Youth in Water: 3 Areas of Cutting-edge Solutions

By Yisih Chai 23 October, 2024

Get on top of cutting-edge youth-led water ideas & solutions with CWR Chai's round up. Imagine being able to pull water out of thin air with nothing but just a small gadget & some sunshine or imagine growing crops with just mist?

2024 is breaking all the wrong records; But there’s hope! Take a look at the latest innovations from the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition to ground-breaking research projects from universities
Innovations range from Solution E that uses household items for affordable desalination; solar-powered air-to-water harvesters; space-saving vertical algae-bacteria symbiosis etc
But remember, youth can’t & shouldn’t have to do it all on their own; Support from industry, veterans & govt is crucial; Plus supporting & scaling up these solutions isn't just smart, it's essential for our collective hope & survival

Climate change is hitting us hard already and with 2024 breaking all the wrong records for ice melt, extreme heat and weather events, our fight against it isn’t looking great. But there’s hope – there’s a wave of young entrepreneurs and students stepping up to the plate.

From cutting-edge entries from the recent Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) competition to groundbreaking research projects from global universities, the water sector is seeing a surge in innovations. Ranging from low-cost desalination to AI-powered predictions, we dive into three areas where youth are making a more water-secure future.

1. Delivering clean water for all …

Access to clean water is a human right and yet, we are still failing badly to deliver this  – today, over 2 billion still lack access to safe drinking water.

Solution E: an affordable desal method, made by two students who want to make full use of the seawater surrounding their water-scarce country

Ever thought of turning seawater into drinking water with just a few household items? In coastal Benin, where access to clean water has always been a challenge, two students saw an opportunity in the seawater surrounding their country. They came up with “Solution E” – an affordable desalination method, which is quite simple to make too. When coal or wood ash is mixed with tap water, the ashes will settle at the bottom, and the clear solution remaining at the top is Solution E. Adding it to seawater along with a small amount of alcohol will cause the salt to clump into salt flakes and settle to the bottom, reducing the salt in the water by more than 80%. Not only is Solution E easy to make, its readily available ingredients means it’s more widely accessible too and can be easily scaled up and taken up to address water scarcity in most coastal regions.

Algae-bacteria symbiosis with a vertical design = a space saving natural water purifier

How about making a natural water purifying process ideal for cramped urban environments? Algae-bacteria symbiosis is a process that removes micropollutants from dirty water, with minimal CO2 emissions, to produce water clean enough for many purposes like farming and with further treatment, drinking. A senior at a secondary school in Chongqing China, took it new heights (literally) with a vertical design to make it more space-efficient. It also has a sunlight enhancement system that boosts photosynthetic efficiency. A space-saving solution for an already environmentally friendly wastewater treatment process, this design would really help cities grappling with both water issues and space.

2. Tapping into unexpected sources & more sustainable solutions to quench our water worries…

As water shortages become more severe and widespread globally, it’s no wonder the next generation of water experts is thinking outside the box, like finding water in places we never thought possible.

The air-to-water harvester worked even in Death Valley National Park, one of the hottest & driest locations in North America

Imagine being able to pull water out of thin air with nothing but just a small gadget and some sunshine. That’s exactly what a team of young researchers from UC Berkeley cooked up – a water harvester powered just by ambient sunlight. It uses metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are exceptionally effective at capturing water molecules from the atmosphere. So effective, it was even successfully tested in Death Valley National Park, one of the hottest and driest locations in North America! Plus it can work over long periods without replenishment or alteration and can be disassembled and reassembled without producing.

Nutrient solution sprayed in mist form means less water + less nutrients needed

Others went about in a different way – making essential systems more sustainable. Imagine growing crops with just mist – think lettuce with 70% less water. Over in Japan, two High School students created a water-saving mist cultivation system which uses a small ultrasonic mist generator commonly used in humidifiers to spray nutrient solution in mist form. Not only does this significantly reduce the water and nutrients needed – 70% and 80% respectively – the reduced water and air pressure also means no splashes, no simulations on the crops’ roots, no more common issues like pipe cracks and nozzle clogs, and the best of all, lesser CO2 emissions due to lesser power needed – all while maintaining the same yield as traditional hydroponics. This design could transform food production in almost any water-stressed region.

3. Smart tech to help us stay one step ahead of water issues and disasters…

With climate extremes continuing to increase, many are trying to come up with better ways to provide protect communities, to keep both their resources and themselves safe. It’s not surprising then that youth are leveraging smart tech and AI to come up with solutions to do just that.

Intelligent water mgmt system that can spot, calculate & alert water quality issues beforehand

Imagine your home’s water system is as smart as your phone. Two students from the UK designed an intelligent water management system that can spot quality issues and send alerts straight to your phone or a dashboard. It even calculates a “Water Security Index” to assess the safety of your water supply. But here’s a cooler part: it can predict future problems, identifying areas where probability of leaks and clogs is high, letting users do some proactive maintenance and repair to prevent them from happening. Though designed for homes, this tech could potentially scale up to manage water for entire neighbourhoods, cities or even countries.

AI-powered system can predict water threats a week away with up to 90% accuracy

How about a system that can see water threats? In Bangkok, a student developed the Intelligent System to Forecast and Manage Saltwater Intrusion and Flash Floods, wanting use AI to give himself and his neighbours a heads up on water crises in advance. Combining satellite imagery analysis and artificial neural networks, it can predict saltwater intrusion and flash floods with impressive accuracy – up to 70% for one-day forecasts and 90% for one-week forecasts. He hopes the adequately informative early warnings allow farmers, water commuters, and communities to prepare for better prevention and water management strategies beforehand.

Floodwise’s 3-in-1 system monitors, collects + cleans floodwater

What about a system that can monitor, collect and clean water, all at the same time? Two Nigerian students came up with Floodwise, hoping to solve flooding problems in their community. It is an automated flood management system that does 3 things at once: it monitors water levels in real-time, collects rainwater with an eco-roof and cleans floodwater through a biofiltration setup. Its creators say this is “where sustainability meets urban resilience”.

But remember, youth can’t and shouldn’t have to do it all on their own…

To fast track and scale incredible solutions like those above, the support of veterans, key industry players and governments is crucial. Yes, some are providing support like Xylem and their Global Student Innovation Challenge that offers winners $20,000 and the opportunity to join the Xylem Ignite Innovation Incubator, but it’s not enough, given the huge water challenges the world is facing.

Support is needed from different perspectives & expertise to tackle water challenges effectively…

…scaling up diverse, youth-driven solutions is not just smart – it’s crucial for our collective hope & survival

Santiago Gómez, a young water professional in Colombia, emphasizes in our interview with him that as water issues are multidimensional, veterans have to recognise that support is needed from different perspectives and expertise to tackle water challenges effectively. Meghna Chakkraborty, one of the five co-founders of the South Asia Young Women in Water platform, adds, “This is not about profit or even philanthropy: it’s about long-term survival” – see more from her in our interview. In the face of an uncertain climate future, supporting and scaling up these diverse, youth-driven solutions is not just smart – it’s essential for our collective hope and survival.

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Author: Yisih Chai
Yisih contributes to CWR’s research and publications and hopes that her work will help create more sustainable solutions and healthier environments. Previously, Yisih worked for several years as a research assistant at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. However, having previously dipped her toes into the water sector during her internship at Hyflux, she decided it was time to get back to water and the environment. She is passionate about tackling pressing challenges like water access and clean energy as well as illnesses resulting from environmental degradation. Yisih graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety.
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