Water is life. We cannot survive without it.
But do you trust that your drinking water is safe?
While public water supplies are tested frequently for contaminants, the testing might not reflect the true condition of water you are getting at your home. But testing is the only way to confirm if your home’s drinking water contains unsafe levels of lead or other contaminants.
Unfortunately, getting the water tested in a lab is both expensive and time-consuming.
That may be changing. You might soon be able to detect water contamination with your smartphone.
Researchers at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands) are developing a smartphone attachment that can determine the level of pollution in water. This easy-to-use and affordable device can detect whether the water is clean with a simple tap on your screen.
Quick and precise measurements of water pollution with this device may soon be a reality.
The device is expected to be ready for its initial deployment by late 2019. The makers are planning to release 3D models, so anybody with a 3D printer can build one for themselves.
In the future, anyone with a smartphone could help in gathering data to monitor surface-water quality with this new technique.
