Q and A and Info: Queries regarding filtration of water (CURE)

Question & info: Dear Sir, I am I am a project engineer in Cure India working as a Project Engineer in CURE India. CURE India is an NGO working towards making the lives of the urban poor better by providing and facilitating them with better basic infrastructure like water, sanitation, sewage systems, solid waste management. We concentrate more on helping the community build up their own rather than getting everything done by ourselves and handing them over. This helps them to survive and sustain in the future years to come, enabling them to learn to take responsibilities, first to themselves and then towards the society. I am currently working on a project in one of the urban poor community. People here have drilled holes in the water pipelines and dug pits, which is a laborious task. During monsoons, these pits get filled up with rainwater, and the overflow from nearby drains contaminates the water. Also, the women and children do not wash their hands before drawing water by dipping their bare hands into these pits. The consumption of such water leads to skin irritations and other diseases. The water pipelines has water supply only for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, which calls for a reliable and a cost effective solution. Hence, we have proposed a plan to construct a water stand post. The construction post would help them store water, make it more hygienic, easy to access and reduce wastage of water. I was looking for a few simple techniques that could be employed with the locally available materials, which would make it cost effective and would be easy for the people to change or replace them in future. I would be grateful and gratified if you could suggest some methods that I could employ to do the same. I appreciate your time reading my email. Thank you. Regards, Project Engineer Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE) Answer:  Hello Mr P. Thank you for contacting us. Where are you located? How did you hear about us? We were in India last November conducting health programs focusing on natural remedies. One of our presentations was charcoal and how effective it can be in treating so many health issues, as well as being a invaluable tool for sanitation. Here is one link to Water Wells for Africa that shows how to prepare a very simple water filter from common materials that produces completely safe drinking water. Click the video in the middle of this page While granular activated charcoal is more adsorptive, regular charcoal used for cooking can also be used effectively if it is prepared properly. Some modern water filters still use the same strategy used in the 1800’s. A box containing rock gravel, a box using washed sand, a box with simple charcoal. The water passes first through the rock gravel then the sand and last through the charcoal. If the water is stored in clear glass/plastic container and left in the hot sun for at least 6 hours, it will be thoroughly sterilized. The charcoal removes poisons, including some microbes, and removes bad smell and taste. This is a very simple process that can be easily adapted to any location, application or filter design. One engineer simply put a large chunk of charcoal in their beaker of city water which had a terrible taste and odor for 12 hours which made an amazing difference. Search Water Purification on charcoalremedies.com And Water Purification products on our Websiten Do you have a design in mind for your stand post? Cloth sachets of Pure NonScents granular charcoal can be placed in homes to help control bad odors and smoke. It can be placed in latrines to help control odor which will minimize flies and disease. Lastly charcoal is a God remedy for so many illnesses, especially of the GI track. Please review the many resources on charcoalremedies.com If you have specific question I will try to respond, but it is difficult to always respond in a timely way. Sincerely John Dinsley