Clean water is a vital resource globally, though access in some areas is limited. A team of students in India noticed this issue in local communities, Chavara and Alappad, and wanted to make a sustainable difference.
To help these communities, a group of students from a SIGHT affinity group, and the IEEE student branch at the College of Engineering Karunagappally have teamed up with Chavara Grama Panchayat and Alappad Grama Panchayat to create a water purification system.
This system, built using Raspberry Pi technology, works to desalinate and purify water for access by locals in the community. It utilizes water quality sensors, desalination equipment, solar panels, battery backups, user interface equipment, and plumbing equipment to purify the water. There are also software components for data collection, analysis, and user interfacing.
The team worked with water quality experts, local community liaisons, environmental compliance specialists, solar power experts, and more vital personnel to ensure the community was being helped effectively.
As part of the project, the team also conducted training workshops for the team. The project can be remotely monitored to ensure it operates without issue. They plan monthly visits to check up on the device, while the local community will oversee the device day-to-day.
The team hopes to improve the health and wellbeing of the community, while also promoting self-sufficiency and empowering the community with the technology.
This project was made possible by $9,900.00 in funding for Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) an EPICS in IEEE partner.