Introduction: Hurricane Helene (September 2024) devastated Western North Carolina, contaminating water sources and severing transportation infrastructure. This study presents a portable, solar-powered water purification system designed for post-disaster deployment. Materials and methods: The system integrates a 400 W photovoltaic array, 2042 Wh battery, gravity-fed biochar/sand pre-filtration, reverse osmosis, and UV disinfection. Over 14 consecutive days, creek and pond water were tested pre- and post-treatment (N = 14 per condition) for 13 physicochemical and 2 bacteriological parameters. Independent-samples t-tests assessed treatment significance. Results: Statistically significant reductions (p < 0. 001) were achieved for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) (42–86%), iron (93. 9–97%), nitrate (93–97%), and nitrite (95–98%), with complete fecal E. coli elimination. Flow rate declined by 1. 8% over 14 days (R2 = 0. 55, p < 0. 001). The system produced 65 l/day at an estimated capital cost of ~0. 015/l. Conclusions: The system meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards using a reproducible, sub-3500 design, offering a cost-effective model for decentralized emergency water security in hurricane-affected regions.
Abu-Elzait et al. (Fri,) studied this question.