International Experiences

Presented by : Thomas Baez

China: Beijing, Yichang, Shanghai Merida (Yucatan), Mexico

Cali Colombia

(Cali, Colombia) Low-Cost Potable Water

Facts

• 780 million people lack of the access to potable water

• 3.4 million people die every year due to diseases related to the water (1). A population as big as Los Angeles’

• 15 % of the world’s population does not have access to potable water

Technologies for Water Purification

• Conventional Tecnology: – coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and

disinfection. • Direct Filtration:– coagulation-sedimentation and fast sand filtration (2).

• Multi-Stage Filtration (MSF):– Dynamic Roughing Filter, Upflow Roughing Filter, Slow

Sand Filter, Activated Carbon and Chlorine.

MSF La Sirena

1/2/2010

7/1/2010

12/28/2010

6/26/2011

12/23/2011

6/20/2012

12/17/2012

6/15/20130.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Turbidity of Potable Water at Chorro Plata, Riberita, Aprofinca and Terranova

Chorro Plata (MSF) Riberita (Conventional)Aprofinca (MSF)Terranova (Conventional)

Date

Tur

bidi

ty (N

TU

)

Findings • Historical data was analyzed from 2010-2013 on the following parameters: turbidity, apparent

color, pH and Residual Free Chlorine.

• Spending a lot of money on polymers to treat the water does not necessarily gives the best results.

• Poor and rural communities can have access to a low-cost potable water, as long as they have access to water.

• Placing the plant at a high peak can reduce the cost of distribution potable water to consumers, and at the same time this height could be used to generate energy.

• Having an automatic sand washer reduces the cost of man labor and maximizes the efficiency of sand washing by more than 400 %

• Having a population of Tilapia Rendalli in reservoir eliminates the biofilm problems and reduces the cost of having to clean the reservoir.

China

Bird’s Nest and Water Cube

Three Gorges Dam, Volkswagen, Shanghai

Mexico

Experience

Recommendations• Get involved. Look for the opportunities and

jump in.• International experiences or research help you

grow since you are constantly exposed to different environments and challenges. You get to be more comfortable outside of your comfort zone.

• You learn from other people’s culture and you grow as a person.

• On top of that you get the experience of working on a research and writing your research paper.

Work Cited1. "Water.org." Waterorg. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2013

http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/

2. "Treatment Technology." Http://www.corix.com/. Corix Group of Companies, n.d. Web. 01 July 2013.

http://www.corix.com/corix-companies/water-systems/water-treatment/technology/direct-filtration.aspx

3. Sánchez, Luis Dario, Arlex Sánchez, Gerardo Galvis, and Jorge Latorre. "Filtración En Múltiples Etapas." - IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.

IRC, 23 Jan. 2007. Web. 28 July 2013.

4. Jaramillo G., Patricia Stella. "Pobreza Rural En Colombia." Revista Colombiana De Sociologia, n.d. Web. 15 July 2013.