. Also consider that the cost will increase dramatically as well. 

Some facts simply cannot be ignored and among them is the rising population, and the need for clean water is already beyond the scope for most of our municipalities. There are many people living without access to clean water and to me personally this is unacceptable, considering how much money municipalities consume  on a monthly base. 

We need sustainable solutions and investing in this technology to be developed locally is a strong step in the right direction. We really need these technologies, there is no doubt in my mind that things will not get better and that our rainfall may well be permanently altered.

Lastly please consider donating, all the information is available on this thread.      




> Good day everyone, if you feel like donating to this cause DROOGTERAMPFONDS  or DROUGHT DISASTER FUND
> 
> The link is provided here,
> 
> droogterampfonds
> 
> I personally use the SMS system that deducts R30 form your phone's funds.
> 
> All information can be found when you click on the following options. There is also a Handy English translation Button for ease of use. 
> ...


Please also double check the link.

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bones (09-Feb-16)

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## bones

how is your diy coming along i dont 
think our weather changes are here 
to stay if they are we are in big 
trouble

but if people can maybe get nice 
small low power or no power builds 
going why not being independent
is never a bad thing

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## Justloadit

Water purification
Seems after some digging that there are very simple solutions available. 
The question is - "does government or big corporates wish to relinquish the control over the population?"

Get to the end of this article to get to the "How it works"
Pure Genius: How Dean Kamen's Invention Could Bring Clean Water To Millions

This Ingenious Machine Turns Feces Into Drinking Water

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## cyppokagain

would be interesting to know how long it takes for the catalyst to decay.
seems like cloud seeding or similar technology in reverse with silver iodide but instead of seeding you probably have it on a panel to gather the humidity droplets through air filters.

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## Electrode

Right now there is a downpour and I am hopeful our water restrictions will become a thing of the past.

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## Justloadit

I see a South African company has successfully produced and shipping machines that create water from air  so the solution has been created.

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## Thato89

Considering we are facing the "worst drought in recorded history" it's not a question of WHETHER we need water. Rather, it's a question of how to obtain it - and quick. Did you hear about our national student genius? The 16-year old Kiara Nirghin who has potentially solved the drought crisis? She used a polymer that she created herself from the combination of an orange peel and avocado skin. In doing so, she created a material that is capable of storing hundreds of times its weight in water. That means farmers can maintain their crops even in times of drought. Google has picked up on this little genius and if her science fair project is approved it could solve a world-wide problem!

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philip_p (10-Aug-16)

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## Justloadit

16-year-old South African invents wonder material to fight drought

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## Blurock

Amanzi Meters http://www.amanzimeters.co.za/  has the iMvubu valve which can be programmed (remotely) to dispense a pre-determined volume of water to indigent communities. A great number of South Africans rely on subsidised water and in rural areas there are in most cases no water meters. By using the iMvubu valve with a water meter, utilities can now control how much free water is given on a daily basis.

The iMvubu valve is also effective in drought conditions whereby a municipality can restrict all residents to a daily allocation of water. Once the allocation is used, the valve closes and will only open again with the next day's allocation of water. The meter can be read remotely (via RF & GSM) from the office and exception reports can be generated to detect leaks or unauthorised usage.

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## wynn

'Earthship Biotechture' as developed by Michael Reynolds in Taos New Mexico has a very interesting take on water recycling (4 times) without waste.
Rainwater, dew and melted snow is harvested from the roof into buried cisterns, this is enough (remembering that the average rainfall in Taos is only 8 inches PA) to support anyone living in the 'Earthship'  which is sized to suit the number of people and room required, drinking water is passed through a filtration system before consumption.
Grey and Black water is recycled, grey (shower and WHB) to a long filtration bed in the greenhouse section in front of the 'Earthship' which is used to grow crops, at the end of the filtration the now filtered grey water is used to flush the toilet which along with water from the sink forms the black water component which is sent to a septic tank for bio digestion after which it is soaked into an external growing cell that supports further vegetation
The units are constructed using a lot of waste materials, earth filled tyres, cans and bottles.
Because the units are partially buried by banking earth against the sides and back they use thermal mass to warm and cool them and mostly PV cells for power but are completely 'Off Grid'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2so9hyNWxc

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## Thato89

Yes! That's the girl!

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## Thato89

Hey Wynn, the New Mexico idea is genius. Do you think if this was attempted here in South Africa it would be a success?

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## wynn

I think getting permissions from any of the Municipalities will be impossible, you may stand a better chance in the rural areas though.

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