The recently installed water tanks. PHOTO SUPPLIED
Seoul National University (SNU) has installed four hygienic water tanks for collecting rainwater at Kamboul High School on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, which are expected to provide water for as many as 1,000 students per day.
Principal Nuth Vo was pleased, saying the water tanks would contribute to a reduction in plastic use at the school.
“There are four water tanks, each of which can hold 5,000 litres of rainwater, so the four tanks can hold up to 20,000 litres of water for use. We have two water taps for running clean water from the tanks for use,” Vo said.
He added that before the installation of the tanks, a university team had conducted a study and tested the water to ensure that it was hygienic and safe to consume.
“Now that we have the tanks, the students can fill their water bottles and they can drink more when they run out of water without having to buy bottled water,” he continued.
Professor Emeritus Han Moo-young of the SNU’s Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, has been installing rainwater treatment equipment in Cambodia and Thailand with about 20 tonnes of total capacity.
Moo-young said the SNU had also just installed water tanks on December 11 at Senarat School in Pakchong district of Nakhon Ratchasima province in Thailand.
“It is part of the Mekong project to build rainwater supply equipment to provide water safe for consumption in the five countries of the Mekong River region, which have a lack of drinking clean water in some parts, as a charitable programme organised by the Industry-Seoul National University Cooperation Foundation,” he added.
He continued that the equipment at the two schools – one in Cambodian and one in Thailand – would collect rainwater and then treat the water so that it could be consumed.
“In areas where we receive a lot of rainfall, the tanks will be able to look for a solution based on nature. It means that the tanks are chemical-free and provide less costly water. In addition, the students will conduct an analytical study of the rainwater and make the results public,” he said.
