KBRN, Jakarta: To address severe clean water shortages in disaster-hit North Sumatra, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Indonesia Defense University (Unhan) have deployed advanced water purification machines at evacuation centers.

The equipment, installed at the Batu Hula Village evacuation post in Batangtoru subdistrict, converts contaminated water into safe drinking supplies for displaced residents.

According to an official press release received in Jakarta on Sunday, December 28, 2025, the machines are expected to meet daily clean water needs during ongoing recovery efforts.

Cadet Second Sergeant Ronald Marcus Sihite, a civil engineering student from Unhan’s Defense Technology Faculty, explained that the system was designed for easy field operation.

It uses a fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) tank as the main filtration unit. “Inside the FRP system are several layers of filtering media, including manganese ferrolite and manganese zeolite to reduce metal content and turbidity. The filtering media also contain activated carbon to absorb odor, color, and organic pollutants, while silica refines the final filtration results,” Marcus said, as quoted by Antara.

He added that the water undergoes reverse osmosis (RO) to remove microcontaminants, dissolved salts, and particulates. This process is followed by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation to eliminate bacteria, viruses, and harmful microorganisms.

Marcus highlighted the technology’s cost efficiency and high capacity, noting that it produces more than 20,000 liters of clean water per day, including 4,000–5,000 liters of potable water. He expressed hope that this innovation from TNI and Unhan would ease access to clean water for evacuees.

In the same release, Batu Hula Village head conveyed gratitude to the Defense Ministry and TNI. “Thank you for providing the water purification machine facility. This equipment is already functioning, and the water can be drunk directly. This is very beneficial for us evacuees, totaling 1,700 people in our village,” he said. ***