Treating Water in the Global South: The AguaClara Way

Seven Easy Steps to Bringing Clean Water to the Masses

Step 1: Find a rural mountainous community with an elevated water source. AguaClara plants require gravity, so if you ain't got mountains you ain't got shit. 

Step 2

Attach pipes to afore mentioned elevated water source to carry the water to the treatment facility (no high cost fanciness needed, its ALL gravity and plastic piping baby). 

Step 3
Build an AguaClara Treatment Plant. This requires about $70,000, 2 months, and a shit ton of work. Ready Set GO. When you're done it will look mas o menos, como este. 

                           

                                 

 Step 4

Now you're ready to purify some truly disgusting water. This contraption is called "The Brain". It is the first stop for rancid water and is pretty damn important because it determines water turbidity. Water turbidity is the scientific measure for how gross your water is based on cloudiness. The Brain measures the turbididty and treats the water with the appropriate amount of polyaluminum chloride. Polyaluminum chloride is a low cost chemical which makes small debri particles fuse together so that they can later be filtered out. 

(Aka: this little thinga-majig determines just how detestible your water is and pumps it full non-harmful chemicals which make the little disease causing particles stick together into big disease causing particles which will soon be filtered out).  

Step 5: Floculation Weeeeee

Time for some filtration. Now you need to move your newly treated water through a series of filters for about 45 minutes. Should look a little something like this. 

Step 6

Almost There.... Final Phase: The Settling Tank. Any particles that weren't filtered during floculation now have an hour to naturally fall to the bottom of the tank. Thanks again Gravity! 

Step 7

A wee-bit 'o chlorine never hurt anyone in the North or South. Treat your water with some chlorine and send it off to the happy residents of your rural Southern village for less than $2 dollars a month. Families will now have more money to spend on food, education, and quality of life but best of all, their children are no longer at risk for water born diseases. 

Final Note

Beware the Cow

Cows, horses and erosion are what screwed your water up in the first place so keep them away from the water source!