Moerk Water was invited by Murdoch University to accompany Environmental Engineering Students on a trip to India as a part of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan program.
The Murdoch University students partnered with engineering students from the Carmel College of Engineering, Alappuzha, to demonstrate and present Moerk Water’s solar powered portable reverse osmosis (RO) unit to villages in the Region of Kerala. Moerk Water Director, Martin Brezger accompanied the students to conduct research and provide technical support and training.
The Project Opening Ceremony at Carmel College
Barbara Brezger and Martin Brezger, Moerk Water, with forth year engineering students and Professor and Head of the Engineering Department of Carmel College, Dr Susan Jacob explaining how the Moerk Water solar powered RO unit works to Kerala CV News reporters.
The students of Murdoch University and Carmel College presented Moerk Water’s solar powered RO unit to over 100 students.
Students Present the Moerk Water RO Unit to Remote Villages in the Kerala Region
The students demonstrated the ease of setting up the portable solar powered RO unit within 10 minutes to produce clean drinkable water from heavily polluted surface water.
Local people where amazed and enjoyed drinking the clean water produced by Moerk Water solar powered RO unit.
Professor and Head of the Engineering Department of Carmel College, Dr Susan Jacob, conducting water sample testing.
The surface water tested, was thought to contain bacteria and contaminants such as pesticides from agricultural runoff before being converted to WHO standard drinking water by the solar powered RO unit.
Messages from Murdoch University Professors
“Being able to work with Moerk Water’s technology so easily in a foreign country was a fantastic opportunity for the students of both countries. When we demonstrated the unit to villagers everyone could see the real potential of a technology that could provide safe drinking water powered by the sun.”
– Dr Stewart Dallas, Research Fellow in Environmental Engineering, Murdoch University
“Moerk Water Solutions are very helpful in providing the desalination equipment and the students and local government people in using the solar powered desalinasation unit. This is a very helpful tool to provide good and safe drinking water to the areas where there is strong scarcity of drinking water exist. Our project will have a great future in Kerala.”
– Dr Kuruvilla Mathew, School of Engineering and Information Technology, Murdoch University
What the university students have to say…
Ramon Skane
“The program consisted of us students travelling around the state to various villages and setting up a portable water purification system to provide clean and free drinking water to the people. The whole experience of travelling through India and comparing their standard of living to ours changed my perspective on so many things we take for granted in the west. I’ve been to other developing countries, but I’ve never seen it like this.”
Azella Trevenen
“I feel that the program offered a good opportunity to establish roots in another country which offered a completely different cultural environment and language than my own. I think the biggest thing I learnt in the NCP trip was that though India has a lot of water their is a massive lack of fresh water and is something the different communities in Kerala are actively seeking solutions for. As a group of Australian engineering students we were responsible for travelling to various communities in Kerala and talking to Panchayath Government members about their interest in the RO unit and the current interest for the unit in the community.”
Nandu Manoharan
“I’m a student of Carmel College of Engineering and Technology. I worked with the students of Murdoch University in the PVRO project. It was a wonderful experience working with Moerk Water and the rest of the students.”
