John Wright is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Darlington in Yorkshire and a Civil Engineer by profession, and he came along to tell us all about Aquabox – a device that provides clean water in a crisis. This disaster relief charity was founded by and is managed by the Rotary Club of Wirksworth, and it has existed since 1992. There are many problem areas in the world today following floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and armed conflicts, and the Aquabox system removes pathogens from contaminated water, thus reducing or eliminating devastating diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Each Aquabox is distributed in a small container which also includes useful items such as tools and plates, and they are sent all over the world thanks to various organisations that help with the distribution. The Aquabox comes in two sizes – Family, which can produce 1 litre of pure water per minute, and Community, which is larger and can yield around 6 litres per minute. The cost of making a Family Aquabox is about AU $70 whilst the Community version costs around AU $475. The Aquabox device is very simple to make, and it is based on the principle of reverse osmosis.
Another huge benefit is that it replaces the need for plastic bottles, thus eliminating an enormous pollution source that is a scourge on our planet.