How Biosandfilters can help the flood survivors in Kerala India and is also noteworthy for off-grid living

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As some of you might know my friend @sayee lives in Kerala India and is a flood survivor. Thanks to the help of the steem community her situation is somewhat better right now her well is going to be fixed today and they will be chlorinating the water in hopes of decontaminating it. India is a beautiful country but there are some extremely dangerous illnesses such as typhoid and cholera that are fairly active there that we no longer face like that in the first world. This is a danger Sayee and many others there are actively facing right now as their water supply is compromised. (Here the first post I made on the subject)

Fact the Indian government is doing little to nothing to help their people right now even though they have cashed in on the catastrophe and are asking for donations. Fact there are people in that region that are still trapped there are people who survived but have nothing left than the shirt on their backs others that have damages to home and ruined crops. fact some of our Indian friends here on Steemit are from that region are we going to leave them without aid? So what can we do ? Well of course we can donate to the cause. People in that region like Sayee who have access to the Internet can organise themselves and use these funds to help themselves and their wider community. Besides this we in the Steem community can band together to bring awareness by sharing posts about what is going on but also share practical ideas on how to improve the immediate situation. (if you have ideas please leave them in the comment section here but no spam I will flag that shit to hell this is a post to help people not to make you king/queen of the mole hill)

One Idea that came to mind, when it came to the compromised water situation, are bio sand filters. I have seen them implemented successfully on the African continent and I think they could be invaluable in India not only in this flood situation. As my knowledge of India is limited to childhood memories please forgive if this is already being done in your area, but if it is not these are quite easy to build and can save lives.

So what is a bio sand filter? What does Wikipedia have to say?

A Biosandfilter (BSF) is a point-of-use water treatment system adapted from traditional slow sand filters. Biosandfilters remove pathogens and suspended solids from water using biological and physical processes that take place in a sand column covered with a biofilm. BSFs have been shown to remove heavy metals, turbidity, bacteria, viruses and protozoa.BSFs also reduce discolouration, odour and unpleasant taste. Studies have shown a correlation between use of BSFs and a decrease in occurrence of diarrhoea. Because of their effectiveness, ease of use, and lack of recurring costs, Biosandfilters are often considered appropriate technology in developing countries. It is estimated that over 200,000 BSFs are in use worldwide.

It becomes apparent from the description that this is something that anyone in a developing country, but also those of us striving to go off grid , can use to improve life quality and water safety; but how exactly do Biosandfilters work ?

The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology says the following :

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You can use any kind of water in the biosand filter – well water, borehole water, pond or river water, tap-stand water, or rainwater. This makes it very convenient for people because they can use whichever water source is closest to home, make it safe to drink. The water must not have been chlorinated though, or the chlorine will kill the biolayer. The water should also not contain any dangerous chemicals, because the biosand filter cannot remove most chemicals from water. Contaminated water is poured into the top of the biosand filter at least once per day (but not continuously). The water poured into the top of the filter slowly drips through the holes in the diffuser, and flows down through the sand and gravel. Treated water flows out of the outlet tube. No power is required - the filter works by gravity. It should take about 1 hour to get 12-18 litres of filtered drinking water.Pathogens and suspended solids are removed through biological and physical processes that take place in the sand. These processes include: mechanical trapping, predation, adsorption, and natural death.

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What can the biosand filter remove from water?

The biosand filter has been studied in the field and in labs. It has been shown to remove the following from contaminated water:

• Up to 100% of helminths (worms)
• Up to 100% of protozoa
• Up to 98.5% of bacteria
• 70-99% of viruses

for more go Here

This makes obvious why we need to get this knowledge to the people of Kerala and everyone else who might need it. If any of you have any other ideas how to help please leave your ideas in the comment section. If you are in Kerala please try to organize yourselves and let me know what we can do to make things easier for you. @sayee let me know what else can be done <3 Anything generated from this post will go to @sayee to make use of to help herself and her people!

I leave you all with an interesting video

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Resources

How to build a bio sand filter using a wooden mould

Hereis a link to a PDF on how to build a longterm Biosandfilter. Now this is only one version and is probably best suited for later on when people have accesses to more sophisticated equipment but I am trying to offer multiple options here.

Relevant Websites

Engineers Without Borders
Biosandfilter ORG University of Illinois:
Wikipedia on Biosand filters
Poured-out
CAWST ORG

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