By Alex Paul
for the Gazette-Times | Posted: Tuesday, December 4, 2007 12:00 am
The owner of an Albany company whose products provided potable water for victims of Hurricane Katrina says that same technology can aid families affected by extreme drought in the Southeast.
Robert Salter, president of Hydration Technologies Inc., said the company's X-Pack forward osmosis water filtration system will allow people to safely drink water from swimming pools, ponds or streams. The company has about $1 million in inventory that could be shipped out immediately.
But the Federal Emergency Management Agency hasn't yet come knocking at Salter's door, even though portions of the Southeast are experiencing their worst drought in 100 years. Some community reservoirs may soon run dry.
"Right now, cities like Atlanta are in a real pinch," Salter said of the area where rainfall is 16 inches below normal. "We heard that some of the folks are getting some pretty sad-looking water coming out of their pipes. They got a little break in the weather, but they are in trouble. They don't have any backup plans."
Salter said if reservoirs run dry, people will be forced to buy bottled water "and they can't keep going that way" when we have products that can be useful to them.
Hydration Technologies Inc.'s water filtration system is used extensively by the U.S. military, and Salter said the public can use Hydration Technologies system with complete confidence.
"Even muddy water can be used without clogging the filter," Salter said. He added that forward osmosis is as old as nature. It is the same process tree roots use to draw water in and propel it to the top leaves.
After Hurricane Katrina, HTI products allowed soldiers to drink contaminated flood waters from the streets of New Orleans.
In March, a fire heavily damaged the Hydration Technologies Inc. plant at 1517 Industrial Ave. S.W. Damage was estimated at $750,000. At the time, the company employed about 55 people. Since then, HTI has continued production but with just 20 employees.
How the HTI X-Packs work
The user pours dirty water into one section of the X-Pack and sports syrup into a second section. The water is filtered over time by a forward osmosis membrane as it is drawn into the X-Pack's inner chamber. It can be reused multiple times. The filter produces 1 liter of water every four hours and can be used for up to 10 days.