Pall Emergency Water Purification Techniques Saved Many Lives Following the Indonesian Earthquake

In September, 2009, severe earthquakes devastated the administrative centre of West Sumatra in Indonesia. A huge number of citizens were left without sanitary water when the water supply station serving 60% of the population was put out of commission. Since water is a critical resource to keep people healthy, and none of us can live without it, people began drinking unsafe water from rivers and canals, and they began getting sick. It became extremely critical to obtain sources of fresh water into the affected areas in order to save lives.

At that point, the Pall Corporation, a worldwide leader in the production of mobile water purification systems, sent two military treatment units into the region. These machines were used to treat as much as 400,000 liters of potable water each day which was enough to supply 75,000 households. The systems were also qualified to convert sea water into normal water, so they were positioned on nearby beaches. However, since they can be transported by air, sea, and land, it was possible to move them, and similar systems, any place in the region where water was needed.

Of course, earthquakes as well as other disasters happen worldwide, and the requirement for safe water should be considered critical. Although bottled water can be flown in, the fastest strategy to make substantial amounts of water available for the most people is by using these new technological wonders. The diesel-powered units supplied by Pall can handle cleaning nearly every supply of water in an hour’s time. The way the equipment works requires little in the form of manpower and maintenance rendering it perfect for remote regions of the world.

As mentioned earlier, these mobile water purification systems are being used to provide water that is clean for troops deployed everywhere. Pall equipment uses a built-in membrane system which requires less additives, like cartridge filters, cleaning chemicals, and scale inhibitors. The machines can also be appropriate for shipboard applications as well as for temporary backup units for municipal uses. Any time, any place, Pall emergency mobile drinking water trailers could make the difference between life and death for a huge number of people.