An Australian technology for water monitoring will be part of a new product that addresses water quality in remote communities, starting in the Northern Territory (NT).
The system promises to deliver an integrated filtration system for remote communities that will help ensure safe quality drinking water through using the “capillary zone electrophoresis” method that monitors bore water in real time.
Managing director of Think Water Darwin, Adam Stockwell said it’s not only important to have clean drinking water but to have the ability to ensure its quality.
“Clean drinking water is a fundamental requirement of life. What we aim to do with this project is develop a product suite that provides better visibility for residents and governments about the quality of the water they are being provided,” said Stockwell.
The project will also provide proactive reporting on water quality, reducing the instances of residents drinking water found to be outside the safe guideline levels for human consumption.
Jefferson Harcourt, founder and chief executive officer of Eco Detection said the project aims to address water quality and monitoring issues present at more than 400 locations throughout the nation, 40 percent of which are located within remote indigenous communities.
Collaboration on the product will bring together Eco Detection’s award-winning Ion-Q+ monitor, a filtration system from Think Water, and a water storage tank manufactured by Terracorp Industries.
Managing director of AMGC, Dr Jens Goennemann said this project is an example of the power of collaboration in tackling real problems.
“Three manufacturing businesses have brought existing skills to the table, to create something more complex that solves a serious problem, with these businesses and the remote communities they serve being winners,” said Goennemann.
The three integrated prototype systems are set to undergo six-month trials at three different remote locations in the NT to determine effectiveness and suitability for remote regions.
Northern Territory chief minister, Eva Lawler acknowledged the importance of the new project to the state.
“The Territory Labor Government is attracting new innovative projects which get the Territory working and develop our communities – this is exactly what Think Water accomplishes,” she said.
The $995,446 project has co-investment from the Northern Territory Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem Fund (AMEF), and input from Eco Detection’s parent company.
Grey Innovation and is administered by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC).
It is expected that the product, proven in the demanding conditions of remote NT, will have good applicability to issues prevalent across local and international markets.
Think Water estimates cumulative revenues of $83.5 million and 45 jobs will be achieved within five years of project completion.
