Long gone are the days of after school science projects as two high school students from Knoxville, Tennessee presented President Obama in Washington, D.C. with their completion of a micro-scale, hydro-electric powered water filter system that is designed to clean surface water.

The water purification design as explained by one student of two student team, quoted from WATE.com, states, ?basically it uses the flowing current of the water to spin a water wheel and that electricity is used then to turn around purify the water itself.?

The design of the water filter system itself is a sustainable system that operates on its own power source. Electricity is generated from the water wheel and the water is then pumped through an ultraviolet disinfection system. The invention of this purification system is in effort to create and design a more cost-effective and easier way to purify waters in developing countries where a reliable energy source isn?t always available.

Although the water purification system was a scaled design, President Obama commented on student?s presentation with, as quoted from WATE.com, Knoxville Tennessee?s news source, ?[This design] could potentially be used for an entire community. This was a very practical application of knowledge.?

Access to clean drinking water is a crisis experienced in many developing countries and although this was a scaled experiment it was a definite step and notable effort to bring purified water to countries in need through use of a reliable, self-sustaining system.