Hazel Park-based environmental technology company Exlterra today announced the installation of its patented Energy-Passive Groundwater Recharge (EGRP) system at the Sushma Medicinal Ayurvedic Research Trust (SMART) EcoPark, an interactive learning space in Mumbai, India. The system has been engineered to work with the surrounding environment to increase water penetration, as part of efforts to revitalize India’s dwindling aquifers.
Though groundwater is the most common source of freshwater in India, population growth and over-extraction have reduced the country’s supply of potable water in recent years. Groundwater is normally recharged by heavy rains, which occur for four months during the monsoon season. Exlterra’s EGRP device, which consists of a network of small plastic tubes set in the ground, is designed to maximize storm water infiltration during this time.
The EGRP system is designed to recharge and retain groundwater by accelerating infiltration and balancing soil moisture, in part through gravity. The system reduces surface flooding and its damage during the rainy season as well. Because EGRP is set in the ground, it will work continuously without human maintenance.
“It takes a few weeks or months until the system starts to kick in and deploy its recharge effects, and then it will work for years and years without any maintenance,” says Frank Muller, CEO of Exlterra. “So far, our first installation (in Hamtramck) is 20 years old and it still operates very well. Even a chemical company can’t tell you exactly how long a plastic tube will operate in the ground, because it’s polyethylene, but we believe at least 100 years, probably more.”
SMART is India’s first non-profit ecological park, meant to educate and empower future generations with knowledge and tools regarding the environment and technology.
Exlterra continues to develop new technologies to address environmental problems worldwide. More information can be found here.
