Zip Delivers 18,000 Liters of Fresh, Plastic-free Water in Remote Australia

John Doumani, President of Culligan APAC and Zip International, and Louise Crawshaw, Head of Human Resources, recently attended a special event to launch the first Zip Water/Source Hydropanel project, which included 10 Source Hydropanels and two Zip Water Chillers.

The panels and chillers were installed at Goodooga Central School. Goodooga is 800 km from Sydney and 700 km from Brisbane in remote New South Wales. The school has 40 children (K-12) with 15 employees. 247 people live in Goodooga.

Thanks to the Hydropanels, Goodooga Central School has access to 18,000 liters of fresh, clean water every year. Using the power of the sun, pure, constantly replenished water vapor is extracted from the air in order to convert it into clean, renewable and durable drinking water on site.

John Doumani said the partnership is an important milestone in Zip Water's commitment to delivering water at its best and making a positive impact on people and the planet by reducing single-use plastic — a very appropriate message in Plastic Free July.

“Installing this great technology at school means that kids can fill their water bottles with clean, safe drinking water at this tap. And that's exactly what Zip is all about — we want to share the gift of great water,” John said.

“We chose to work with SOURCE because what they're doing is so closely aligned with our sustainability commitments of innovation, sophisticated technology and design, reducing climate impact, providing clean and safe water, and working together to achieve important outcomes like these in our communities."

John said he hoped the kids would also be able to raise their awareness of science and technology by seeing the process behind the panels, which offer students the opportunity to participate in educational activities around sustainability, renewable energy and the water cycle.

Hydropanel technology uses built-in rotating fans to draw in air and trap it in a water-absorbing material. Here, sunlight heats the trapped water, causing it to condense and collect in a reservoir. Calcium and magnesium are added to water when it flows into the drinking system, creating natural mineralisation. “We're confident that this will impact children, their wellbeing and their learning — we believe in making a difference where it's needed most,” said John.

“Goodooga Central School is just the start. We want to have a long-term relationship with their community, but our vision goes beyond a single project — we want to install Hydropanel systems in remote and regional Australia, at one school per year.“

The cornerstone for the partnership between Zip Water and SOURCE came in Brewarrina in mid-2023, when a casual conversation revealed a stark reality — a community that was only a few hours away from a major city was suffering from unreliable water.

Initial discussions with SOURCE revealed that the two companies were perfectly aligned on many of their ESG principles, including targeted hydration and environmental responsibility.

Source Chief Revenue Officer Rob Bartrop said it was important to use technology to improve the cost and quality of living in rural and remote communities through partnerships with funders and communities.

“We applaud Zip Water's leadership and innovative approach in supporting the Goodooga community and demonstrating ways to improve drinking water in remote communities,” he said.

“I'm delighted that students and parents can now get on with high-quality water, which is dispensed daily at Goodooga Central School — something we take for granted in our big cities.