Turning vodka into ‘water purifier’

The same technology used in producing world-class vodka can be used to bring dead rivers back to life.

British technology used by premium beverage company Diageo to make Smirnoff vodka was introduced in the country yesterday for use in purifying water and cleaning up polluted rivers.

Diageo displayed a sample of the Smirnoff Purification Installation at the Center Plaza in Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City and demonstrated how polluted water taken from the Marikina River could be turned into pure and safe drinking water using technology inspired by the Smirnoff vodka purification process.

John Pudge, managing director and founder of the United Kingdom-based Arbourtech water purification firm, said the Philippines can afford this kind of technology.

Pudge also said river water in the Philippines is easier to purify than the waters of London’s rivers and added that the technology was first successfully tested on London’s River Thames.

However, he did not say how much the government would have to spend to acquire this technology for use in treating the country’s polluted rivers.

Pudge said a feasibility study must first be conducted to determine the people’s water requirement. This, he said, will reveal the amount of investment needed to adopt the technology.

He said it would cost P2 million to purify 10,000 gallons of water a day. Yesterday’s event marked the beginning of the technology’s Asian tour.