A teenager from outback Western Australia has hopes a water filter he engineered for a school project will one day help improve water quality in places where its health effects are only recently being understood.

Uriah Daisybell, 18, has designed and tested a prototype he said is proven to reduce the presence of nitrates and other contaminants leaking from mine sites into water supplies.

Driven by a desire to fix the ongoing problem, particularly in remote Aboriginal communities, Mr Daisybell hopes his filter will one day allow wider access to clean water.

"As you know, water is essential to survival," he said.

"I researched further and [found] some water supplies have been contaminated by heavy metals. That's why the idea sparked of a filter.

"Back at home [in the Kimberley], the water isn't very good. So even probably this filter could be helpful at home."

The prototype was made using components like neodymium magnets, carbon-coated mussel shells and charcoal — all of which were affordable on the teenager's budget.

The filter was made using neodymium magnets, carbon-coated mussel shells and charcoal, among other things. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

And while there are no immediate plans to manufacture and install the filter on any scale, Mr Daisybell hopes to take the project further with a scholarship to study engineering at university.

"If I get this scholarship, I will probably go to Perth for university, study more engineering and probably make a better filter with better resources.

"I told my mum back in the Kimberley. She's very proud that I'm actually doing something productive and doing something that will help out."

Water contamination an 'enormous problem'

Dr Jeffries-Stokes (L) has studied the link between water and kidney disease, among other health problems. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

The contamination of drinking water has long been a problem in remote towns and Aboriginal communities across especially Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

A report from the WA Auditor-General in 2015 found more than a dozen communities across the state had levels of nitrate higher than was safe for children to drink.

Researchers with the Western Desert Kidney Health Project, led by paediatrician Christine Jeffries-Stokes, in 2016 found a link between water contaminants and kidney disease.

The conclusions of their research, which examined five communities and towns in the Goldfields region of WA, surprised Dr Jeffries-Stokes at the time.

"It's an enormous problem. More and more we're finding out about unacceptable levels of contamination in drinking water all across inland Australia," she said.

Water towers are a common sight across remote towns and communities in Western Australia. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

"In many places the level of nitrates is higher than the World Health Organisation guidelines. That's not just remote communities but remote towns as well, particularly in WA and the NT."

Contamination in drinking water could be responsible for a host of health defects, Dr Jeffries-Stokes said, including type two diabetes, kidney disease, thyroid disease and cancer.

"What a brilliant young man," she said, referring to Mr Daisybell.

"Good on him for being so innovative to think of that and do something about it. I think it's wonderful.

"It's great that he can practically use the science knowledge that he's learned to do something that's maybe revolutionary not only in Australia but around the world."

Hands-on approach to science

Mr Daisybell is a year 12 student at the Christian Aboriginal Parent-Directed School in Coolgardie, about 550 kilometres from Perth, but grew up in Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region.

Encouraged by his science teacher, Allan Alipio, he built the prototype for a science project to enter into his school's science fair.

"First Mr Alipio told me about the science program — I didn't really think much about it," Mr Daisybell said.

"Then I researched to find out what happens to the mining companies or the environment."

Uriah Daisybell was encouraged to enter his prototype into the science fair by his teacher, Allan Alipio (L). ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

Mr Daisybell's filter prototype is a product of the practical and real-world approach to science education that Mr Alipio has championed at the school.

"Our students are into hands-on activities. So my approach, I give them experiments, and once you get the 'ohs' and the 'ahs' in the classrooms, the rest will follow," Mr Alipio said.

"[Mr Daisybell's project is] very practical and I am very proud of what he has done.

"He's a great student, a wonderful student, and he's a good leader as well. He's curious in everything he does."

As for Mr Daisybell, the project has helped him to realise his own ability and emboldened his sense of discovery.

"I've learned that going out there and doing something is much better than just doing research and keeping it to yourself," he said.