Did you know that a standalone RO system wastes three litres of water for every one litre it purifies? A team of Class X students — Piya Sharma, Aditya Tanwar, Mohammad Umar, Jeiya Khurana and Arjun Singh Bedi — from Shiv Nadar School in Gurugram have addressed this issue with an innovative solution.

The team, called Fluid Force, has rolled out a DIY set up as a part of its science project Colloquium. “The technology curriculum for Class VIIto Class X introduces students to modern technology frameworks like programming, artificial intelligence, robotics, sound production, and graphic designing. We created a platform called Colloquium where students apply their skills to solve a real-world problem,” says Mark Nelson, mentor of the project and IT Project Head.

This team, he says wanted to address water depletion (particularly groundwater) in local neighbourhoods. “We wanted to start with the RO systems because of the humongous wastage capacity and every drop saved here contributes to the larger goal.”

The project involved designing multiple prototypes before arriving at the best possible solutions. Students Jeiya and Umar say that it is a simple mechanical set up that redirects the RO waste water to the tap for reuse. They have installed it at restaurants, residences and also at the Police Commissioner’s office at Gurugram.

The DIY set up

One set up is estimated to save 1,800 litres of water per day. As collecting wasted water in buckets and reusing it for household chores, washing cars, gardening and so on were not effective they designed a two-way tap with solenoid valves and sensors. It automatically cuts off the main supply and redirects the waste water to the kitchen tap making the reuse process automatic.

Reaching out

“We are in touch with RO companies to understand if our set up could be a part of their installation,” says Nelson., “We are also posting videos on how anyone can install it at their home without any architectural changes. It costs within ₹4,000 but the amount of water saved is immense.” What’s good for the planet is also good for our health, in the long run.