If you live in a place where clean water is pretty much accessible, it’s probably something that you often take for granted. During times of crisis, it’s also one of the most overlooked needs but is pretty life-saving and life-changing. There are organizations that specifically help bring access to clean water to the families that have been displaced and affected by natural disasters and other calamities. The recent massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria has affected the lives of millions of people and we’re also seeing different technology and innovation that have come out to bring help to the countries and communities.
Designer: Deploy
A Turkish company is helping those whose access to clean water are still disrupted because of the earthquake. They have sent this unique thing called inflatable concrete tanks that are able to hold 3,698 gallons of clean water. They are made up of a patented material called “concrete canvas” that can be flat-packed for transport and then inflated when it reaches its destination. We rarely see the words inflatable and concrete used together so this is a unique kind of material that will be really useful for times when you need to store clean water for a long time.
Concrete canvas is a layer of cement that is put in between fabric and a PVC liner. It is flattened and can be transported through air to its eventual destination. There is a concrete base slab that will hold the structure and you need to use an air-pump to inflate it. There is also a hydrating process that will cause it to harden and it will take around 24 hours to make it solid enough to hold water. Upon inflation and hardening, it will turn into an eight-foot water tank that is also fireproof and waterproof.
The tank is meant to be low-maintenance, easy to clean, and self-repairing. You don’t need to spend a lot of manhours and other materials when installing it and maintaining it for however long it is needed. It can be a good tool to have for communities that may need to have storage for clean water and it actually has a lifespan of 20 years so hopefully, it will not take that long to get clean water back to the place.
