PERU: THE WATER FILTER PROJECT
Photography by Lindsay Musser and Joan McGwire
In the Ucayali Region of Peru, the Ucayali River and its tributaries are the main source of water for several different people groups.
The Ucayali is beautiful, but the water is muddy and brown. Sickness is common due to parasites and bacteria in the water.
The BioSand water filter designed at the University of Calgary, Canada is a great solution
Water poured into this concrete filter passes through layers of media and exits through a plastic pipe. The filter media installed inside has 3 layers
1) half-inch stones
2) quarter-inch stones
3) fine sand
In addition to the mechanical filtering, a biolayer forms in the top 2 inches of sand. Here beneficial microbes actually eat harmful bacteria resulting in 95% pure water
The only maintenance is to stir the top layer of fine sand removing the cloudy water whenever the flow slows due to the biolayer becoming full. The same sand can be used for years.
The design is simple, but the difference in water quality is drastic.
It is easy to teach the people how to install and maintain the filters.
Every house in the whole village can have a filter
Each dollar donated to this project helps change the lives of people living in isolated jungle villages.
For more information, to donate, or ask how you can help, please email Blair.McGwire@efca.org
I would like to communicate with the builder of these family sized filters on how made and the cost.
Todd: I apologize that it took me so long to reply.
You can email Blair McGwire at Blair.McGwire@efca.org
He is in charge of the project.
~ Lindsay