Water is the basis of life, and our stewardship of it will determine not only the quality but the staying power of human societies.*
The Problem. Paralleling
the situation with basic shelter and low-cost housing, it remains a grave moral shortcoming
that 1.5 billion people–nearly one out of every three people in the developing world–do
not have access to a safe and reliable supply of water for their daily needs.
In many instances, women and children walk several kilometers each day just to collect
enough water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Often they resort to shallow wells,
polluted rivers, or stagnant ponds that are easily contaminated with human and animal
waste.
Moreover, in many places, pollution is rapidly diminishing the usable supply. Each
quantity of polluted wastewater contaminates many additional quantities in the body
of water that receives it. As a result, waterborne diseases account for an estimated
80 percent of all illnesses in developing countries.
An effort of approximately $36 billion per year, equal to roughly 4% of
the world’s military expenditures, could bring to all of humanity what most of us
in the developed world now take for granted–clean drinking water and a sanitary means
of waste disposal, which is beyond the scope of Daedalus to bring about, at
present.
However, there is no reason in today’s world that anyone should have to walk long
distances to retrieve water for daily use or cannot drink water without risking disease
or death. There is no reason that anyone should contract illness, suffer parasitic
infestation, or suffer other ills merely from drinking water to survive.
The reason for the shortfall is not so much a scarcity of water or inadequate technologies
as a lack of social and political commitment to meeting the basic needs of the poor.
There is no reason that water cannot be drawn from essentially any fresh water source,
contaminated or not, and be consumed after appropriate, cost-effective, and affordable
processing, at the local level.
The Solution. Daedalus’
contribution to the solution of this problem is to produce water systems for emerging
areas, systems that are engineered for the exact circumstances in which they are
to be employed. Then to promote sustainable economic activity, establish manufacturing
sites for the production of additional systems . Technology is available today, and
can be engineered at acceptable cost to eliminate this problem, worldwide. Acceptable
drinking water can be produced at the rural level, through engineered systems, and
Daedalus is dedicated toward that end.
This approach lacks the fanfare of a massive new dam project, but it can provide
an extremely cost-effective and economically sustainable approach to the problem.
It is an approach to water management, and the basic necessities of life for all
people, that views people and water as related parts of a greater whole. It does
not depend upon the further manipulation of rivers, lakes and streams to meet our
insatiable demands.
As with the issue of basic shelter, Daedalus’ approach inevitably leads
to deeper questions of human values, in particular, how to narrow the unacceptably
wide gap between the haves and the have-nots while remaining within the bounds of
what natural systems can sustain.
While the problem of the lack of adequate drinking water is presently unique to the
poor of the world, as water becomes scarce on a worldwide basis, sustainable development
will depend upon raising the productivity of every drop available–getting more value
out of each volume–while leaving enough in rivers, lakes, and aquifers to keep natural
systems functioning well. Unfortunately, the demand will increase. According to a
report by the World Bank, projected world population growth will result in a 650-percent
rise in the demand for water over the next 30 years.
Engineered Systems. Engineered
Systems are those specifically designed and produced to meet the specific
requirements of a customer or circumstance. Analogous to combining technologies in
the fashion of computer hardware systems integrators, "engineered systems"
are customized to solve specific problems. Engineered systems can be fabricated in
many sizes, shapes, and configurations from quite small counter-top laboratory units,
to larger systems for towns or villages.
Target Applications. Daedalus’
principal objective is to combine technology to produce systems to provide the vast
sector of the population that does not have an adequate supply of drinking water.
Daedalus’ preference is to supply small to moderate size systems at acceptable
pricing and, eventually, to establish regional production sites within various countries.
Those systems may include ultra pure water systems for hospitals and clinics, and
auxiliary systems for hospitals, schools and other public facilities.
In addition to the primary focus of Daedalus’ activity, in many cases, point
source reduction of wastes can greatly enhance the ease with which large municipal
systems can process drinking water. To assist in that process, Daedalus’ systems
can be engineered for a variety of other applications to contaminated waste streams.
Further, similar design techniques can be utilized to design and fabricate systems
for application to bioprocessing, including blood and serum purification and protein
separation. Additional information is available through inquiry.
Engineering the Systems. Critical
factors in the design, fabrication, testing, and installation of an engineered system
include: accurate waste water characterization--the critical element of any treatment
scheme--a complete understanding of the nature and make up of the subject waste stream
is mandatory prior to proceeding to design; required flow rates; requirements of
operation; local and national design specifications--including all safety and health
issues-- and the availability of power, and preferred materials.
Systems Pricing. Designs for an engineered
system are site specific; that is, all components are sized and engineered to meet
certain design and performance criteria. System cost, therefore, is a function of
what needs to be treated and is site specific. However, Daedalus is dedicated
to providing the most cost-effective systems, incorporating the appropriate technology,
for the application. Secondary, local or regional production will also generate other
economic benefits.
Scientific and technical staff. Daedalus’
scientific and technical staff’s experience includes research and development, manufacture,
testing, and evaluation of systems for United States Department of Energy, Los Alamos
National Laboratory, and private industry involving various hazardous and non-hazardous
waste treatment processes including potable and industrial waste water treatment
processes employing oil-water separation, deaerating feed systems, flocculators,
clarifiers, reverse osmosis and membrane systems covering the entire filtration spectrum.
Additional information is available through inquiry.
Daedalus’ intention is to become a premier provider of high-quality,
cost-effective, and affordable engineered water systems and to provide total systems
solutions to environmental problems.
Daedalus does not have the capacity to enter into the market for large municipal
systems. It does maintain strategic partnerships with firms capable of participating
in those projects on a worldwide basis. Daedalus’ principal focus is upon those
rural areas that do not have adequate fresh water, and for which moderately priced,
economical systems are non-existent.
Buyers, Dealers, Distributors, Agents.
Daedalus welcomes inquiries from all interested parties.
Strategic Partnerships. In
addition to the direct placement of engineered systems, Daedalus’ goal
is to align with innovative and aggressive organizations, worldwide, that are focused
on providing total system solutions to environmental problems