• Forward osmosis HydroPacks and HydroWell Villages to ship out on military vehicles; Systems ready to use, no additional energy source needed
ALBANY, OR, Jan. 18, 2010 -- Hydration Technology Innovations, LLC (HTI), the leading provider of next-generation forward osmosis water filtration technology, today announced it has teamed up with private donors to ship drinking water filtration systems to earthquake victims in Haiti. The donations will provide thousands of single-use water filtration pouches as well as eight community supporting hydro-wells that can purify 5,600 liters (1,480 gallons) of water a day.
"When the Dibners (private donors) contacted us with their desire to take these systems directly to Haiti, we began working with our contacts to see how we could deliver and deploy the systems immediately"
HTI has developed several clean water delivery systems of which four different models will be taken to Haiti. These systems were used following Hurricane Katrina and are currently being used in military operations around the world. HTI's purification systems are powered by forward osmosis, the same process that allows trees to draw water from the ground.
"When the Dibners (private donors) contacted us with their desire to take these systems directly to Haiti, we began working with our contacts to see how we could deliver and deploy the systems immediately," said Walt Schultz, CEO, Hydration Technology Innovations. "With the help of the people at Full Life Crusades, we will be able to put these systems on the ground in Haiti where they are most needed."
The HTI systems going to Haiti include: HydroPacks, an individual pouch that can be dropped into any water source and produce a 12 ounce electrolyte-enhanced therapeutic drink in just a few hours; X-Packs, multi-use hand-held filtration systems; and HydroWell Village, a larger, community support water system that requires no power and can provide enough water for several families.
All together, the donated supplies promise to provide at least 6,000 people one liter of clean drinking water each day.
"We already have one system in use at a Haiti orphanage and believe these additional systems will offer important relief to Haitians in need of drinkable water," said Nathan Jones, Vice President Government Sales, Hydration Technology Innovations. "Our teams will be able to get these systems to the people and begin producing clean drinking water in a matter of hours upon arrival."
The first part of the filtration shipment will be loaded at the company's Albany, Ore., facility and then trucked to Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, where military transport will take them directly to Haiti. The remainder of the shipment including large canisters, along with HTI representatives will be leaving from Fort Pierce soon thereafter on a DC-3 operated by Missionary Flights International.
"Obviously speed is critical in this kind of relief effort," said Mark Dibner, Executive Director, ARGUS Fund. "We were highly focused on what portable emergency water purification technologies currently exist, and how our foundation could facilitate providing clean, drinkable water systems to the Haitian quake survivors in the fastest, most effective way possible. We found the HTI X-Pack and HydroWell Village systems to be easily set-up, simply utilized and sustained, and well suited to this category of disaster. We immediately contacted them to start moving units into Haiti."
Once on the ground, HTI will have a team to unload, transport, set up and distribute the systems in conjunction with the International Medical Corps already operating near the Palace in Port-au-Prince.
About Hydration Technology Innovations
HTI is a leading provider of water filtration and purification solutions for government, industrial, military, and emergency response entities.
About HTI's Forward Osmosis Technology
In state-of-the-art plant facilities located in Albany, Ore. HTI manufactures a proprietary forward osmosis membrane material that allows water to migrate through the membrane, powered only by a draw solution on the clean water side of the membrane, leaving behind virtually all contaminates. Osmosis is a natural process where liquids seek equilibrium when separated by a membrane or the wall of a cell, similar to the way water moves from the roots of a tree to the leaves. In the forward osmosis process water molecules flow through HTI's membrane, but do so without the need for high pumping pressure found in many traditional filtration systems. Thus, forward osmosis filtration systems use very little energy, are constructed from relatively low cost materials and are capable of filtering highly contaminated dirty water, even those containing high solid concentrations, without plugging. For more information, visit www.htiwater.com.
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