Water from air, Chennaiite’s ‘unbelievable’ formula

The brainchild of Italian industrial designer Arturo Vittori, Warka Water uses natural phenomena of gravity, condensation and evaporation to harvest potable water from the atmosphere. In the absence of rain, fog and dew too contribute to generating water. The vertical tower-like structure, constructed using bamboo, hemp or bio-plastic, has been successfully installed in Ethiopia, which faces severe scarcity of potable drinking water. The tower could collect 13 to 26 gallons of water on a daily basis. 

When Selva read about the Warka Water technology, he felt that it could go a long way in helping drought-hit farmers. “When I saw an article about farmers committing suicide, I was really disturbed and wanted to do something about it. I thought that Warka Water tower can help harvest water. I wanted to build a prototype and see how it functions in our climatic conditions. So, I started crowdsourcing funds to build the prototype,” said this Junior Technical Superintendent at IIT Madras.

Selva approached the Salem Citizens’ Forum and Piyush Manush, who runs the Coop Forest in Salem. “Piyush, who has been growing and working extensively with bamboo, was open to the idea. The prototype, which will be almost 30 feet in height, is currently under construction in Salem. Once it is built, we will start observing and noting the amount of water harvested,” he added. 

Will this technology work in areas where the temperature tends to go beyond 40 degrees C? “It will work because though the temperature goes up during the day, the nights are cooler. This can result in condensation and the mesh can harvest the water generated through this process,” said this chemical engineer. 

Warka Water won the World Design Impact Prize by International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), on March 18, 2016. The team is also planning to install their latest Warka Water prototype in India later this year. Selva said, “I have been trying to reach out to the team at Warka Water and would like to collaborate with them.”

A volunteer with AID India for more than a decade, Selva revealed that he wanted to help the widows of farmers who had committed suicide. “A few years ago, we collected Rs. 2.5 lakhs and helped five widows to start farming again, pay off their debts and send their children to school. I want to do that on a bigger scale this year. A part of the proceeds from crowdsourcing will help these families get back on their feet again,” he concluded.