Water-purifying Tower to Heal Landscapes from Acid Mine Drainage
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
Water-purifying tower could heal landscapes scarred by acid mine drainage in South Africa.
Inhabitat and Architecture For a Change
Johannesburg, South Africa was built on mining. The gold mining industry began there in the late 1800s, and the city still feels the impact of acid mine drainage, which pollutes the local water supply and scars the environment. Architecture For a Change has a solution: a dam and water purification plant that could help heal the landscape – and in the future, it could even provide housing.
Acid mine drainage can pollute drinking water and soil. Johannesburg – near where some of the world’s biggest gold reefs are located – is suffering from the issue. Architecture For a Change says chronic exposure to acid mine drainage can cause cancer, skin lesions, and cognitive impairment. But they’ve found a potential solution through design.
They envision a network of purification stations to heal the landscape. A skyscraper would house laboratories and the purification plant, which could draw on Trailblazer KNEW Ion Exchange technology to treat contaminated water. The treatment process would not only yield clean water, but minerals and substances like dolomite, gypsum, and salt that could be used in fertilizers or building.
Re-mining Johannesburg doesn’t just clean up water, but could be integrated into the city’s urban fabric.
Read full article and watch amazing photos: Inhabitat
Media
Taxonomy
- Decontamination
- Urban Drainage
- Decontamination
- Technology
- Contaminant Removal
- Integrated Urban Water Management
- Tower
- Urban Water Infrastructure
- Mine Drainage
- Urban Regeneration