RAPID: Remediation of Earthquake-Impacted Potable Water Sources with Cactus Mucilage

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There is an urgent need for the availability of clean water in the developing world, as well as to provide drinking water after a natural disaster. The main city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake this past January 12, 2010 at 4:53 pm local time. The death toll has risen to over 200,000 people, and the over 1 million survivors are in need of essential services including drinking water. Earthquakes can have severe detrimental effects on the quality of drinking water from several sources. Unusual pollutants are expected to appear in the water due to the extreme conditions that influence the flow of water when urban settings are hit by a devastating earthquake. This RAPID proposal has two important objectives: (i) To determine how earthquakes impact water quality and accessibility, especially in urban settings; and (ii) To test the effectiveness of the cactus mucilage in cleaning polluted water. Cactus mucilage is a natural flocculant that has been proven to remove contaminants such as particulates, heavy metals and bacteria from water. The results from the proposed work will provide information on water quality and detrimental changes on this valuable resource due to natural events such as an earthquake in an urban setting. Also the required amount of cactus mucilage to provide clean drinking water in terms of gallons of water per family per period of time will be determined. In addition, important information will be obtained to establish how cactus mucilage treatments compare to current relief methods for providing drinking water to the affected population. It is expected that this project will objectively assess if cactus mucilage is a possible long-term solution to provide clean drinking water in such events. The research team will coordinate with regional and international relief agencies, so that surveys, sampling and monitoring is not reduplicated. It is expected that our research will serve as part of a global framework to assess water quality in regions affected by earthquakes and other natural disasters (i.e., floods, volcano eruptions, etc.), and a path for sharing ideas and data on tests performed with the cactus mucilage. This award is co-funded by the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE).