System provides potable, portable water powered by wind and solar

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The SunSpring provides clean drinking water at the Croix de Bouquets Hospital in Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.

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Nicholas Sakelaris

Staff Writer- Dallas Business Journal

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Clean water will be the next oil. And, in parts of the world stricken by diseases such as Ebola or drought, it already is.

Colorado-based Innovative Water Technologies wants to get ahead of the game, providing off-the-grid water purification powered by an attached solar panel and wind turbine.

The SunSpring system can purify up to 5,000 gallons of water per day running entirely on batteries charged by renewable energy.

David Clark, a Texas sales representative for Innovative Water Technologies, says these devices can be deployed anywhere that needs fresh water.

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It works by pumping water from a nearby source, a lake, stream or even a swimming pool. The water passes through a seven-mile membrane that's .02 microns thick, specifically designed to stop microbiological contaminants.

The patented system received the Water Quality Association's gold seal certification to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for microbiological water purifiers.

The water comes out from a pair of water spigots. The clean water can also be stored in cisterns with chlorine treatment.

The $25,000 system can be deployed in a matter of hours and the membrane is good for 10 years. The system automatically backflows, similar to a swimming pool, to clean itself.

Water Event Pure Water Solutions, based in Carrollton, is the local distributor for the project.

SunSprings are already being used in orphanages in remote villages and in the aftermath of earthquakes or hurricanes. But Clark is dreaming much bigger than that. Oil and gas companies could use the device to provide clean water to workers or a nearby village.

Nicholas covers the energy, manufacturing, aviation and transportation beats for the Dallas Business Journal. Subscribe the Energy Inc. newsletter