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Ryūkyū Shinpō / 琉球新報

PDF, DSR to collaborate on new water safety project

NĀFA — The People's Defense Force (PDF) and the Department of State Resources (DSR) has announced a collaborative project which will see the adoption of aquaporin water filtration technologies to clean various bodies of water and preserve the FEUSSR's environmental security.

The technology, based on a domestically manufactured variant of a Scandinavian water filtration technology, makes use of aquaporin membrane proteins to specifically filter water molecules from pathogenic materials or other pollutants. Currently, this technology has been proven to filter out over 95% of microplastics and micropollutants in wastewater, while using much less energy than traditional systems. The initial rollout involved a $9.6 billion USP project to install over 2,000,000 locally-produced aquaporin filters across the coastal city of Shencheng, the recycled water of which was used to supply agricultural demographics within the city boundaries. A system of water trucks, chartered by the city authorities, worked tirelessly day and night to move recycled water to various rural localities.

An assessment by the DSR found that the use of aquaporin water filtration technology was able to treat and recycle 14% of the city's household water consumption, and the system of providing recycled water to the agricultural sector cut local water withdrawals by 6.3% - or almost two percentage points higher than originally anticipated. The success of the project has promoted the PDF and DSR to begin a second water filtration project to complement the workings of the Union River Protection Law.

The Union River Protection Law had previously banned sand excavation and chemical production along the lengths of 4 major rivers, along with a cap on synthetic nitrogen-fertiliser of 190kg N/ha/year for all pastoral farms to avoid nitrogen poisoning of river water.

The new project would see the installation of thousands of large, industrial-scale aquaporin filters at over 42,000 industrial enterprises and 445,000 buildings which discharge water directly into the 4 major rivers. The aquaporin filters will be capable of removing pollutants and other harmful materials from runoff water, allowing for the safe use of water in downstream areas. The $17 billion USP project would be further complemented with a $700 million USD project to refit all water treatment and sewage treatment plants across the Ryukyu Autonomous Kingdom with the aquaporin filters, aimed at reducing water pollution and promoting the recycling of water.

It is expected that the entire RAK will have its water infrastructure refitted after 1 year, with the immediate benefits being a 95% reduction in polluting particulates in discharged water. In 4 years, the RAK aims to meet 40% of its water demand through the use of aquaporin-treated water.