This brief aims to set the stage for the implementation of saline water treatment technology in bores of Cape York, Queensland. Engineers without Borders partners with Australian and New Zealand universities to motivate students to participate in the annual EWB Challenges. In 2020, the Challenge is meant to be implemented in the Cape York area. Its main goal is to provide a sustainable living for Cape York local communities, including Indigenous people (2020 EWB challenge design brief, 2020). Cape York area has 15 catchment regions that provide water to the population (Cape York water atlas, 2020). However, bores collecting water from underground sources began to pump out more saline water and could no longer provide local communities (Design area 5: water management, 2020). Therefore, the population of regions where bores are the primary source of freshwater needs to introduce saline water purification technology. Installation of membrane filters can be one of the aesthetic and straightforward solutions.
Background on EWB Challenge
The EWB program is an educational initiative to support the development of engineering thinking among students in Australia and New Zealand. Since 2007, when the first EWB Challenge started, more than 100,000 students took part in EWB Australia’s engineering educational programs (Over ten years of engineering education, 2020). The main advantage of the EWB Challenge is to provide students with the opportunity to develop engineering skills through engaging with authentic, real-world projects aimed at introducing positive change in communities. The 2020 EWB Challenge works in partnership with the Center for Appropriate Technology. CfAT non-profit organization supports Australian communities and Traditional Owners who live in Wthe Cape York and other remote regions (Our story, 2020).
Selected Challenge Project
The EWB challenge this year is set in the Cape York region. This design brief will focus on the Water treatment system project for saline bores in Design Area 5: Water Management (Design area 5: water management, 2020).
Background on Cape York Region
The Cape York region is a sparsely populated area of Far North Queensland with a unique climate, geography, and culture. It has 15 catchment regions covering almost the entire area of ​​the region and managing the surface waters. Part of Traditional Owners’ culture is respect for land and water, which helps preserve high biodiversity and vast relatively-undisturbed landscapes. Flow regimes in many catchments are undisturbed, with many river systems and wetlands remaining in pristine condition (Cape York water atlas, 2020). Cape York has a few urban and community centers, mining, grazing, agriculture, and tourism activities.
Water supply in the region is legally regulated by the state Water Act 2000, which sets out water management plans (Cape York water atlas, 2020). The latest government initiative is the Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers Water Plan 2017, developed following the mentioned law. Notably, this plan regulates groundwater management across the Great Artesian Basin and groundwater linked to it, which extends into the Cape York area. Cape York has a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. The eastern Cape York region’s topography is steeper, so run flow is fast in this region. The peninsula’s western side is flat with dry savanna woodland, the current is slow, which leads to more filtration of water in the soil and underground aquifers. It is noteworthy that recently the Australian government officially returned the land which had never been transferred to the Indigenous communities.
Solar-powered bores are the central water supply system in remote indigenous communities. Water from bores provides the population with water for domestic purposes and private agricultural use – for example, for watering trees or giving water to livestock. The water purification system for saline bores has good potential; in addition, the need for such a system is critical. Recently, bores have been pumping increasingly saline water in some areas (Design area 5: water management, 2020). Therefore, local communities are in dire need of a project that will offer inexpensive water treatment mechanisms that will purify saline water to meet drinking water standards.
Stakeholders Initial Identification
Providing the population with fresh and drinking water is essential for all community members. As the water is now becoming more saline and unsuitable for serving needs, there is an immediate need to install purifying systems.
Identified problem statement
As mentioned above, the most acceptable solution is to install purification filters based on existing bores and pumping stations. This idea meets the criterion of simplicity and aesthetics, implied as necessary criteria for a successful project within the EWB Challenge. Besides, the installation of filters will help to supply clean water during the rainy and flood seasons and the dry season. Since flooding occurs in the region regularly, the existing well systems have been designed with this in mind. One of the aesthetic and straightforward solutions for saline water purification can be the installation of membrane filters.
Reference
Design area 5: water management (2020) Web.
Over ten years of engineering education (2020) Web.
Cape York water atlas (2020) Web.
2020 EWB challenge design brief Web.
Our story (2020) Web.