About Our Water Filter Program
IT ONLY TAKES $30 AU TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF FAMILIES WITH WATER FILTERS THAT SIMPLY AND EASILY MAKE SAFE DRINKING WATER
BBFF is working to improve the health of chiildren and families through the use of water filters that can simply and inexpensively clean and filter water and make it safe for families to drink.
Families in rural Cambodian villages do not have access to clean, running water like we do in Australia. Neither do they have access to a centrally treated water supply. Instead families must collect water from local waterways, drains, lakes and ponds or hand-pump it from wells and store it in big jars outside their homes.
The water from these sources is dirty, contaminated and considered unsafe for drinking. Villagers are told to boil the water to kill any bacteria before using it. However, rural villages are extremely poor and many families simply cannot afford to buy extra charcoal in order to do so.
It is not surprising then, that fevers, stomach upsets and other potentially life-threatening waterborne illnesses are a common occurrence around villages, particularly in children and the elderly. In working with our communities, we have found that one of the main reasons children frequently miss school is because of illnesses relating to the consumption of unsafe water. This caused us to search for ways that we could help families produce simply and easily, a ready source of clean and safe drinking water.
The Water Filters
The water filters we use are simple to put together, have no moving parts, and will last many years with some simple cleaning at regular intervals.
According to the supplier’s website (Hydrologic), these ceramic pot-style filters are based on proven ceramic water purifier systems and have the advantage of being relatively inexpensive, chemical free, low-maintenance, portable, effective and easy to use.
The filters remove microorganisms from water by gravity filtration through porous ceramics, with typical flow rates of 2-3 litres per hour. Hydrologic refers to research that indicates the filters significantly improve household water quality, eliminating up to 99.99% of Ecoli. It also notes that a UNICEF study found that households with this type of filtration system reported only half as many cases of diarrhea as matched control households without a filter.