ΚΑΘΑΡΟΣH₂O

KATHAROS is an ancient Greek word meaning clean, clear and pure—

^{The fundamental qualities of drinking water.}

The problem

Our most essential natural resource is fresh water. The consumption and protection of fresh water is critical in sustaining communities and all life on earth. Unfortunately, fresh water is not always available or safely recoverable, and consequently, access to clean potable water has become a growing international problem, particularly in isolated, rural communities.

“About 2 billion people, roughly one third of the global population, need to go outside their home to fetch water for daily use. Of those, 1.2 billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water; they are forced to rely on biologically contaminated water, in most cases. This leads to a large number of diseases and deaths, particularly for children below age five. Young children have low resistance to dehydration, which is the resultant condition of diarrheal diseases… About 400 children die of diarrheal disease per hour in developing countries – every one of the deaths preventable.” [Ashok Gadgil, Massive Change]

With all our advancements in public health, medicine, and science, why is more than 20% of the world’s population without access to safe drinking water? The technology is available today to purify drinking water but it hasn’t been made available where it is often most needed. The approach in the industrialized world is to tap the earth’s water resources and pipe pressurized water where it is needed. But limits to financial resources and available water supplies often means pure water is not available to remote communities. Moreover, we have failed to design technologies that are simple, affordable, appropriate, and accessible to remote communities.

The Bruntland Commission has stated the objective for sustainable development -- "to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." But this is only a goal of sustainable development; it is not a prescription from which to derive sustainable solutions. Therefore, with respect to a community’s basic sustainability requirements, the maintenance of an adequate supply of safe drinking quantity is a top priority.

Project goal

The goal of our proposal is to design the means with which remote communities can be self-reliant in meeting their safe drinking water in an affordable and environmentally sustainable manner. A community’s self reliance is closely dependent upon its ability to maintain its own water system and to monitor its quality and distribution. Self-monitoring of a local water supply provides a high level of assurance that the water is safe and distribution is equitable.

Water supply and purification problems associated with the use of rainwater in rural, isolated communities will be our design challenge. Our team will undertake an interdisciplinary approach to develop technological systems solutions in a culturally sustainable manner to meet the water resource requirements in our case study community – “ Blue Village ” -- a historic rural mountain village in Kefalonia , Greece . Lessons learned through this adaptive planning and design process are applicable to other rural communities throughout the world that have historically depended upon rainwater as a primary source.

Rural cistern systems and the design approach

Water purification is part of a larger system, which includes collection or catchment, storage, and monitoring of water quality. The system of rainwater catchment and storage is referred to as a “Cistern Water System.” Cistern water systems involve using rainfall. With a rain water system, 'free' water resources are collected and stored in a storage tank and available for domestic purposes. The use of rain water systems promotes water conservation as well as community self-reliance.

In traditional Blue Village , rainwater was once collected from village rooftops and courtyards. A simple sand layer provided initial filtration of the water before it was discharged into a storage container, consisting of an underground cistern dug below the courtyard. With the traditional cistern system, there are several problems relating to water quality—odor, bacterial and viral contamination. The application of purification technology is necessary before such water supply systems are suitable for domestic use.

Our project in Greece will design a water purification system supporting the sustainability of the village – meeting water quality standards while respecting its 1000+ year-old tradition of self-reliance. The historic village community depended upon cisterns for their water supply, and the village’s traditional site architecture reflects rain catchment and storage as its central function.

Our design process begins with a close examination of traditional water collection as a characteristic design element in rural site architecture. The design process emphasizes the adaptation of purification technology to the conditions, climate, customs, and architecture of the case study community. The benefit of employing case study as our design methodology is to demonstrate successful design solutions by respecting local traditions while being innovative in a real community setting. Such approaches can readily be adapted to other rural communities.

Water quantity, quality and purification

The quality of water in Greece , as throughout the ancient world, is poor. The availability of water is also a problem. Much of the groundwater in isolated Greek island communities is either limited, or tainted with salt and cannot be used for drinking. Many communities facing water quality problems have to import water. Consequently, cistern water systems offer immediate benefit to isolated communities, provided that purification can be applied to these traditional systems to meet domestic drinking water requirements.

The amount of rainwater that can be collected in cisterns depends upon the average annual rainfall and the available collecting area. Our case study community has an annual rainfall of 1,084.7 mm. The combined traditional village roof area and courtyard collection horizontal surface area of 83.4 sq. meters will yield 18,900 US gallons of water annually, sufficient to support domestic self reliance.

The consumer experience

The benefiting user derives several advantages from the application of appropriate technology to traditional water systems.

Psychological benefits are derived from the self-confidence experienced in maintaining ones own water supply and monitoring its water quality.
Historic and cultural benefits are derived from respecting highly valued design traditions.
Self-reliance is enhanced by applying appropriate technology to meet safe drinking water standards, further increasing the likelihood for accepting new technology solutions.
Sustainability is achieved through reuse of precious natural resources.
Economic benefits are realized by utilizing a “free” resource.

Our project applies appropriate technology design solutions to solve water quality problems in rural, isolated communities. Our case study project is the ancient village located on the Ionian Island of Kefalonia, in Greece . Like all towns and villages on the island, and throughout the Mediterranean world, communities here have relied on rainwater collection and storage in cisterns to meet their domestic consumption needs. Blue Village is now undergoing major restoration planning after a devastating earthquake in 1953 completely destroyed the village and most other settlements on the island.

Working in close cooperation with the island government and local villagers (who relocated 50 years ago, the village still remains deserted), West ern Washington University has established a university applied research program in sustainable community development to help the island formulate redevelopment plan for Blue Village . Our university’s long-term objective is to develop proposals that are sustainable, and which respect the historic and cultural traditions and values of the village. One such important value is to examine approaches that incorporate traditional home rain catchment and collection systems, which are a distinctive characteristic of the village’s architectural form.

Towards this end, we formed our interdisciplinary project team to address this critical element of sustainable village redevelopment – the provision of a traditional rainwater catchment system that will meet public health drinking standards. The Design Team is challenged with the task to:

1) Design an appropriate level of technology to achieve water purification within the traditional urban architecture form, and

2) Ensure an appropriate level of technology in order for the water purification system to be installed, maintained, and monitored by village homeowners.

Integrated approach to solving problems

The integrated approach to solving community water supply problems will specifically address the personal collection, treatment, use, and transport of purified water for domestic consumption. Preferred design solutions will emphasize the use and/or adaptation of P&G brand products that can be produced and made available in the case study community context and transferable to other communities. This effort will result in investigation of diverse solutions that will have value to P & G’s mission in supporting the education of target communities.

Goals / Social policy and science

Identify the critical path procedure
Identify community character and goals for restoration of Blue Village
Identify water supply and water quality purification problems and opportunities
Identify archetype village site plan design
Develop catchment and storage criteria
Identify demands for domestic water uses
Determine criteria for water purification standards for human consumption
Develop implementation strategy: funding / legal / regulatory

Solutions / Design/Engineering

Identify the problem, constraints, needs, wants, and expectations of the consumer, community, and environment
Research new and existing technologies in water collection, filtration, storage, purification, testing, and monitoring
Establish design / human factors criteria and engineering specifications
Generate alternative concepts to solve problem / meet consumer / environmental needs
Evaluate concepts and refine preferred alternatives
Develop concepts in detail using mock-ups, models, or simulations
Develop detailed design (CAD / models / illustrations)

Applications / Marketing

Design bi-lingual installation and operations procedures (English and Greek)
Design low-technology construction specifications for catchment / collection components
Design product packaging, branding and design graphics
Develop the product presentation, including technical reports and graphic illustrations
Identify opportunities for P&G to add value through products and services to the needs of remote communities as demonstrated by the solutions of this project.

Dissemination / Education

Develop educational and training program
Present product concept at the IDSA National Conference, August 2005
Present product concept at the Kefalonia Conference in Sustainable Community Development, September 29- October 3, 2005

		ΚΑΘΑΡΟΣH₂O KATHAROS is an ancient Greek word meaning clean, clear and pure— ^{The fundamental qualities of drinking water.}
		The problem Our most essential natural resource is fresh water. The consumption and protection of fresh water is critical in sustaining communities and all life on earth. Unfortunately, fresh water is not always available or safely recoverable, and consequently, access to clean potable water has become a growing international problem, particularly in isolated, rural communities.
		“About 2 billion people, roughly one third of the global population, need to go outside their home to fetch water for daily use. Of those, 1.2 billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water; they are forced to rely on biologically contaminated water, in most cases. This leads to a large number of diseases and deaths, particularly for children below age five. Young children have low resistance to dehydration, which is the resultant condition of diarrheal diseases… About 400 children die of diarrheal disease per hour in developing countries – every one of the deaths preventable.” [Ashok Gadgil, Massive Change]
		With all our advancements in public health, medicine, and science, why is more than 20% of the world’s population without access to safe drinking water? The technology is available today to purify drinking water but it hasn’t been made available where it is often most needed. The approach in the industrialized world is to tap the earth’s water resources and pipe pressurized water where it is needed. But limits to financial resources and available water supplies often means pure water is not available to remote communities. Moreover, we have failed to design technologies that are simple, affordable, appropriate, and accessible to remote communities. The Bruntland Commission has stated the objective for sustainable development -- "to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." But this is only a goal of sustainable development; it is not a prescription from which to derive sustainable solutions. Therefore, with respect to a community’s basic sustainability requirements, the maintenance of an adequate supply of safe drinking quantity is a top priority. Project goal The goal of our proposal is to design the means with which remote communities can be self-reliant in meeting their safe drinking water in an affordable and environmentally sustainable manner. A community’s self reliance is closely dependent upon its ability to maintain its own water system and to monitor its quality and distribution. Self-monitoring of a local water supply provides a high level of assurance that the water is safe and distribution is equitable. Water supply and purification problems associated with the use of rainwater in rural, isolated communities will be our design challenge. Our team will undertake an interdisciplinary approach to develop technological systems solutions in a culturally sustainable manner to meet the water resource requirements in our case study community – “ Blue Village ” -- a historic rural mountain village in Kefalonia , Greece . Lessons learned through this adaptive planning and design process are applicable to other rural communities throughout the world that have historically depended upon rainwater as a primary source.
		Rural cistern systems and the design approach Water purification is part of a larger system, which includes collection or catchment, storage, and monitoring of water quality. The system of rainwater catchment and storage is referred to as a “Cistern Water System.” Cistern water systems involve using rainfall. With a rain water system, 'free' water resources are collected and stored in a storage tank and available for domestic purposes. The use of rain water systems promotes water conservation as well as community self-reliance. In traditional Blue Village , rainwater was once collected from village rooftops and courtyards. A simple sand layer provided initial filtration of the water before it was discharged into a storage container, consisting of an underground cistern dug below the courtyard. With the traditional cistern system, there are several problems relating to water quality—odor, bacterial and viral contamination. The application of purification technology is necessary before such water supply systems are suitable for domestic use.
		Our project in Greece will design a water purification system supporting the sustainability of the village – meeting water quality standards while respecting its 1000+ year-old tradition of self-reliance. The historic village community depended upon cisterns for their water supply, and the village’s traditional site architecture reflects rain catchment and storage as its central function. Our design process begins with a close examination of traditional water collection as a characteristic design element in rural site architecture. The design process emphasizes the adaptation of purification technology to the conditions, climate, customs, and architecture of the case study community. The benefit of employing case study as our design methodology is to demonstrate successful design solutions by respecting local traditions while being innovative in a real community setting. Such approaches can readily be adapted to other rural communities.
		Water quantity, quality and purification The quality of water in Greece , as throughout the ancient world, is poor. The availability of water is also a problem. Much of the groundwater in isolated Greek island communities is either limited, or tainted with salt and cannot be used for drinking. Many communities facing water quality problems have to import water. Consequently, cistern water systems offer immediate benefit to isolated communities, provided that purification can be applied to these traditional systems to meet domestic drinking water requirements. The amount of rainwater that can be collected in cisterns depends upon the average annual rainfall and the available collecting area. Our case study community has an annual rainfall of 1,084.7 mm. The combined traditional village roof area and courtyard collection horizontal surface area of 83.4 sq. meters will yield 18,900 US gallons of water annually, sufficient to support domestic self reliance.
		The consumer experience The benefiting user derives several advantages from the application of appropriate technology to traditional water systems. Psychological benefits are derived from the self-confidence experienced in maintaining ones own water supply and monitoring its water quality. Historic and cultural benefits are derived from respecting highly valued design traditions. Self-reliance is enhanced by applying appropriate technology to meet safe drinking water standards, further increasing the likelihood for accepting new technology solutions. Sustainability is achieved through reuse of precious natural resources. Economic benefits are realized by utilizing a “free” resource.
		Our project applies appropriate technology design solutions to solve water quality problems in rural, isolated communities. Our case study project is the ancient village located on the Ionian Island of Kefalonia, in Greece . Like all towns and villages on the island, and throughout the Mediterranean world, communities here have relied on rainwater collection and storage in cisterns to meet their domestic consumption needs. Blue Village is now undergoing major restoration planning after a devastating earthquake in 1953 completely destroyed the village and most other settlements on the island.
		Working in close cooperation with the island government and local villagers (who relocated 50 years ago, the village still remains deserted), West ern Washington University has established a university applied research program in sustainable community development to help the island formulate redevelopment plan for Blue Village . Our university’s long-term objective is to develop proposals that are sustainable, and which respect the historic and cultural traditions and values of the village. One such important value is to examine approaches that incorporate traditional home rain catchment and collection systems, which are a distinctive characteristic of the village’s architectural form. Towards this end, we formed our interdisciplinary project team to address this critical element of sustainable village redevelopment – the provision of a traditional rainwater catchment system that will meet public health drinking standards. The Design Team is challenged with the task to: 1) Design an appropriate level of technology to achieve water purification within the traditional urban architecture form, and 2) Ensure an appropriate level of technology in order for the water purification system to be installed, maintained, and monitored by village homeowners. Integrated approach to solving problems The integrated approach to solving community water supply problems will specifically address the personal collection, treatment, use, and transport of purified water for domestic consumption. Preferred design solutions will emphasize the use and/or adaptation of P&G brand products that can be produced and made available in the case study community context and transferable to other communities. This effort will result in investigation of diverse solutions that will have value to P & G’s mission in supporting the education of target communities. Goals / Social policy and science Identify the critical path procedure Identify community character and goals for restoration of Blue Village Identify water supply and water quality purification problems and opportunities Identify archetype village site plan design Develop catchment and storage criteria Identify demands for domestic water uses Determine criteria for water purification standards for human consumption Develop implementation strategy: funding / legal / regulatory Solutions / Design/Engineering Identify the problem, constraints, needs, wants, and expectations of the consumer, community, and environment Research new and existing technologies in water collection, filtration, storage, purification, testing, and monitoring Establish design / human factors criteria and engineering specifications Generate alternative concepts to solve problem / meet consumer / environmental needs Evaluate concepts and refine preferred alternatives Develop concepts in detail using mock-ups, models, or simulations Develop detailed design (CAD / models / illustrations)
		Applications / Marketing Design bi-lingual installation and operations procedures (English and Greek) Design low-technology construction specifications for catchment / collection components Design product packaging, branding and design graphics Develop the product presentation, including technical reports and graphic illustrations Identify opportunities for P&G to add value through products and services to the needs of remote communities as demonstrated by the solutions of this project. Dissemination / Education Develop educational and training program Present product concept at the IDSA National Conference, August 2005 Present product concept at the Kefalonia Conference in Sustainable Community Development, September 29- October 3, 2005