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【Abstract】

Although books are originally designed and produced to be read and used in the dissemination of information and knowledge, Dr Theresa Dankovich thinks differently. Dankovich in collaboration with a non-governmental organization Water is Life has designed a book with silver-impregnated pages that can be used to filter contaminated water. Each of the pages of this innovation -Drinkable Book- can be used to potentially filter up to 100 litres of drinking water.

With a growing water crisis in Africa in small communities like Limpopo in South Africa, water borne diseases are fast becoming an epidemic with a blurry future to the local dwellers who are often vulnerable to these diseases like Typhoid, diarrhea and cholera. The lack of cheap and sustainable solutions to water issues faced by communities and the severe sanitation problems has further endangered the lives of many in Africa.
Hence, the unique intervention of creating a solution that not only educates local people on proper sanitation practices but also purifies water remains a laudable approach to tackling the water challenges in Africa and providing a sustainable solution to the water crisis.

【Sustainable Development Goals Chart】

【Main Highlights】

-The problem
● 842,000 people are estimated to die each year from diarrhea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hand hygiene.

● Most African states are economically fragile, with average annual per capita income growth of less than 0,5%

● Economic activities combined with weak infrastructure, lack of improved policy, public accountability and weak regulation have significantly contributed to the pollution of available water sources.

-The context
●Western Cape of South Africa is one region impacted by both water scarcity and deep-seated inequality.

●Western Cape of South Africa, recorded a decline in rainfall which resulted in Cape Town’s worst drought on record.

●Shortage of water led to the reusing of bath and shower water, and enforcing a limit on activities that required large amounts of the resources.

-The solution
●A book with silver-impregnated pages that can be used to educate local people on their proper sanitation practices and also purify water.

●The Drinkable Book is made from cellulose, impregnated with silver nanoparticles and also doped with relatively inexpensive copper nanoparticles.

●Each page of the book, when used to filter water, can trap a reported 99.99% of the bacteria found in cholera, E.coli and typhoid.

-Impact Statement
● Provide local people with adequate knowledge on how to carry out proper sanitation practices for their improved well being.

● Reduce the presence of bacteria causing organism found in water borne diseases such as E -coli and cholera

● Provides over 5000 litres of water for one person in over four years.

● Tackles SGDs Goal 4, 6 and 17

-Systems Perspective
● A two-pronged approach to the water crisis and poor sanitation.

● Scaling up of testing of the Drinkable Book in more local communities especially in regions of Africa submerged in poor water and sanitation hygiene.

【Case Overview】

-The Problem
Water scarcity remains a major driver of the increasing cases of water borne diseases in Africa. According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Office in Africa, some 842,000 people are estimated to die each year from diarrhea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hand hygiene.

The decline in the quality of water available to communities across Africa is a major threat to its sustainable development. In Africa, 115 people die from diseases linked to improper hygiene, poor sanitation and contaminated water. Inability to treat wastewater generated both domestically and industrially creates room for them to find their way into the freshwater bodies causing water pollution.

According to UN-DESA, water strongly underpins the social and economic development of Africa. With the African population constituting about 17% of the world population at about 1.37 billion people, the water crisis could undermine the ability of most African countries to boost their economy and GDP.

The World Bank in a recent report stated that ‘most African states are economically fragile, with average annual per capita income growth of less than 0,5%’ as a result of the ongoing pandemic-related impacts, food price inflation, water and climate induced disasters and other factors.

Meanwhile, in areas where there is water, economic activities such as mining, farming and deforestation, combined with weak infrastructure, lack of improved policy and public accountability and weak regulation have significantly contributed to the pollution of those sources.

-Context
South Africa over the years has faced water shortages and scarcity in different regions. The increase in water shortages has significantly high implications for environmental justice and equity concerns. One such region impacted by both water scarcity and deep-seated inequality is the Western Cape of South Africa.

Between 2015 and 2018, the Western Cape of South Africa, recorded a decline in rainfall which resulted in Cape Town’s worst drought on record. The crippling drought Day Zero crisis which saw the shutting off of the municipal water supply and taps, presented an acute shock and highlighted major vulnerabilities in the water supply system which relies largely on six large dams.

Given a water stressed situation and the shortage in the supply of water, there is a growing need for filtration or purification of water from unclean water sources and also the reuse of waste water. Hence, the Western Cape of South Africa, specifically Cape Town, went from the reusing of bath and shower water, to enforcing a limit on activities that require large amounts of the resources.

-The Solution
The Drinkable Book is an innovative technology driven solution to water purification. A group of researchers from the United States, led by Theresa Danko vich and in collaboration with Water is Life, a non-governmental organization, designed a book with silver-impregnated pages that can be used to filter contaminated water. One page from this ‘drinkable book’ can be used in filtering up to 100 litres of drinking water.

Having discovered that silver is an effective antimicrobial, the brain behind the innovation Dankovich from Carnegie Mellon University used the idea to launch the new water solution project. By developing the concept of a book that will not only educate local people on their proper sanitation practices but also purify water.

The Drinkable Book is made from cellulose, impregnated with silver nanoparticles. These papers are equally doped with relatively inexpensive copper nanoparticles. The paper is made so thick and sturdy that it has less than one weight percent of silver in it. This implies that bacteria percolate that passes through it absorbs silver ions and as a result end up dying.

According to Dankovich, each page of the 25-page drinkable book which contains the filter pages, resembling a thick coffee filter, can be torn out to be used for filtration. However, this page is also inscribed on it, informative sanitary advice for local communities. One page could theoretically filter over 5000 litres of clean drinking water for one up to four years.

In other words, each page of the book, when used to filter water, can trap a reported 99.99% of the bacteria found in cholera, E.coli and typhoid and may provide a cheap, sustainable solution for communities suffering from severe sanitation problems. Meanwhile, the book’s design was done by Brian Gartside.

【Impact Statement】

The introduction of the Drinkable Book water purification solution to Western Cape of South Africa paved the way for a better access to clean and drinkable water amidst a huge drought crisis.

As an innovative project, the outcome of the project was tested in South Africa. The innovation is an attempt to give communities both local and urban an alternative to unclean water which is clean water.

As tested in Limpopo province in South Africa, a sample location of a poorly sanitized urban stream was used. The recorded result was

● The filter pages were able to bring the level of E coli in a treated water down to less than 10 colony-forming units (CFU_ per 100ml from an initial value of approximately 200,000 CFU per 100 ml

● Reduced the chances of contracted water borne diseases from the water collected.

● Nonetheless, the three main impacts of the Drinkable Book include

● Providing cheap and sustainable water solutions for communities facing water and
sanitation challenges.

● Provide local people with adequate knowledge on how to carry out proper sanitation
practices for their improved wellbeing.

● Reduce the presence of bacteria causing organism found in water borne diseases such as
E coli and cholera

● Provides over 5000 litres of water for one person in over four years.

● Does not require use of any form of harmful chemicals.

The clear success of the Drinkable Book innovation signifies the capacity of the technology to resolve water issues in the areas where they are used for water purification and/or filtration.

Interestingly, similar experiment carried out in northern Ghana and in a remote mountain village of San Jose el Negrito has shown that the silver-doped paper can remove up to 99.9% of the E-coli bacteria present in a sample.

【Systems Perspective】

As ironic and almost impossible as it may sound, employing the Drinkable Book technology remains an innovative and sustainable response to the water crisis in South Africa, and other developing and low income countries plagued with drought situations and water shortages.

Its two-pronged approach to water and sanitation remains a unique and groundbreaking innovation with huge potential. While being cost effective and equally sustainable, it is not humongous in any way and as such easily adaptable in different local and semi-urban areas where water scarcity persists.

The intersection of education and sensitization of local people and the purification of water in the development of Drinkable Book creates room for thought provoking concepts that cuts across different disciplines. As a blended approach, the cross-pollination method gives this water solution a significant inroad.

It is simple, who would have thought that a book can also serve as a water purification tool saving lives.

Meanwhile, while the small scale test of the Drinkable Book clearly documents its potential impacts, extensive testing is required for more conclusive results. It can also be useful in both the local and urban areas making it more far reaching.

The collaboration with the non-governmental organization – Water is Life – provides room for more local/community participation in learning and understanding the use of the product.

Haven proven its unique capacity to curbing water scarcity and vulnerability of local people to water scarcity, I recommend that the the testing of the Drinkable Book be scaled up to more local communities especially in regions of Africa submerged in poor water and sanitation hygiene.

【Links and Contact Information】

● https://youtu.be/qYTif9F188E

● https://www.cnet.com/science/drinkable-book-provides-safe-drinking-water/

● https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drinkable-book-turns-dirty-water-clean-for-a-thirsty-world/

● Website: https://briangartsi.de/the-drinkable-book

● Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teri.dankovich