I am in search of practical methods of desalinating/Purifying
salty/very hard water extracted from the Earth.  This water is
utilised for both domestic purposes as well as irrigation of agricultural
farms in a village in Pakistan.

The water that is extracted is very salty, which in turns leads to low
crop yields and also has adverse effects on the people's health. 
Fresh river water is only available for about 3 months a year; but
even when available, the supply is extremely unreliable and is not
sufficient for the requirements at all.

I was wondering if I could be pointed towards information on the
methods/technologies available that will be suitable for this purpose.
 The methods should ideally be cheap and easy to run & mantain.

Also, I want to know about any Aid agencies/Charities or organisations
that may have financial help available for projects like these. 
Labour can be easily provided by the local people there.

I am based in the UK.

Your help on this matter will be much appreciated.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me.

Thanks.

Hi ashfaqjuna-ga,

You're definitely not alone in your search: I was able to find many
organizations also working to provide affordable water purification
solutions to those in need.  As you're located in the U. K., Wateraid,
which is "the UK's only major charity dedicated to the provision of
safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene promotion to the world's
poorest people," may be particularly helpful; their webpage is
avalable at http://www.wateraid.org.uk .  The United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
International Hydrological Programme has a contact specifically for
the Pakistan national committee:
Official IHP Correspondence Address
The Chairperson  
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources  
Convener, IHP National Committee  
House N°3 and N°5, St. N°17  
F-6/2, Islamabad  
PAKISTAN
Tel +92 51 921 8984
Fax +92 51 921 8939
E-mail pcrwr@isb.comsats.net.pk / via UNESCO NatCom:
arghazi@isb.comsats.net.pk
A good source for general information about modern water purification
practices is the unicef "major review of current procedures,
methodologies and technologies for water programmes," available at
http://www.unicef.org/programme/wes/pubs/glines/water.htm .
A summary of private sector participation in water sanitation can be
found at http://www.wateraid.org.uk/pdf/psp/pspinwatsan.pdf .
Specific equipment for water filtration is available for export
worldwide through the U.S. company Reopure: http://www.reopure.com .

Additional Links:
Hundreds of links from UNESCO regarding water purification
http://www.unesco.org/water/water_links/

UNESCO International Hydrological Programme
http://www.unesco.org/water/ihp/

Wateraid's links to other institutions concerned with water quality
http://www.wateraid.org.uk/research/rlinks.html

UNICEF publications from the Water, Environment and Sanitation (WES)
program
http://www.unicef.org/programme/wes/pubs/pubs.htm

Common water problems & explanations
http://www.alphausasystems.com/comprob.htm

Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands
http://www.acsad.org/

Search Strategy:
purification desalination methods
water charity filtering

Good luck with future searches!

Hoping I was helpful,
not_you-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by ashfaqjuna-ga on 27 Jun 2002 08:51 PDT

Hello

Many thanks for your prompt response.

I am going through the information you have provided.

Most of the link refer to 'Purification' methods.  I was wondering if
there are specific links for 'Desalination' of water in remote areas. 
Because the man problem is removing the salt from the water; otherwise
the water is good in other respects.  I will be grateful for your help
there.

But as it stands your help has been great.

Best Regards

Ashfaq

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Clarification of Answer by not_you-ga on 01 Jul 2002 01:43 PDT

Ashfaq,

I'm glad that you found my research useful.  In regards to
desalination more specifically, a general overview of the process is
available via the Encyclopedia of Desalination and Water Resources at
http://www.desware.net .  The European Desalination Society (
http://www.edsoc.com ) or International Desalination Association (
http://www.ida.bm ) may be interested in working with you.  The
Desalination Training Center ( http://www.medrc.org ) and World-Wide
Water ( http://www.world-wide-water.com ) promise to be wealths of
information.  Lastly, if you need even more information, check out the
Desalination Directory Online: http://www.desline.com .  If you need
further clarification, feel free to ask!

Have a good day,
not_you-ga

Excellent response.  Very useful pointers for information and help.  I
am very pleased.  Will definitely use this service again.  I rate this
researcher very highly.