DRINK LOCAL WATER... WHATEVER IT IS

COLIN HART

In this piece of provocative public art, designer Colin Hart has taken water from a Dublin canal to be cleaned through a filtration system provided by Caraquill Water in Science Gallery for exhibition visitors to drink. He has also placed an advertisement for an imagined, future bottled-water company at the canal, directing passers-by to Science Gallery. In cities around the world, water is already captured, cleaned and redistributed from sewerage and grey water. In Singapore, NEWater is a brand of drinking water produced by the country’s Public Utilities Board from reclaimed water. First attempted in 1974, the scheme closed after a year, and was only relaunched in 2000. There are now four NEWater plants in Singapore. Water is getting scarce and will inevitably become expensive. At some point in the near future we are going to have to resort to less than palatable ways to acquire drinking water. How far will we go in future to get clean water? Try some fresh Dublin Canal Water if you dare!