MONDAY NOVEMBER 17 2003
| ALL Paul Pearce wants is some official recognition that his water purification technology exists. Even a rejection, he says, would be easier to deal with than the constant battles with governments and the scientific community to secure more research funding. Mr Pearce runs an Adelaide company called Hydrosmart, which sells water technology that sounds so simple and smart that he is well aware many regard it as "snake oil". "If the scientific community was to examine this technology and even if they shoot it down, that would be great because then I could at least get on with my life and stop wasting my time," he said. Hydrosmart has received about $80,000 in funding from state and federal agencies but he says letters to luminaries like Prime Minister John Howard, Opposition Leader Simon Crean and CSIRO head Geoff Garrett have yielded little. "We have got no doubts about this technology but it needs a lot more work," Mr Pearce said. Hydrosmart makes a small computer which emits specific resonance frequencies that break down minerals such as salt and other pollutants into their constituent parts and renders them harmless. |
The frequencies are transferred into the water flow by attaching antennae to water pipes. Breaking down these large crystals such as salt means the water should be clearer and the process should also help prevent corrosion and sodium build-up in items such as irrigation systems and cooling towers. Customers include the d'Arenberg winery in the McLaren Vale, the Bali Hyatt and Broome's Mercure Hotel. Installation costs vary from $2500 for a small water softener to the $US48,000 paid by Bali's Hard Rock Hotel. A more recent customer has been the Adelaide Oval. Oval curator Les Burdett last month installed Hydrosmart, hoping to find an alternative to using mains water during summer. The Oval has a licence to pump water from the nearby Torrens Lake stormwater catchment area, but during summer that water, which takes much of the run-off from city streets, becomes too polluted to use on the cricket ground. Mr Burdett, who says it's too early to tell if it works, has a money-back guarantee from Hydrosmart that the device will clean the polluted water to such an extent that it could be used on the Oval year-round.
Article written by Michael McGuire |