Clean Water – A Human Right What is Narmada Water doing to help? This year, Narmada water will be donating 15% of the cost price of a carton of water to the Bio-sand Filter Project in Indonesia. This critical project is coordinated by the Rotary Club, and helps to bring clean drinking water to remote villages in Indonesia. What are the problems? Many remote provinces in Indonesia have a problem because of the lack of clean, affordable drinking water. Sanitation and knowledge of hygiene is poor. There is a shortage of toilets, and sewage systems are almost non-existent. Because of overcrowding, where septic tank systems do exist they are inevitably built too close to wells, resulting in sewage polluting the water tables. This lack of clean water leads to a variety of illnesses, including typhoid, cholera, skin diseases and diarrhea. Some of these illnesses, particularly in babies and old people often prove fatal. Who is doing something about it? In mid-2004, The Rotary Club of Mataram started a project to introduce clean water in Indonesia. The project team, supported by Peter Crick (a retired British expat engineer with experience in Africa on the use of filters), carried out some research and decided to make bio-sand water filters. With further technical guidance from the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) in Calgary, Canada, the team built a steel mould and started to produce the first filters. How does it work? The filters are very simple in design. They are made of reinforced concrete and have no moving parts. Water, typically from a well, is poured into the top of the filter and passes through a layer of sand, through two layers of gravel and eventually out through a spout. Dirt and other materials that make well water cloudy are trapped in the sand. The main work of the filter is carried out in the bio-layer that forms after one to three weeks of operation at the top of the layer of sand. In this bio-layer, the ‘good guy micro-organisms’ eat the ‘bad guys’ (bacteria and pathogens). The filters have been extensively tested throughout the world. The overall conclusion is that they can eliminate over 95% of fecal coliform and e-coli and over 99% of protozoa and helminths (worms). The filters can produce approximately 80 litres of clean water per day – more than enough for a family. How much does it cost? They cost about USD $29 to make, including the water tank, with tap that collects the water. The Rotary Club of Mataram was able to obtain funding from The Rotary Club of Calgary to build the first 93 filters which were then installed in Kebon Talo in February 2005. A further 50 filters were also installed in West Lombok in 2005 and 2006. In late 2006 the Club received a grant from Rotary International in the USA together with a very large donation from the Calgary Club amounting in total to USD $49,000. The money is to be used to build and install 600 water filters as well as to build six school toilet blocks. Other funding from Rotary Clubs has been received including the Caloundra Pacific Rotary Club in Australia. Narmada Water Australia will raise enough money to help The Rotary Club build and install a minimum of 100 additional Bio-sand Filters this year – with a target of 250 filters by June 2009. But does it really do the job? So far, this year, 93 filters have been installed in Mangsit, north of Senggigi, and 130 filters have just been installed in Bunkate a large village just north of Praya. Dave Riddington, one of the Rotary Club members says ‘The filters have become very popular. As more people see the benefits of clean water, more people want the filters! At first, villagers are a little skeptical and think that they still need to boil the water from the filters but the Rotary Club project also includes an element of education both on use of the filters and also on basic hygiene. Club President, Howard Singleton, says ‘We are trying to teach the clean water and sanitation message at the school level. We believe that the children, often the ones who will be responsible for filling the filters, will pass on the message to their parents and to future generations. That’s why part of our project includes education in the classrooms and building new clean toilets for the schools. As with the installation of most new technology, there have been some problems with the filters. However, mechanical failure rates such breakages and blockages of pipes, have been less than 1%. Villagers really like to have ‘running water’ from a tap. In the earlier installations villagers started to put taps on the filter down-spouts. This action prevents the biolayer from doing its job and the filters become ineffective. To remedy the problem, water from the down-spout now flows into a separate container which has a tap. The user can now take water from the tap, on demand, without upsetting the balance of the biolayer. Do the users of the filters like their new clean water? Bpk Sadar, (seen in the picture), the Kepala Desa (village head) of Bunkate says, ‘We are very happy with our clean water. The villagers drink it every day and are very healthy. We are very grateful for all the help that the Rotary people have given to us.’ With several hundred filters still to be manufactured and installed, the Rotary Club has a busy year ahead. They plan to obtain more funding and continue to expand the use of filters throughout Lombok. Another possibility is to create more manufacturing locations and spread the technology with the use of micro-financing. A filter gives immediate time and energy savings in that villagers no longer have to spend money on fuel to boil drinking water. Even then, the cost of a filter spread out over one year works out at less than $1 per week. It’s a small price to pay for clean water! Narmada Water is proud to support The Rotary Club with this project. If you would like to contribute further, or would like more information, please contact us directly on 1300 792 532, or email us on enquiries@narmadawater.com.au home story clean water < halal