3 ms·

>Fresh water cost $1 per cubic metre. That really depends on where you are, infrastructure, and economies of scale. The statement is ridiculous by itself. If

>Fresh water cost $1 per cubic metre. That really depends on where you are, infrastructure, and economies of scale. The statement is ridiculous by itself. If I pumped a cubic meter of drinking water here and mailed it to you, it would cost much more than $1. If I instead built pump and piping from scratch to provide you with a single cubic meter at your location, it would also cost way more. Especially if I could source neither parts nor know-how locally and instead had to ship them around half the globe.

salty_biscuits 4y ago
This isn't high tech stuff. People all around the world know how to make clean water. It doesn't require specialised equipment or knowledge. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_sand_filter https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_sand_filter
- adrianN 4y ago
  A slow sand filter requires water that is not salty. A desalination device serves a different purpose.
  - collyw 4y ago
    I know off of the top of my head how to make a very basic solar still.
    - adrianN 4y ago
      The device in the article is a slightly less basic solar still.
- dtech 4y ago
  I don't expect this to work in areas were typically desalination is used, since there is no freshwater available there.
- POPOSYS 4y ago
  Are you an expert in the field of desalination? Are you sure that a sand filter is a good tool for desalination?
  - collyw 4y ago
    > are you an expert Appeal to authority is not an argument
    - otikik 4y ago
      Agreed, but it might indicate us wether we should take the answer with a …pinch of salt.
  - salty_biscuits 4y ago
    I think I need to be more long form because people are getting the wrong idea. Desalination from seawater is almost never required, brackish sources are more common. For this multistage flash distillation is the cheapest option, reverse osmosis next. Even then most people could recycle grey water rather than run desalination. A sand filter works for this. These types of gizmo based approaches just strike me as incredibly naive as to the underlying causes of problems with water supply. More than naive, patronising. People in poor countries aren't stupid.
    - thematrixturtle 4y ago
      +1. Reminds me of Gandhi proposing that Indian households "solve" the problem of importing clothing by spinning their own cloth at home, which is ridiculously impractical compared to letting factories do an incredibly tedious and time-consuming job.
spurgu 4y ago
> That really depends on where you are, infrastructure, and economies of scale. Yup. For example in Finland it costs between 1-3€/m3 depending on where you are in the country. Then again it's "the land of a thousand lakes" and while most of the water isn't drinkable (at least according to "health standards", anymore, due to human activity) you can still drink from the lakes/streams in Lapland. And there are aquifers everywhere. We've somewhat created this problem ourselves. Back in the day you wouldn't even consider settling anywhere without a reliable water source. Nowadays if the environment can't support you we'll just come up with some high-tech solution and have more babies and in the process we become dependent on state infrastructure. People like Elon Musk want higher tech and more people, and while I'd like to agree with him I don't see that as realistic, given human nature and the current landscape around the world. Ok, that was a bit of a derail. I really like innovation like this though. As long as someone can supply the materials for the device, it really improves quality of living in many places.

salty_biscuits 4y ago

This isn't high tech stuff. People all around the world know how to make clean water. It doesn't require specialised equipment or knowledge. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_sand_filter https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_sand_filter

adrianN 4y ago
A slow sand filter requires water that is not salty. A desalination device serves a different purpose.
- collyw 4y ago
  I know off of the top of my head how to make a very basic solar still.
  - adrianN 4y ago
    The device in the article is a slightly less basic solar still.
dtech 4y ago
I don't expect this to work in areas were typically desalination is used, since there is no freshwater available there.
POPOSYS 4y ago
Are you an expert in the field of desalination? Are you sure that a sand filter is a good tool for desalination?
- collyw 4y ago
  > are you an expert Appeal to authority is not an argument
  - otikik 4y ago
    Agreed, but it might indicate us wether we should take the answer with a …pinch of salt.
- salty_biscuits 4y ago
  I think I need to be more long form because people are getting the wrong idea. Desalination from seawater is almost never required, brackish sources are more common. For this multistage flash distillation is the cheapest option, reverse osmosis next. Even then most people could recycle grey water rather than run desalination. A sand filter works for this. These types of gizmo based approaches just strike me as incredibly naive as to the underlying causes of problems with water supply. More than naive, patronising. People in poor countries aren't stupid.
  - thematrixturtle 4y ago
    +1. Reminds me of Gandhi proposing that Indian households "solve" the problem of importing clothing by spinning their own cloth at home, which is ridiculously impractical compared to letting factories do an incredibly tedious and time-consuming job.

spurgu 4y ago

> That really depends on where you are, infrastructure, and economies of scale. Yup. For example in Finland it costs between 1-3€/m3 depending on where you are in the country. Then again it's "the land of a thousand lakes" and while most of the water isn't drinkable (at least according to "health standards", anymore, due to human activity) you can still drink from the lakes/streams in Lapland. And there are aquifers everywhere. We've somewhat created this problem ourselves. Back in the day you wouldn't even consider settling anywhere without a reliable water source. Nowadays if the environment can't support you we'll just come up with some high-tech solution and have more babies and in the process we become dependent on state infrastructure. People like Elon Musk want higher tech and more people, and while I'd like to agree with him I don't see that as realistic, given human nature and the current landscape around the world. Ok, that was a bit of a derail. I really like innovation like this though. As long as someone can supply the materials for the device, it really improves quality of living in many places.