Many underdeveloped and some developing countries do not have clean running water for their citizens, which could be a problem – even more so when a natural disaster such as an earthquake or flood strikes the land. What if there was a device which could monitor the level of water quality, sending out prior notifications so that the spread of diseases can be stopped? We’re looking at the Water Canary here, where it will check water supplies in real-time while sending alerts to users whenever there is a possibility of infection. Not only that, the Water Canary can upload data, letting scientists monitor the location and movement of outbreaks.
With over three million people perishing annually from water-related disease (WHO’s statistics, not ours plucked from the air), the Water Canary might seem to be the answer to prevent further outbreak of diseases. At the moment, water testing is deemed to be too slow and costly, as testing is only done in hindsight.
Here’s to the Water Canary, and may your song never die out.
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