The Gryphon Gazette

By: Neel M. ‘29

It is easy to assume that water is in abundance on this planet. However, water shortages are extremely detrimental and may be closer to us than we think. 

The main reason to conserve water for the majority of Americans is to save money, as water makes up a major fraction of household utility bills. However, there’s an issue with this ideology. Less than 1% of Earth’s water supply is readily available for consumption. At some point, water will become scarce on Earth, and when this happens, everyone will be affected. But as usual, science can save the day! There are a multitude of organizations that are working to address the water crisis using a variety of techniques.

Desalination is a process in which saline (salt) water is converted into potable water. This is being used all around the world, and although this form of water distillation is relatively new, people have been using various methods of water purification for thousands of years. For example, the ancient Egyptians and Greeks evaporated water and used clay or other materials to purify small amounts of water. But how does this desalination process work? According to the Sydney Desalination Plant, these are the steps that turn water from the Tasmanian Sea into fresh drinking water:

1. Water from the ocean needs to be filtered of marine life, so usually the intake valve flows at only 0.1 meters per second. However, because the intake valve is enormous, the plant can take in 600 million litres of water a day.
2. Drum screens are used to filter out larger particles, such as algae and dirt. This is to rid the water of particles that could harm the finer filters. The resulting substance of water and solids is then disposed of (method not stated).
3. Then, the reverse osmosis process takes place. The water is fed through 36,000 semi-permeable membranes at an extremely high pressure, getting rid of a multitude of harmful substances. This is a crucial part of the desalination process, as substances like salt and certain minerals are the main reasons why seawater is not available for consumption in the first place.
4. Per the Australian Drinking Water and National Institute of Water Guidelines, certain minerals must be added to the water before the water is chlorinated and fluoridated. Water tests are then carried out before the water is transported to the storage tank, which can hold up to 40 million litres of water. 

Pumps transfer the water from the tank to an 18-kilometre pipeline that connects to the Sydney Water supply network. The water is then distributed to homes and businesses across Sydney

The brine (a concentrated salt product) water is then returned to the ocean and dispersed quickly to do minimum harm to marine life.

However, this solution is also a major trade-off. On one hand, it can derive drinking water from the most abundant water source on the planet: the ocean. However, the energy involved in this process is enormous, and brine is released back into the ocean, harming the intricate ecosystems over time. Scientists are working to solve this problem, just as the Sydney water plant has. For example, in Spain, a practice is emerging where brine is used for bricks and construction materials instead of being returned to the ocean. While improvements are being made, it will take time for technology like this to make a major impact and for desalination to become cheaper. It is simply too costly at the moment, both financially and environmentally, for desalination plants to become staples of our water supply. However, other alternatives might prove to be more sustainable options. 

As stated earlier, less than 1% of Earth’s water is from fresh water bodies, like rivers or groundwater. However, only 97% of Earth’s water is in the ocean. Where is the rest? Although water is found in a multitude of places, the majority of that last 2% is, believe it or not, in the air. Although it is greatly dispersed in the 51.8 quintillion cubic meters of air on our planet, water is present and possible to extract. The process of turning this moisture into drinkable water is known as Atmospheric Water Generation. But how does this magical process function? The Watergen website answers the question:

1. Air is drawn in from the atmosphere to the filter to remove large particles such as dust and dirt, similar to the Sydney plant.
2. Air is passed through their patented heat exchanger, which efficiently cools the air past its dew point so it completely becomes saturated with water vapor,  forming liquid droplets..
3. The water created is then filtered into their purification system and mineralized to water guidelines. A UV lamp destroys microorganisms and denatures harmful substances.
4. The water is then transferred into the drinking water tank. The largest of these devices, GEN-L, is able to provide 5000-6000 liters of water a day. 

While this is a high yield process, it comes nowhere near the volume of drinking water produced by desalination. While this is an issue, scaling up production is very simple for a model like the Watergen contraption. It is also much more environmentally friendly, as it is able to run off of electricity and produces little to no waste. Another advantage of the Atmospheric Water Generator is its applications in rural areas, where water infrastructure is more scarce. All it requires is electricity, and it is able to supply enough water for dozens of people. In summary, while this method might be less applicable in the worldwide scope than desalination, it is certainly beneficial to the Earth and could potentially improve millions of lives.

     As water shortage becomes a greater threat to civilization, methods like these are vital for the future of humanity. Although some of the methods touched on are quite relevant, there are a surprising number of alternative technologies, like electrodialysis, ion exchange systems, and bio sand filters. In conclusion, while water is starting to become an issue for humanity, new technologies are developing to provide the Earth with sustainable, efficient properties to improve the world, one liter at a time.