What Are The Problems/ Issues?

1. Contaminated Water In Iron Nails Water Filtered Water Fine Sand Coarse Sand & Gravel Arsenic Biosand Filter: Sustainable Implementation of an Appropriate Household Drinking Water Filter for Rural Nepal Team Leader: Susan Murcott (murcott@mit.edu), MIT - Team Members: Tommy Ngai (ngait@mit.edu), MIT - Sophie Walewijk, Stanford University - Roshan Shrestha, ENPHO - Heimo Ojanen, RWSSSP Lead Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Partner Organization 1: Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO), Nepal Partner Organization 2: Rural Supply and Sanitation Support Programme (RWSSSP), Nepal Focus on Nepal Project Scope • To provide safe drinking water to 25 rural villages, a population of about 10,000 • To educate and empower individuals toward safe water provision • Project duration = 8 months • Total population: 24 millions • Rural population: 20 millions • Population below poverty line: 11 millions • Annual per capita income: US220 • 12th poorest country in world, poorest in South Asia • Literacy rate for women: 24% • Children suffering from stunting due to water-borne disease: 51% (World Bank 2002; UNICEF 2003) Our Solution – Arsenic Biosand Filter • To provide safe water and health improvement for millions of poor in the Terai, MIT, ENPHO and RWSSSP developed an innovative, award-winning filter (the Arsenic Biosand Filter, or ABF) for simultaneous arsenic and pathogen removal. • The ABF was designed based on iterative and multi-disciplinary thinking inherent in the sustainable development concepts. • The design was optimized after five years of research, extensive field experiments, comparison with competing technologies available in Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Haiti, Nicaragua, and other countries, and field assessments of the social, economical, and political constraints of Nepal • A 12-months pilot study showed very favorable performance and user acceptability. What Are The Problems/ Issues? • Unsafe Drinking Water: • 90% of the population in the rural Terai depends on groundwater for drinking water. • 20+% of the Terai tube well water is contaminated with arsenic, causing arsenicosis, vascular diseases, and cancer of the lungs, bladder, and kidney. • 40+% of the Terai tube well water is contaminated by pathogens, causing diarrhea, intestinal worms, trachoma, cholera, stunting, etc. Some villages are only accessible by foot ABF can be easily constructed by trained technicians Features & Innovations: • Simultaneous removal of arsenic and pathogens by combining the strength of two proven technologies: iron-hydroxide, and biosand filter. • Robust removal processes based on simple chemistry • Aesthetically pleasing filtered water – removal of iron, turbidity, color, etc. from raw water. • High flow rate – time savings for women to pursue other productive work. • Easy operation and minimal maintenance – suitable for the often illiterate women and children. • Simple construction, can be done by trained local technicians, and using materials available in rural villages. • Low-cost Women are usually responsible for collecting drinking water for their household Tube well water is contaminated by arsenic and pathogens • Technological Deficiencies: • Many previous aid projects have failed in rural areas due to the use of inappropriate technologies. • Many current point-of-use technologies treat pathogen and arsenic separately, resulting in complicated and time consuming treatments. • Many current technologies have low flow rate, insufficient contaminant removal efficiency, complex production process, reliance on material unavailable in rural villages, high replacement cost. • Implementation Deficiencies: • Failure of many previous aid projects in rural areas is also a result of non-sustainable implementation schemes. • Problems include lack of user understanding of the technology, lack of user participation, inadequate long-term monitoring, inadequate co-ordination and transparency among participating parties, etc. Filter monitoring and user feedback are important parts of the iterative design process This coagulation-filtration technology is complicated to use and time-consuming Replacement parts for this U.S.-manufactured water treatment system are unavailable in Nepal • Results: • Currently many villagers have no choice but to drink contaminated water. Women and children are often most vulnerable to water-borne diseases, which are preventable. Large concrete version (left) and Plastic version (right) of the Arsenic Biosand Filter (ABF) Women and children are often most vulnerable to water-borne diseases This person suffers from skin diseases associated with arsenic poisoning A cross-section diagram of an Arsenic Biosand Filter (ABF)