WaterSaver

Problem:

The water crisis has become an urgent problem in dozens of countries, and the inefficient and careless use of water (especially drinking water) is an aggravating factor that can turn this difficult situation into a much worse one. According to the World Health Organization, individual drinking water consumption in a Latin American city can be almost twice the maximum allowed, so there is a need to find more efficient ways of using this valuable resource.

Idea:

The project consists of a low-cost mechanism that is incorporated into the water system of a house, collecting household gray water (water from showers, sinks, dishwashers, and washing machines), and then reusing it, sanitizing it through a filtering process, in order to reuse it for domestic tasks, mainly watering the garden and washing cars.

Main Beneficiaries:

While this project can benefit all people who have a home with access to potable water, our focus will be especially directed to those people living in regions facing water scarcity, ecological overshoot or other environmental crisis. In this regard, our goal is to implement this project in our home country, Chile, as it is among the 20 most water-stressed nations in the world (World Resources Institute, 2019), in addition to providing the legal and environmental framework to put this type of project into practice. Once successfully implemented in Chile, we want to extend this project to more countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region in which more than 160 million people do not have secure access to water (El Confidencial, 2022).

Stage:

Inspiration and ideation

SDG:

GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

University:

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile