Clean Water will safe lives in Nigeria—Ron Moser By Yemi Olakitan

By Yemi Olakitan 

The need for clean and safe drinking water for all is one of the important goals of humanity. According to the World health organization in 1996, more than five million human beings die from illnesses associated with unsafe drinking water. Pacific Institute reported that at the current rate as many as 135,000,000 people might die annually from dirty water by 2010. Most developing countries have whole populations without access to clean, safe drinking water that is so crucial to life. According to a report, safe water is difficult to come by in many rural areas in Nigeria. This explains the popularity of sachet water the cities. Ron Moser, CEO of Revelations Water Technology whose background is in Chemical Manufacturing and Engineering said he was determined to provide clean and safe water to Nigerians through his technology the Primeau water filter.  Primeau ensures that there is no need to boil water no matter the source even if it is from the gutter.

    Experiments have proved that the Primeau water filter can make the dirtiest water clean. The filter destroys bacteria and makes water as safe as possible. It is something you could dip into a lake, fill with rainwater, or utilize in a well and be able to filter that water. One filter will last over 2000 litres, which means someone could use it for at least 6 months to a year before they would need to replace the cartridge. Primeau water filter technology is being made available in association with various government agencies in Nigeria. Moser believes that safe, clean water will eradicate diseases, particularly in the northern part of the country where most of the people in the inner villages cannot access safe, clean water.

      In the late 1980s, Moser was part owner and Executive Vice President with Northwestern Carbon in the United States. He said, ‘‘we were already developing filters for a lot of major corporations in the United States when, in 1985, we received news of a massive earthquake in Mexico City. News reports showed people who couldn’t access drinking water and were using buckets to get whatever water they could find, often straight from the gutter. It occurred to me that we could provide filters that could filter that dirty water and make if safe for consumption. I wanted to make a filter that wasn’t just for potable water, so I began to put some designs together in my mind as to how it would work. We needed something that an individual could pick up and carry with them. We decided somewhere around a gallon would be a perfect size. We made some prototypes, and went into production, but never went to market as we were still growing as a company at the time. In 2000 we sold the company, but the idea for this filter stayed with me. I came up with a newer, better prototype that implemented nanotechnology, which allowed the filter to kill bacteria and viruses. We spend over a year in development and testing so that we could come up with just the right model that would do the job for us, he said.

     On why he had decided to come to Nigeria with the product, Moser said that he was considering Mexico initially but decided on Nigeria because Africa needed such technology at this time and Nigeria is the first point.  Nigerians want clean, safe drinking water at the right price. This explains the popularity of sachet water even in the cities.  Primeau water filter provides the world’s best portable water filter that transforms dirty contaminated water into safe clean drinking water at an affordable cost, using the best available technology. Improving the quality of life of children and people globally; by using advanced nanotechnology water filtration processes and achieving this through the provision of affordable water filtration for individuals with in-home and industrial systems. Moser enumerated the benefits of the filter as follows: advanced nanotechnology filtration process, it Kills 99.99% of bacteria and viruses that can cause Typhoid, Cholera and other waterborne diseases. It costs under 5 NGN per litre, filters 2000 litres before filter cartridge replacement, backwashing-extends life of the filter, electricity is not needed, no batteries needed, no boiling water, no running water needed. The company introduced a potable water filter called Primeau into the Nigerian market with the primary objective of helping people get safe drinking water in a consistent and affordable manner.
       From the demonstration of the system at the unveiling of the four litre capacity product, which has backwash capability, in Lagos recently, the machine was able to filter mixture of water and ink to pure drinking water.  Convinced on the equipment, Nigerians at the venue demanded for a bigger version of the equipment.  Ron Moser emphasized that there is nothing more important than the business of life, adding that water is about the most crucial component of life. “There isn’t much anyone can do without water, yet millions of people all over the world do not have access to safe drinking water. Some who do have access, do not consistently enjoy safe drinking water,” he said adding that the various issues associated with drinking water inspired the design and production of the water filter.  Going by the brand name, Primeau, the water filter has eleven stages of filtration using the most advanced form of nanotechnology. Water filtered through these eleven stages is guaranteed safe to drink as the filter removes taste and odour as well as kills 99.99 per cent of bacteria and other microorganisms that can cause typhoid fever, cholera and other water-borne diseases. 

    According to Moser, the ability to kill bacteria, remove harmful organic compounds, heavy metals, particulate matter, cysts, and giardia from water, and greatly improve the taste and odour, turning dirty water into clean water, clearly sets Primeau above and apart from other drinking water solutions. “Providing this at the most affordable price with the right size, making it readily available to all groups of people, Primeau water filter is a solution for every household, office, school, etc,” he reiterated.

     Moser hoped that the filter gets into the hands of the people who really need it. ‘‘The product can last for a year before it can be replaced. The government can do so much. They can buy it and give to the people. Particularly in places where there is no access to drinking water. Our dream is to see them take advantage of this technology,’’ he said.