5/18/2012 12:35:00 PM
Topic:
Moringa Oleifera
NancyG
Administrator
Posts: 7
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I am researching the use of moringa seed as a coagulent, and floculent for use in water purification in the Niger Delta. Materials reviewed have stated that traditionally women in Sudan have used moringa seeds to purify turbid Nile River water. Does anyone know if this or other uses, i.e. how do they do it? Are the seeds fresh or dried, ground, etc., etc.
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4/23/2012 3:07:37 PM
Topic:
Rainwater Harvesting with Ionization Disinfection
anusudar
Posts: 1
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Yes, born in a silver spoon was not to be for good wealth but for good health. Copper is heavy metal which takes care of toxic chemicals and silver takes care of infection. Activated carbons with impregnation also help. All of them have a recurring cost and expenditur.
There is a new concept with photocatalytic compound - It absorbs the photon (geo-thermal energy) and gets activated and synthesises the liquids hence in water you will find in a spot study - hydrogen which increase the PH value, Oxygen - reduced COD/BOD pollutants and when Hydrogen/oxygen combine again -it would form water under exothermic reaction. That heat is used to precipitate Calcium/mag...which are active salts in water. The oxygenated water treats the soil and in turn when the rainc some the effect is shown to cascade the bore quality and quanttiy. The porous structure created by worms in presence of oxygen helps and so does the vegetative growth consume the excess NOx in soil and CO2 in air to convert the pollutant to resource to humans.
amaliakkal wrote:
Is anyone familiar with any water projects that use an ionization system (copper and silver ions) for disinfection of the water?
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12/15/2011 12:01:13 PM
Topic:
Considering environmental issues - a discussion
dales2ale
Posts: 1
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NancyG, Thank you for opening the discussion, unfortunately the link to the article you referenced returned an "Page Not Found" error message. I would like to suggest my own motto for consideration ; Culturally and Politically Acceptable Environmentally Sound Solutions.
One of my concerns with any water project is the tendency to look only at the immediate or short view, not not the long view or sustainability.
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12/3/2011 2:03:14 PM
Topic:
Water testing
NancyG
Administrator
Posts: 7
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I am working in the Niger Delta in Nigeria. Needless to say it is difficult to find labs to test water samples, and near impossible to find a lab with the right sample bottles and protocols for sampling, as one would see in Europe or North America. What do others do to gather important information about water quality and hence make the right decisions about appropriate technology?
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12/2/2011 12:22:52 PM
Topic:
Mini Alum-based Treatment Systems
John Capece
Posts: 1
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I am wondering what others think about the small, alum-type water treatment package systems being marketed to Rotary water project matching grants in Central America and other locations. Literature about the system is available at:
http://www.watermissions.org/Websites/watermissions/images/Documents/Molded%20Living%20Water%20Treatment%20System.pdf
http://www.watermissions.org/Websites/watermissions/images/Financials/LWTS(Molded)%20_manual_rev20.pdf
Cost of the package unit hardware is $12,000. The costs (labor & travel) for the site visit, installation, and 2 follow-up service visits, and first year consumables is $17,000.
The project would also require the provision of power, source development & supply, a small building, a local technician, and then all expenses after the first year (consumables, maintenance, etc.). All this must be covered as part of the MG project or provided by the local village/government/Rotary club.
The system is basically the same as a traditional alum-based water treatment plant requiring all the associated maintenance (chemical mixing, dose adjustment, chlorine monitoring, pH monitoring, filter backwashing, pump maintenance, power supply management, etc.)
The system looks like something designed for short-term, post-disaster assistance. I wondering how cost-effective and practical it would be as the core technology for a long-term water treatment system to serve a rural, Central American village. Is it a sustainable solution and a wise choice for a Rotary water MG project?
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8/5/2011 6:40:51 PM
Topic:
Rainwater Harvesting with Ionization Disinfection
RotaryStew
Administrator
Posts: 1
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It's been a long time, but yes years ago. And a newer method of using nanotechnology to remove components from raw water. Suggest you search online, e.g. Google.com.
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6/19/2011 7:08:45 PM
Topic:
Rainwater Harvesting with Ionization Disinfection
amaliakkal
Posts: 1
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Is anyone familiar with any water projects that use an ionization system (copper and silver ions) for disinfection of the water?
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5/30/2011 12:00:59 PM
Topic:
Developing tools for monitoring
NancyG
Administrator
Posts: 7
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Thanks Mark. Interesting site. I will pass this on to the team development the monitoring and evaluation program for Wasrag's Start with Water program.
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5/30/2011 11:59:22 AM
Topic:
A simple, effective fundraising idea:
NancyG
Administrator
Posts: 7
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Your club can join the online Race Across Africa, and raise money for WASH projects. Developed by the Rotary Club of Denver Southeast, this virtual race is an easy way for any Rotary Club to run a fundraiser. The website will be launched in June 2011, and the race held in September. Details will be posted here shortly.
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5/29/2011 10:14:24 PM
Topic:
Considering environmental issues - a discussion
NancyG
Administrator
Posts: 7
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One of the areas that has been of concern to me over the last while was whether or not, in our planning re WASH, we are taking environmental issues enough into account.
See for example this article: http://www.undp.org/gef/portfolio/writeups/iw/niger_riverbasin.html
and the project being developed by PDG Arvind Phukan on restoring water flow and reducing sedimentation in the major river of Assam.
This takes us a bit out of our traditional work providing safe water etc. but may be a critical area moving forward. What do you think?
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5/25/2011 4:21:23 PM
Topic:
Well water filtration
Calum Maclean
Posts: 1
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Good afternoon all. I just wanted to add a company called Sawyer to the discussion. I have been talking to them for a year and they have a good range of products. Some are gravity operated and have a flow rate of 10-15 gallons per hour. They also have a large filter that you can plumb in to the buildings existing system that has a much higher flow rate and will remove 99.99999 of all bacteria.
You can follow this link here. http://www.sawyer.com/products.htm
I hope you all find what you are looking for.
Cheers!!
Calum
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5/6/2011 9:57:39 AM
Topic:
Well water filtration
WorldWater
Posts: 1
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World Health Organization suggests 5 gallons/person/day of clean water as the minimum required for sustainable survival. There are a variety of small-sized systems available on the open market, and our company, WorldWater & Solar Technologies, has worked with Engineers Without Borders chapters at Delaware, Rutgers and Princeton to develop simple small-scale systems -- you may want to reach out to them directly.
We also provide a commercially available water purification system - Mobile MaxPure (MMP) - which has been field proven in austere environments ranging from Haiti and Japan to Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur. In each of these areas the local community is operating and maintaining the systems which are rugged, easy to use and have few moving parts. The MMP is completely self-contained and self-powered, using solar panels, and can operate 24-hours/day even under cloudy conditions. Each MMP purifies water using a multi-media filtration, chemical free process (chlorination can be added as an option), producing 30,000 gallons/day from freshwater sources and 3,000 - 4,000 gpd from saline sources using reverse osmosis filtration technology. The MMP is cost effective, producing water for pennies/gallon in the first year and fractions of a penny in subsequent years, and providing onsite power each day as well.
WorldWater has been involved with WASRAG since its kick-off meeting in Birmingham, England in 2009 and supports WASRAG's and Rotary's efforts to bring clean water to people around the world. For more information on WorldWater and our solar water pumping and purification devices, please visit www.worldwatersolar.com .
edited by WorldWater on 5/6/2011
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4/13/2011 11:57:34 PM
Topic:
Well water filtration
Mark Henne
Posts: 3
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Please let me know if your WASRAG group comes up with some simple solutions.
From my perspective, 10 gph is not very much. Theoretically, a small Hydraid filter is supposed to be able to produce about 0.7 gpm, which would translate to 42 gph. I'd be a bit worried about pushing the water through so fast that you don't end up with good biodegredation of the bacteria. I'd be tempted to size up a system by using 55-gallon plastic drums, puttting them in parallel so that they can be easily maintained. The chlorine is optional, but would produce water quality comparable to what we have in the States.
I believe in Europe ozone, rather than chlorine, is more commonly used to treat drinking water. I did a quick online search, and it appears as though you could buy an ozonator for about $350 that could generate enough ozone to treat about 2 liters per minute. It's probably a unit designed for a hot tub, thus I'd be suspect of the quality of the unit and suggest you do some look for a commercial unit that will hold up better. Power consumption for the advertised units was fairly low: about 15 watts. I wonder if it could be powered with a solar panel? The advantage to ozone is that you can't smell or taste it. With the quantities that would be generated, I'm not too concerned about the detrimental health effects, but you should confirm this with someone with more expertise than I.
If you want the water for toilets, I suggest just pumping it through separate piping system from the well, and don't bother treating it. The bigger issue is how you treat the wastewater generated by the toilets. They need to be prepared to have a fairly large septic system, and I suggest dual septic fields so that one side can "rest" while the other is working.
My personal leaning after working on water projects in Africa is to construct dual-chamber latrines. After one chamber is filled, it is sealed, and the second chamber is used while the first one sits for a year or so to digest. At the end of the year, the newly-created fertilizer can be safely used to grow food, or spread on grazing land. (I appreciate that in many cultures, this might be unacceptable.) I can get you some good designs for latrines if you need some. A local Rotary club has put in water systems in Peru, and insists that before the water line is turned on, every family must have and be using a latrine. I've been told it's a VERY effective way to get compliance.
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4/13/2011 1:21:42 PM
Topic:
Well water filtration
Wayne Adamson
Posts: 2
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Thanks for your reply. I am a mechanical engineer who has worked with multimedia filters for many years, so I am familiar with using them under various circumstances. Unfortunately, they become cumbersome in third world countries when a substantial quantity of water must be filtered. The community that I am working with doesn't have the technical knowledge or the time to be able to do manual operation of a backwash system for such a filter and I am a little concerned about installing an automated backwash with the valves and pumping needed. Electricity is available most of the time so that isn't a huge problem. But, the question is whether there is something a little simpler, cheaper, and smaller that I can apply instead. I have looked at other websites such as Engineers without Borders but haven't seen anything that fits my need. There other filtration systems that I am aware of that could probably meet my needs ( the water quality might not be quite as good as an MM filter) but the cost is probably prohibitive. Thus, the question is whether I can find something that can remove the sediment (the well is an open well with a diameter of 3 to 4 ft) and also provide water of sufficient quality for flushing toilets and washing hands. Chlorine is out of the equation at the present time (there is an aversion to using chlorine by the Mayan community that I work with) but maybe I can change their thinking if the system for dispensing chlorine is simple and consistent. I am going to bring this issue up at the WASRAG workshop that I am attending tomorrow in Washington DC (April 14, 2011). I will post the results of those discussions and findings if I can.
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4/10/2011 1:29:15 AM
Topic:
Developing tools for monitoring
Mark Henne
Posts: 3
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Please check out the work done by the Jameel Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusettes Institute of Technology (http://www.povertyactionlab.org/). They have a wealth of information about how to measure and monitor the outcome of many different types of humanitarian projects in third-world countries.
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4/10/2011 1:22:04 AM
Topic:
Well water filtration
Mark Henne
Posts: 3
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I don't know whether Rotary has developed any standard drawings. If not, it would be a good endeavor for an engineer or group of engineers to come up with some plans for some simple low-capacity systems.
Please understand that the basic sand filtration technology is centuries old, and is used for all sizes of systems. Your idea to remove sediment is a good one, but if the water is coming out of a small diameter, drilled well with a sealed top, the amount of sediment and bacteria should be small. Even if it's coming from a large diameter dug well with an open top, your biggest issue will be biologic contamination, which can be removed with filtration. In other words, you might not need to have a sedimentation tank, just a filtration tank.
For the filtration, the key thing will be to size the filter large enough to handle the water demands. The basic filtration media will be essentially like the Hydraid filters: gravel at the bottom, coarse sand, then medium sand, and finally fine sand at the top. If you want very pure water, a little chlorination or ozination at the end might be needed. Larger municipal systems in the U.S. often have screened radial collection piping, backwash systems, and sometimes add chemicals to precipitate iron or soften the water, but the basic water purification process is basically the same. (It's unlikely you will need anything highly sophisticated.)
You can consult with a local engineer/Rotarian in your area, or check in with a local chapter of Engineers Without Borders so that they can help you properly size a tank, piping, possibly a float control for the pump, and possibly a foundation if the tank at the top of a hillside or a tower if it will be mounted in the air next to a building. If you have any trouble finding a volunteer engineer, I'll help you find someone. (I'm a hydrogeologist, not an engineer.)
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12/2/2010 5:38:11 PM
Topic:
Listing of Topics of Interest
NancyG
Administrator
Posts: 7
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Please provide your input into this list of topics of interest under the general category of health & hygiene. This will be used as a framework in the Articles of Interest section (under Learn) on our website. Articles and links will be listed under these headings. Please let us know if these meet your needs. If you have others to suggest, please post them here.
Also, if you have articles or links that you think would be of use to others working in the Water & Sanitation field, please email them to us. You can email info@wasrag.org with the subject line - Articles of Interest.
Many Thanks!
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10/20/2010 4:14:21 PM
Topic:
Well water filtration
Wayne Adamson
Posts: 2
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I am trying to get information on a design for a well water filtration system capable filtering 10 or more gallons per hour. The well is located at a school in Guatemala in the highlands. They have a submersible pump for bringing the water to a tank located on the roof of one of the buildings but at this point don't have a filtration system. I know that Rotary has been using a multimedia filter system design for home application but I thought this was only good for filtering a couple of gallons per day. I need something much larger. My thought on the design is to have a holding/settling tank where water from the well could be pumped into and allowed to settle over night. The suspended material that settled would be drawn off each morning and then the remaining water would be directed by an electric pump to a filter which would accommodate 10 or more gallons per hour. The resultant filtrate would be then be stored in a separate feed tank that would run water by gravity to a tap at ground level. The water will be used mostly for washing hands and for providing water for cooking. The degree of filtration should be sufficient to remove most bacteria and suspended solids. The intent is to use this water to meet the needs of about 350 school kids so I expect that at least 100 gallons will be needed each day. Any ideas on such a system would be appreciated. I am curious whether Rotary has developed some standard designs for filtration units that are available.
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10/19/2010 3:21:09 PM
Topic:
Clean Hands & Cut Nails
Sanjay Mohta
Posts: 1
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Orientation & demonstration of proper Nail cutting with Nail Cutters should integral activity during Hand Wash program. Protruding & Uncut nails harbor numerous Bacteria due to accumulated dirt including Fecal matters. Regular "Cutting of Nails" is not at all a practice amongst lower strata of community in India, irrespective of Age. Moreover, only few house hold use Nail Cutters for the purpose. Shaving blades, Farm Sickle, Accidental Breaking and worst off all Nail Bitting are the means of Nail removal.
edited by sanjaymohta on 10/19/2010
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7/5/2010 8:46:25 AM
Topic:
Developing tools for monitoring
NancyG
Administrator
Posts: 7
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I am very interested others' experiences in developing tools for monitoring outcomes in the WASH sector - please share your experiences.
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