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Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink. A phrase from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” written by an English poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, describes best what’s happening now in typhoon Odette affected areas.

Water is one of the most significant necessities after any disaster. Here in the Philippines, the devastation brought by Typhoon Odette has reached an epic proportion that government agencies and private institutions are working double-time to bring clean and safe drinking water to the people in the affected areas. Many of these areas are inaccessible, and bringing large equipment and vehicles is next to impossible. Another problem is, like, in the poem, water is abundant in disaster areas, but these waters are either saltwater or dirty water and not fit for human consumption.

While water refilling stations capable of producing potable water are available in disaster areas, no electricity would power the stations. The local government units have asked for generator sets to operate the water stations to produce safe drinking water. So far, a few of the stations are working now but not enough to answer the needs of thousands of residents in the affected areas.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), the local governments, and some candidates running for the 2022 elections agree that they need sufficient energy, portability, and technology to bring potable water to affected individuals.

One solution immediately came up. The Pure H2O equipment that was donated to the government of Nepal in 2015 by PureForce Rescue Corporation, a Filipino company that provides solutions for disasters and emergencies. It is a solar-powered water filtration kit that can provide 480 liters of water within an hour.

Pure H2O has upgraded the capability of the equipment, and it can now produce 720 liters of safe drinking water per hour. The unit does not need to be connected to a power source as it gets its power from the sun using the attache case-looking solar power packs that charge directly under the sun. It utilizes a three-stage filtration system that has ultraviolet treatment making it drinkable on the spot.

“It was first used in Nepal after the earthquake in 2015, PureForce represented by Dr. Ted Esguerra, and the MMDA went to Nepal to help supply potable water. The units are easy to use and could be deployed in five minutes as long as there’s a water source. No matter if it’s muddy, murky, or dirty, this equipment could turn it into safe drinking water. The same equipment supplied water to Nepalese villages in hospitals after the earthquake,” says Jojo Soliman, CEO of Pure H2O and PureForce Rescue Corporation.

The PureH2O Portable filtration and solar-powered purification system can be operated without electricity, and it is designed for easy deployment and operation by a user with minimal skills.

Seeing the importance of the equipment, the MMDA and the OCD purchased ten units each and have been using them in every emergency that requires safe drinking water. These units were brought to the areas where they were needed the most immediately after the onslaught of typhoon Odette.

“Global Natural disasters like flood, earthquake, hurricane, drought are inevitable, but we can do something to aid and survive with minimal but essential resources paired with the right equipment. We developed and improved the PureH2o to its maximum capacity and efficiency in providing clean and safe drinking water under the guidance and requirements of top water engineers.” Soliman said.

The units now deployed in the affected areas vary in size and features, including freshwater and saltwater filtration systems. Bohol Governor Arthur Yap has deployed two units of freshwater filtration system. Presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos sent two units of freshwater filtration system and one unit of solar-powered desalination equipment for residents with salt water sources.

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