Pure and Fresh Water from a Billboard: Incredibly True

In Lima, Peru some residents of this desert city gets pure and fresh water from a billboard. The unique billboard has been making itself very useful to hundreds of families in the surrounding area. Peru’s capital is located in the desert, and it is very dry. It only receives about an inch of rain each year. With the lack of rain, residents in the city are forced to get water from wells, which might either be dirty or have water that does not taste good. However, the city has very high humidity, which reaches to about 98%.

The billboard, placed along a highway in Lima promotes the university, UTEC to get applicants for the next school year. At the base of the billboard is a neon sign that reads: “Agua aqui” or “water here.”

Purifying desert moisture

So what does a billboard have to do with the lack of clean water in the desert city? Armed with the facts, Peru’s University of Engineering and Technology teamed up with Mayo Publicidad, an advertising agency for a unique billboard that has the potential to gather moisture from the desert air. With a series of purification systems, the air is converted into clean water. A faucet at the base of the billboard column gives the city residents access to the purified water.

Process

Five machines have been set up inside the billboard. The series of machines include a carbon filter, a condenser and air filter. The gathered desert air is filtered, which is then condensed by reverse osmosis. The water is collected by a pipe that leads to the large base at the column of the billboard support frame. Twenty-liter tanks store the purified water. It is projected to generate more than 96 liters or 25 gallons of water daily. The billboard has been up for three months and has generated 2,500 gallons or about 9,450 liters of clean water that could be used by hundreds of families in the city, as well as motorists in need of a drink. That is more than enough for the monthly water consumption of the families in the neighborhood.

Billboards

Giant billboards have been regularly used for advertising and promotions, a marketing tool that costs a huge amount of money and sometimes could cause hazards and casualties. While these provide a welcome break on a long and monotonous journey on a deserted highway, they also serve as reminders and announcers, such as time to fill up your gas tank, where the next service station is, where you are, the location of the next restaurant or fast food chain, a hotel or temporary lodging and what have you.

Advertisers pay premium amounts to have their billboards placed at strategic locations. They have been considered as nuisance by many people, some saying they distract from the scenery, and in some cases provide negative financial and economic impact to the communities rather than give local government added revenues. But with this new development and dual purpose, they ought to think twice.

Video by: MAYOPERUDraftFCB