Rhett Butler’s invention has delivered safe drinking water to three million people worldwide
Putting a smile on the face of children in developing countries is something Rhett Butler has done many times over – and for him, it’s as simple as giving them a cup of clean drinking water. “They just go absolutely ballistic,” Rhett says. “They jump up and down, do somersaults. These kids have never had clean water in their life.”
A mechanical engineer with a background in innovation, Rhett developed a simple water filtration system in his Mosman garage more than 20 years ago. It has since delivered safe drinking water to more than three million people across 72 countries through the SkyJuice Foundation, of which Rhett is the founder and chairman. He is also an associate professor at Sydney University.
Rhett with Mosman Mayor Ann Marie Kimber
“Safe drinking water is a basic human right,” Rhett says. “If you don’t have access to safe water, you’ve basically got ingrained poverty.”
The SkyHydrant water filter is a lightweight, portable system which uses an ultrafiltration membrane and gravity to turn dirty contaminated water into 10,000 litres of clean water daily. No chemicals are used, it’s simple to set up and it lasts 10 years.
“A lot of the NGOs (non-government organisations) use our system for emergency disasters because you can just put the water straight in. It doesn’t matter how dirty or putrid (the water is), or whether it’s got cholera or typhoid or any disease – it comes out safe,” Rhett, 67, says. “So for emergencies and disasters, it’s used a lot. We air freight them straight away and they take three to five days to get there.”
The SkyJuice Foundation works with around 60 well known NGOs and charities like Rotary and Oxfam, and has changed the way of life for many communities. Water kiosks within Kenyan communities in Africa give women an income to collect and filter water; kids are freed up to go to school as they no longer need to spend the day collecting water from the river. “It’s increasing their ability to go out and work because they’re not looking after sick kids and they’re not sick themselves,” Rhett says.
The foundation now has an ambitious aim to supply water to every school in Bhutan, South Asia. “Two or three years ago, none of the schools in Bhutan, and there’s 430 of them, had safe drinking water,” Rhett says. “Even though it’s a pristine country, the water in the schools is not treated and the kids get pretty sick. So with a couple of our partners like Rotary and the (Bhutan) Government, they did 136 installments in two years. We covered 80% of the schools, 80% of the kids. So what we want to do now is go back and finish that in the next couple of years.”
Having recently won the Zayed Sustainability Prize (water category) in Abu Dhabi, Rhett and the SkyJuice Foundation aim to make a further impact on the world.
Since taking Bhutan from dirty water to 80% clean water in a few years, Rhett hopes to do the same in other countries.
“We want to make sure that every kid’s got safe water,” he says.
To donate, visit skyjuice.org