GUNUNG KIDUL - Until now the drought is still the main problem of most villages in Gunung Kidul, one of them is in Dusun Temuireng, Girisuko Village, Panggang District. If the dry season comes, about 1076 people living in this village rely on clean water from rainfed reservoirs or even buy tanks.

 "We usually buy tank water. There is PDAM but it can not rise up to the village, "said Darti, one of the residents.

 Darti along with hundreds of other villagers attended the inauguration and handover ceremony of the Water Treatment System (SPAM) integrated with the Solar Pumping System (SPTS) by the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Menristekdikti), Mohamad Nasir, Thursday (1 / 02/2018) at the local village hall.

They want to see how the tool works and irrigates the village.

"I tried to open the faucet, the water is clear, there is no sediment. Thank God, it is so exciting being helped, "said Darti.

SPAM and SPTS are the results of a one year collaborative research of LPPM UPN "Veteran" Yogyakarta (UPNVY) together with the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) funded by the Ministry of Ristekdikti. This research produces ready-to-drink water supply technology for the community.

The Chairman of the research, Ir.Bambang Sugiarto, MT who is also a lecturer of Chemical Engineering UPNVY told that the idea of ??his research began from his concern of seeing the drought in Gunung Kidul.

"This research is a form of implementation and our concern to the problem of water needs fulfillment to the community," said Bambang.

Having a scientific knowledge in Chemical Engineering, Bambang synergized with BPPT Research Team, chaired by Dr. Ir. Hariyanto in the funding  the scheme of the Industrial Technology Development Program Ministry of Ristekdikti.

In this research, Bambang and UPNVY team performed a water treatment sub-system, so the water quality to Temuireng Hamlet is good for consumption and hygienic. The quality of raw water supply to this hamlet from Baron and Goa Ngobaran exceeds the maximum requirement.

From the analysis results in high and medium rainfall season, the raw water supply contains E-Coli and Coliform bacteria. The UPN water treatment sub-system uses alum or moringa seeds and the process by distillation of spittle.

"The sprinkling distillation system is the water sorting process. The evaporated water will be condensed and used as ready-to-drink water, while the un- evaporated will be flowed with alum which is then collected into the fluctuating bath, "said Bambang.

The water is then separated by a zeolite filter, then flowed into a reservoir and ready to be distributed. Water is distributed to the Temuireng area as far as 740 meters with an elevation of about 40-50 meters. This is where the role of BPPT in designing and designing a solar power plant system takes place.

The tool inaugurated by the Minister of Research and Technology is expected to be a model of hygienic water treatment system by utilizing environmentally friendly renewable energy power to be applied in other locations. (wwj / humas)