Water Canary

http://www.ted.com/talks/sonaar_luthra_meet_the_water_canary.html

In this presentation Sonar Luthra presents a device which will be able to determine potable water in a matter of minutes without the need for expensive equipment and delayed results which may take up to a day. This lifesaving device will lend itself to use particularly after catastrophic natural events such as earthquakes and hurricanes.

The two innovative ideas I found was 1) the use of light as a source for the determination  as opposed to chemical reactions; In this case I believe the old adage as "fast as light" is quite appropriate. The force here is expediency as the fastser the results are available the more effective is the solution. 2) Linking of the device to real-time GPS to map data that can be used to identify and distinguish between contaminated and safe areas; The need for a large scale solution across a geographic region where contaminated water may travel many miles as well as technological forces seems to be the primary factor for this innovation as this is accomplished by envisioning its use to accomplish the desired objective.

Irie Bam