Linscheid Library Blog

Oka' Institute Water Innovation and Technology Demonstrations

Main take-away: The Water Innovation and Technology Demonstrations, part of the Oka' Institute 2018 Sustainability Conference, showcased various stages of technology development, from data collection and organization to technology application. 

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Research and technology development often begin with data collection. ECU's Dr. Bruce Moring and student Kevin Blackwood collect data on rivers using drones. This is much faster than collecting data on foot. The drone's self-stabilizers allow for flight in mild wind. A drone with an infrared camera can detect where underground springs surface. A drone with a high-quality color camera can be used with algorithms to create a topographic map.

Mass amounts of data must be organized to be useful. ECU's Eric Howard demonstrated the use of Google Earth Pro to explore data. This tool allows users to select various types of data to view.

Research supports development of new technologies that can impact daily life. The Oklahoma Rural Water Association's Leak Detection team uses microphones to detect leaks that do not surface because most leaks never surface. Their office is also starting an intern program soon, visit okruralwater.org (opens a new tab) for more information. Their team has worked on 18 different rural water systems, prevented half a billion gallons of water from leaking and saved rural water systems nearly one million dollars.

Another technology application is a mobile unit that filters shale water (water used in oil drilling) for reuse. Water used in oil drilling changes hour by hour so filtering this water has been a challenge. The new mobile unit is the product of a unique partnership between Filtra Systems (part of the Chickasaw Nation), who had 40 year old walnut shell filter technology, and Fountain Quail Energy Services, who had the filed expertise necessary to build a system that can filter shale water. 

Learn more about water technology by visiting the Oka' Institute's website at okainstitute.org/home (opens a new tab) or find more resources about water technology at library.ecok.edu (opens a new tab).