[intron]

Agreed that the problem being addressed is not stated clearly enough.

If the goal is to provide clean drinking water in emergency situations, then this could definitely help. If the goal is to provide a sustainable source of clean water for a large population, then this is not the solution (there's a pun in there somewhere).

[monkmartinez]

Regarding emergencies... no electricity generally. So, how about this: http://www.ezwaterwellhandpumps.com/ for approx. $169.

The only downside is that the water table needs to be relatively shallow

[clayrichardson]

Interesting. How often is the groundwater potable during an emergency situation?