Sanitation and potable water are a challenge in Makoko, Lagos, one of the country’s largest slums. But two young women have invented a water filtration system that aims to change that.
Makoko, known as the Venice of Africa because a third of it is built on stilts over a lagoon, is one of the largest slums in Lagos, Nigeria. One of the major issues of the “floating slum” is its lack of sanitary water, despite the community being surrounded by water. Makoko is one of many rural communities that face the issue and impacts of flooding, which occurs every year in Nigeria. Dirt, debris, and fecal matter sweep into the rivers that are a source of water for households. Though a few households have their own sanitation systems, there is no overall sanitation infrastructure in the area.
“Unclean water has been one of the greatest challenges to me and my family in our area where we stay,” secondary school student Korolo Elizabeth told a reporter for the BBC. “It has made us spend money, not only on getting clean water, but also on getting medical treatment, because anytime we consume this dirty water, it always leads to different viral sicknesses like cholera, diarrhea, and so on.”
Over eighty thousand people in Nigeria die every year due to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene, and sixteen percent of child deaths are caused by diarrhea. So, when sixteen-year-old students Elizabeth Korolo and Abdusalam Ajara got the opportunity to create a solution to unclean water problems in Makoko during the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition, they built the Bi-thermal Water Distillation Device, a solar-powered system that filters dirty water to produce clean, potable water.
For the girls, the device will not only solve water problems in their community; in addition, it will eliminate the need to walk long distances into unsafe areas to buy clean water from people who have outdoor spigots, reducing the likelihood of encounters with “touts” (the Nigerian term for “bad guys” of all types, ranging from catcallers to gang members and thieves).
The water distillation device, which makes use of sand, gravel, charcoal, and fiber, runs on solar power, suitable for rural communities that suffer the most from the country's lack of consistent electricity. The idea for it was formed when Ajara, the co-inventor, observed that evaporating boiling water formed pure, distilled water when condensed. “The bi-thermal distillation device is a device that makes use of two processes,” Oyewale Wasiu, a teacher at Wesley Secondary School explains to the BBC. “The first one is the filtration process — that is, the filtering of water; and then the other one is the distillation process — that is, the separation of the contaminants from water using heat.”
Dirty water seeps through the fiber, the first layer of the device to remove microorganisms and impurities. The gravel layer comes next and removes sediments and metal. The third layer is the activated charcoal that removes odor. The sharp sand layer follows, removing particles suspended in the water. The last layer is another bed of gravel, which removes any metals and sediments that might have escaped from the first layer. “Bi-thermal” describes the two sources of heat required for the process. The first is a solar powered battery that provides energy to an alternating current element that boils water in the distillation box; the second is a Fresnel lens on the unit’s glass top that heats up the filtered water to form vapor (pure water) that is delivered into a container after condensation.
Makoko has been a popular site for research and exhibitions, owing to its unique size and structures such as the once standing floating school, which was destroyed by a storm, and yet, it remains overlooked by the government when it comes to basic services and restoration. “Access to clean and safe water is a basic human right that everyone deserves. Unfortunately, Makoko's water situation is dire due to years of waste and defecation being dumped in the lagoon,” says Michael Olusegun, a local environmental consultant. “To solve this problem, we need advanced technological innovations that can provide clean and safe water to everyone in Makoko. Additionally, we should focus on health interventions and raise awareness about ethics and safe living practices.”
Inventions like the Bi-thermal Water Distillation Device are a step towards changing the state of Makoko and its people. “The students' hard work should not be limited to mere prizes or social media recognition,” says Michael Olusegun. “They should be motivated to expand their innovation to reach a wider audience.” Indeed, the two girls would like to see their invention replicated. The government is aware of their device, and the two remain hopeful that one day they’ll gain access to the resources they need to help other communities deal with water sanitation issues like the ones in Makoko.
