AguaClara
Encyclopedia
AguaClara is a project in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University that designs water treatment plants using the open source model
. The program's aims are to "improve drinking water quality through innovative research, knowledge transfer, open source engineering and design of sustainable, replicable water treatment systems." AguaClara plants are unique among municipal-scale facilities in that they have no electrical or complex mechanical components, instead using hydraulic processes driven by gravity to operate.
scripts that calculate design parameters for input into AutoCAD
scripts, which produce the final design. The design algorithms can be continuously improved and any changes will be immediately implemented the next time a design is requested.
The AguaClara design tool applies an economy of scale to water treatment design, in that there are almost no marginal costs to produce an additional design. This is significant considering that the World Health Organization
estimates the global unmet demand for improved water at approximately 844 million people, including 100 million using surface water sources that would be viable for treatment with AguaClara technology. From the AguaClara website:
"Thus 125 million people need AguaClara water treatment plants. If we further assume that our goal is to meet this demand in 10 years and that there are an average of 12,000 people per water treatment plant, we obtain an estimate of 1000 plants per year! This estimate does not include population growth or the need to replace aging infrastructure."
La 34, or "La treinta y quatro," once a numbered plantation run by United Fruit, is the first site of an AguaClara plant. Construction on the La 34 plant began in December 2004 and was inaugurated in August 2005. The plant serves a population of 2000 with a design flow of 285 Lpm (Liters per minute)
Ojojona Construction on the Ojojona
plant began in June 2006 and was completed in January 2007, serving a population of 2000 with a design flow of 375 Lpm.
Tamara Construction on the Tamara plant began in January 2008 and was inaugurated on June 15, 2008, serving a population of 3500 with a design flow of 738 Lpm.
Marcala Construction of the Marcala
plant began in the Fall of 2007 and was completed in June 2008, serving a population of 5400 with a design flow of 1900 Lpm. The plant was upgraded in May 2011 to a flow rate of 55 L/s.
Cuatro Comunidades In the Fall 2008 the AguaClara team designed a water treatment plant with shallower tanks that doesn't need an elevated platform for the plant operator. The full scale pilot facility for this new design was built for the four communities of Los Bayos, Rio Frio
, Aldea Bonito and Las Jaguas. Construction was completed in March 2009.
Agalteca is located in the municipality of Cedros, Francisco Morazán
, Honduras. The community has a population of 2,160. Construction of this plant began September 2009. Completed January 2010.
Open Design
Water Purification
Cornell University
Honduras
Open design
Open design is the development of physical products, machines and systems through use of publicly shared design information. The process is generally facilitated by the Internet and often performed without monetary compensation...
. The program's aims are to "improve drinking water quality through innovative research, knowledge transfer, open source engineering and design of sustainable, replicable water treatment systems." AguaClara plants are unique among municipal-scale facilities in that they have no electrical or complex mechanical components, instead using hydraulic processes driven by gravity to operate.
Design Tool
AguaClara has developed an automated design tool that allows interested parties to input basic design parameters such as flow rate into a simple frontend and receive customized designs via email in five minutes or less. The user frontend communicates with the AguaClara server to populate MathCadMathCad
Mathcad is computer software primarily intended for the verification, validation, documentation and re-use of engineering calculations. First introduced in 1986 on DOS, it was the first to introduce live editing of typeset mathematical notation, combined with its automatic computations...
scripts that calculate design parameters for input into AutoCAD
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...
scripts, which produce the final design. The design algorithms can be continuously improved and any changes will be immediately implemented the next time a design is requested.
The AguaClara design tool applies an economy of scale to water treatment design, in that there are almost no marginal costs to produce an additional design. This is significant considering that the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
estimates the global unmet demand for improved water at approximately 844 million people, including 100 million using surface water sources that would be viable for treatment with AguaClara technology. From the AguaClara website:
"Thus 125 million people need AguaClara water treatment plants. If we further assume that our goal is to meet this demand in 10 years and that there are an average of 12,000 people per water treatment plant, we obtain an estimate of 1000 plants per year! This estimate does not include population growth or the need to replace aging infrastructure."
Plants
AguaClara designs gravity-powered water treatment plants that require no electricity and are constructed by its implementation partners. The plants use hydraulic flocculators and high-flow vertical-flow sedimentation tanks to remove turbidity from surface waters.La 34, or "La treinta y quatro," once a numbered plantation run by United Fruit, is the first site of an AguaClara plant. Construction on the La 34 plant began in December 2004 and was inaugurated in August 2005. The plant serves a population of 2000 with a design flow of 285 Lpm (Liters per minute)
Ojojona Construction on the Ojojona
Ojojona
Ojojona is a municipality in the Honduran department of Francisco Morazán, located 34km South of Tegucigalpa. It was founded in 1579 by Spanish miners who worked the silver and gold mines of the area....
plant began in June 2006 and was completed in January 2007, serving a population of 2000 with a design flow of 375 Lpm.
Tamara Construction on the Tamara plant began in January 2008 and was inaugurated on June 15, 2008, serving a population of 3500 with a design flow of 738 Lpm.
Marcala Construction of the Marcala
Marcala
Marcala is a municipality in the Honduran department of La Paz.-External links:*...
plant began in the Fall of 2007 and was completed in June 2008, serving a population of 5400 with a design flow of 1900 Lpm. The plant was upgraded in May 2011 to a flow rate of 55 L/s.
Cuatro Comunidades In the Fall 2008 the AguaClara team designed a water treatment plant with shallower tanks that doesn't need an elevated platform for the plant operator. The full scale pilot facility for this new design was built for the four communities of Los Bayos, Rio Frio
Rio Frio
-Rivers:*Rio Frio , a river in Puerto Rico *Rio Frio , a river in Belize*Frio River, aka Rio Frio, a river in Texas *Frío River, aka Rio Frio, a river in Costa Rica-Settlements:...
, Aldea Bonito and Las Jaguas. Construction was completed in March 2009.
Agalteca is located in the municipality of Cedros, Francisco Morazán
Francisco Morazán
General Francisco Morazán was a Honduran general and a politician who ruled several Central American states at different times during the turbulent period from 1827 to 1842. He rose to prominence at the legendary Battle of La Trinidad on November 11, 1827...
, Honduras. The community has a population of 2,160. Construction of this plant began September 2009. Completed January 2010.
Sponsors
- The Sanjuan Fund
- Ken Brown '74 & Elizabeth Sanjuan
- Rotary Clubs
- Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering - Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
College of Engineering - Engineers for a Sustainable World
- National Rural Water Association
- EPA P3 Award Student design competition for sustainability
- Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowships(CU Public Service)
See also
Open SourceOpen source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
Open Design
Open design
Open design is the development of physical products, machines and systems through use of publicly shared design information. The process is generally facilitated by the Internet and often performed without monetary compensation...
Water Purification
Water purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...