Scenarios+and+Requirements

Scenarios
 Scenario 1: After a natural disaster has occurred, fresh water will be needed immediately and may not be readily available. There are often outbreaks of disease after a natural disaster so there must be clean water available to keep people well-hydrated. Floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes can sometimes destroy or contaminate all valuable water sources, and it will be necessary to have clean water to survive. Water is the most important thing for human survival even if food is not available. This will benefit both developed and developing countries. There will also be a need to maintain a sanitary environment with clean water to bathe in as well as clean water to cook with to prevent water borne illnesses or the spread of disease. It is also necessary to provide clean water to livestock to prevent water-born illnesses.

Scenario 2:

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There are many health risks involved in drinking unsanitary water. In third world countries their source of water is usually a well and/or rivers and lakes. Open water sources like rivers and lakes are usually more contaminated than wells. The water is exposed to acid rain, industrial waste and storm water, where as water from wells taker a longer time to get contaminated. Groundwater is contaminated with disease-casusing pathogens, disposal of house products and bad septic system reserves. Many developed countries their source of water from natural sources such as lakes and rivers. ALthough the water is exposed naturally by sunlight and micro-organisms, which help in cleaning the water, there still exist many pathogens and other disease causing bacteria. Short term health effects may be nausea, lung irritation and skin rash. Chronic exposure to unsafe drinking water include cancer, liver and kidney damage, disorders of the nervous system, damage to the immune system, and birth defects. (Herman) ======  Scenario 3: “In most developing countries women are responsible for water management at the domestic and community level. It was estimated that women and girls use more than 8 hours a day traveling from 10 to 15 km to transport between 20 and 15 liters of water”(Awid). This stressful task of carrying heavy barrels of water over long distances on a daily basis is strenuous on the body possibly causing severe damage to the individuals health now or in the future. Furthermore, the time spent transporting water could also be used for other activities especially in the case of young children. Spending long hours each day traveling to get water prevents children from attending school or getting involved in activities such as sports and leisure. A device that allows either rain water or surface water to be filtered and contained provides another option to attempt to shorten the distance that must be travelled on a daily basis to obtain water as there are more locations where water can be collected.

Scenario 4: Naturally, bacteria builds up in containers that are used to store and collect water. Most water, when collected in developing countries or after a natural disaster, would not have gone through any filtration processes. The dirty water that is being put into these containers will result in residue that builds up within the container as time goes on. The shape of the container may make it difficult to be cleaned and the lack of necessary cleaning tools to remove bacteria will result in a contaminated container. If these containers were only storing clean water, it would reduce the amount of residue and bacterial buildup. It will also reduce the amount of cleaning that the containers will have to go through. If the dirty water goes through a filtration process before being collected and stored into the containers, then it would eliminate the problem within this scenario.

Scenario 5: Health risks to future generations when not having safe drinking water. (Children are most susceptible to illness) Having clean water has always been an issue with those who live in developing countries. In most cases, however, it effects children more than adults due to weaker immune systems and malnutrition. "About 4 billion cases of diarrhoea per year [worldwide] cause 1.8 million deaths, over 90 per cent of them (1.6 million) among children under five" (UNICEF). Studies also show that " 88% of that burden is attributable to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene." (WHO). And that is only one of the many health concerns children are facing. There is also a matter of protecting the parents and making sure that they -especially pregnant mothers- are consuming clean water, to ensure no birth defects. In preventing such happenings, safe and clean water sources must be made openly available and easily accessible to everyone.

=Requirements =

Must have:
 - effective filtration system - lightweight - portable - durable - easy to use foot pump - different tube lengths to signify input of dirty water vs. output of clean water - user friendly

Should have:
 - non-toxic materials (ie. breaking down of plastic contaminating drinking water) - environmentally friendly - easy to maintain - inexpensive replaceable parts and easily accessible - Indicator that changes colour when filters need to be replaced

Could have:
 - carrying device to put the filter and pump inside - could have cleaning tools - multiple sizes of filter to obtain more or less water

Wants but won't have:
 - motorized pumping system rather than a foot pump

Awid. Women and Water Privatization. 2008. March 14, 2010. . UNICEF. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. April 1, 2005. < <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">>. World Health Organization (WHO). Water Sanitation and Health (WSH). 2010. < <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal;">>.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">References: **

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<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Zaslow, Sandra, and Glenda Herman. "Health Effects of Drinking Water Contaminants." Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering @ NC State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. N.p., 14 Mar. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. <http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm/he393.html>. ======