REwater

REwater is a smaller, cheaper wastewater treatment plant, tranforming to reused water. It's a climate action solution, so everyone can have access to water without getting out of home. 

Rewater is a smaller and cheaper wastewater and water treatment for reuse. The water used will pass through the station and be reused in houses.

The mini treatment plant is formed by grids that remove larger trash; then the water passes through the sandbox, where the sand is removed by machines; after removal, the liquid goes through decantation, where there is a squeegee removing all the dirt; it is placed in an aeration tank, where it contains oxygen to accelerate the process; then it is placed in a decantation tank to remove activated iodine; finally, chlorine is added, the water passes through a filter and chlorine is added again. After the treatment, the water is deposited in the water tank and the waste (which will become solid) can be thrown in the common trash.

In addition, there will be a pollution sensor, which will see if the water can be reused again. The station is charged and powered by solar energy, in which it is stored in a battery that will be used during the process (since the treatment will take place at night due to the duration and little use of water).

Water is essential for human survival, access to it helps us to prevent about 80% of diseases and deaths. However, there are still 2.2 billion people without access to water. And with climate change that number could increase to 3.5 billion people in 2025.

Moreover, in times of water crisis, this number increases due to cuts in water distribution and the most affected are low-income people, increasing social inequality.

In addition, 4.2 billion people live without access to basic sanitation (according to UN research), which means, without running water and sewage treatment, having to walk kilometers to survive on just a few buckets of water. However, according to Unicef, girls and women are the most responsible for transporting water and if we add the time they spend collecting water around the world, it reaches 200 million hours a day, preventing them from continuing their studies and work.

REwater aims to serve this population, reduce social and gender inequality, generate wastewater and reuse water treatment and fight against climate change.

REwater aims to help low-income people in rural areas, especially women and girls, who often have to walk miles to get water. The station would minimize the number of walks  to get water, as a bucket can be reused many times. Thus, the time that would be dedicated to the search for water, can be dedicated to the studies of a girl or to guarantee a woman's financial independence.

In addition, it intends to help populations most affected by climate change, who suffer and will suffer from the water crisis. REwater allows access to water for everyone, leaving no one behind. In addition, its energy comes from sustainable, renewable and self-sufficient sources.

In 2014, my country Brazil went through a deep water crisis, where rationing was the action used in many states. Despite being a privileged person, I heard reports either on TV or physically from low-income/less privileged people who suffered from rationing, going days without a drop of water. Later, I watched my father develop a water tank monitoring technology that would alleviate the need for massive rationing if the water was controlled since the beginning.

In 2020, I started to get more involved with the theme environment, I researched more about climate change and discovered the origin of all water droughts that were occurring in Brazil: the climate crisis. With that, I represented Brazil at Mock Cop 26, where I and other young people from more than 140 countries wrote an official document with our demands for a sustainable future, one of which was access to water for all, this document was delivered to the world leaders during COP26.

REwater is at the concept stage, as the project is in the research phase, analyzing wastewater and reused water treatment systems from around the world so that useful parts of every treatment plant in the world can be joined together in a compact and inexpensive version: REwater. Furthermore, a first financial investment is needed to develop the prototype, which can be distributed to the target audience to test.

The technology used in REwater is based on the sewage treatment system and reused water in Brazil and in other countries. There will be an on/off button that will control the operation of the station.

The 1st part of the station are the grids, where larger objects will be removed. Then the water passes through the sandbox, where the sand is held and then sucked up. The 3rd part is decantation, where the rest of the dirt is removed by a squeegee powered by servo motors. After that, there will be an oxygen tube near the next tank, where the remaining organic material will be removed. After passing through another decantation tank, chlorine will be poured into the water from a compartment, it is filtered and then more chlorine is poured. There will be two tubes: a small one that will connect the station to a box, where solid waste will be placed for later being thrown in the trash and another tube that will connect the station to the house water tank.

However, as REwater is compact and cheaper, it will not have the same level of cleanness as a conventional treatment plant. Thus, the number of times water can be reused is limited. Therefore, at the end of the station, there will be a pH reader, which detects if the water is between 6 and 9.5, otherwise it will be discarded and sent to traditional water treatment (not the one on your home).

As my solution has not been launched yet, I hope that next year I will be able to help 100 families, that is, about 307 people from the largest favela in São Paulo-SP: Heliopolis, where many people live in precarious situations and without access to water. In addition, I hope to help another 100 families in the rural northeastern of Brazil, that constantly suffers from severe droughts, where many women and girls have to walk several kilometers to get some buckets of water.

I intend to increase the number of people who have access to water in Brazil, and later in the world. For that, I intend to launch REwater to the market, so anyone can buy it at a low price. In addition, I would like to have contracts  with governments so that the mini station can be partially or fully funded by government investments that guarantee the access to the poorest population.

As indicators of progress I plan to use the proportion of people who have access to water on a daily basis, the total hours spent fetching water and the number of people who have access to sewage treatment.

There are financial barriers, such as not having the money to build a prototype and then the lack of initial investment to build mini stations. In addition, there is a legal barrier, in which it would be necessary to obtain approval from water and sewage treatment companies.

Currently, there is one person on my team, whose experience in this area is very broad, having volunteered in organizations focused on combating climate change and gender inequality. In addition, she is a yellow woman who spoke to less privileged people about the water crisis and its impacts on their lives.

I don't have any organization as partner.

Many people say that climate change will impact our future, but it is already impacting the present with rising temperatures, more intense natural disasters, rising sea levels and, especially, longer droughts. The lack of access to water, which was already a problem, has been exacerbated by the extensive droughts. 2.2 billion of people do not have daily access to water, but this situation can get worse if there is no change, leaving 3.5 billion people without water in 2025.

In addition, in times of the coronavirus pandemic, in which it is so emphasized to always wash your hands and stay protected, but 2.2 billion people are unable to perform proper hygiene. Therefore, these people put their lives at risk, not only for COVID-19, but for 80% of diseases, just for not having access to a basic right that every citizen should have.

That is why the REwater project was created by the 15-year-old leader Fernanda, which aims to transform the used water into reused water in a simple and cheap way, with the mini station in the residences daily access to water will become more accessible.

The prize will be used for the manufacture of mini stations, where part of them will be sold at low cost (the profit will be used to produce more mini stations) and the other part will be donated to people in vulnerable situations.

When it comes to climate change, we are all in the same ocean, but not in the same boat. Some are on large cruise ships, others on sailboats and others don't have a boat. It is in this last group where many women are.

Women and girls are the ones who suffer the most from climate change. According to the UN, women suffer about 14 times more than men in relation to the climate crisis and its consequences, such as extensive water crisis. According to UNICEF, girls and women around the world spend around 200 million hours a day walking thousands kilometers to fetch water.

With REwater this time would decrease, as a bucket of water can be reused several times. Girls would not have to put aside their studies to do housework, being able to dedicate more time to their studies, as Malala Yousafzai (education activist) said “a book, a pen, a child and a teacher can change the world”. And women could invest that time in paid jobs that guarantee their financial independence. 

 With the prize, my team plans to use some of the money to manufacture and set up mini stations that will be distributed to girls and women who need to travel long distances to get water. Another part will be invested in the education of these girls, ensuring a quality education so that they can sail IN a boat. Finally, the last part will be used to offer craftsmanship and sewing workshops for these women, so they can sell the things they learn.