Providing 15 litres of water/person/day on a 10-hour operation, the WaterBox can supply enough water for at least 15 people. The solar or electrically powered water purification system utilises three carbon filters, two reverse osmosis filters and a UV lamp stage to kill bacteria in the water. A Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter ensures only potable water is supplied to the user by diverting contaminated flow back to the tank.

Dr Mark Atherton from the Brunel University said: “The WaterBox project has tapped into the tremendous compassion that students have for peoples of the World in need. A team based around very able mechanical engineering students had a vision for the WaterBox to be the best affordable western technology made quickly available for a disaster situation, and then retrieved and made ready for the inevitable next time occurrence. Hence an electrically-driven, solar if needed, filter system in a box that produces enough water for two or three families while normal supplies are restored.”

The Brunel University team who invented the WaterBox water purification system are ex-students, Jon Isherwood, Jon Paradi and James Quinn with academic supervisors, Dr Mark Atherton and Chris Brown.