The global water crisis is the most pressing issue of our times, making its way across more than two billion people without clean and safe drinking water. Several factors cause this growing scarcity, namely: climate change, rapid urbanisation, and the depletion of freshwater resources. Because of this, the innovation of more presiding pressing water technologies has been their shift towards addressing these challenges, promoting sustainability, and helping in aspects to counteract climate change. One of the exciting innovations in water technology goes by the name of Atmospheric Water Generators or AWGs for short.
Unlike the conventional management of water systems, which mostly demand large-scale infrastructure such as dams or wells, the AWG system has decentralised arrangements. They don’t rely on sources of water that are polluted or can’t be trusted; hence, this aspect makes it especially crucial for areas that experience acute water stress. The onsite purification ability of AWGs will be a game changer in communities that have little to no access to safe drinking water.
To top all these, AWGs do not need huge infrastructure; hence, they are much more efficient and environmentally friendly. Climate change and water scarcity have an undeniable link. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events are all affecting and increasing water challenges globally. In the light of this, AWG technology has a big advantage. AWGs help in cutting down carbon footprints because it eliminates the need for long-distance transport of water.
The systems also alleviate the environmental effects attributed to production and disposal of single-use plastic bottles that are often used in distributing bottled water in areas whose access to clean supplies is limited. At the same time, new generations of AWG units are energy-efficient. Many of them can operate using renewable energy sources, such as solar panels; thus, they can maintain sustainable operations even in areas without electricity access. Such adaptability is an essential option for regions under a threat of extreme weather phenomenon, such as drought or flood situations, because it ensures the continuous supply of drinking water, even during climatic uncertainty. The real-world impact of AWG technology can already be seen in many parts of the world.
Water technologies like AWGs do present a challenge. Though the initial investment in high, in conjunction with the dependence on government support for scaling it up, presents the challenge that is discouraging its full-scale application. Investments in research and development coupled with partnerships between governments, private enterprise, and NGOs can overcome such barriers by combining resources and expertise for the scale-up deployment of water technologies.
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Written by: Navkaran Singh Bagga, CEO & Founder, Akvo