On Sunday, September 8th, 2019, our friends from WASH SDO made their second trip from Phnom Penh to Trà Ếch, Vietnam this year. Their purpose was two-fold, to ship materials for the construction and installation of 50 additional biosand water filters to Trà Ếch and second to meet with those who had attended the training in January. They conducted a refresher course on how to construct, install and maintain the biosand water filter, also to emphasize to the community about the importance for household water treatment, sanitation, and hygiene.
So, bright and early Monday morning September 9th, WASH SDO commenced a 4-day Training on “Water Quality Testing, Treatment and Safe Storage”. This included revisiting the families who received their biosand filters in January to make certain that they were using them properly. Part of the visit included checking 8 points that can determine if a filter is successfully treating water. These are called the 8 Key Filter Performance Points also known as key operating parameters. According to CAWST, if these 8 points are met, you can be confident that the filter is removing most microbiological contaminants.
This active hands-on workshop is taught in a way that demonstrates concepts and tools that participants can later use to teach others in their communities and households. Training of project staff and filter users is essential to ensure the proper and sustainable use of biosand filters in diverse regions of the world. The workshop included theory, classroom activities, demonstrations, open discussion, case studies, microbial tests using 3M™ Petrifilm™ and hands-on construction activities. Approximately one-third of the workshop was spent constructing and installing a biosand filter.
The Training Objective:
Upon completion of the workshop, the participants would now be able to
- Demonstrate to their community how to construct and install a biosand filter.
- Demonstrate the operation and maintenance of a biosand filter
- Describe the relationship between water and health
- Explain the need for education on household water treatment, hygiene and sanitation.
- Have a clearer understanding of the rationale behind the filter design and why proper preparation of the filtration sand is so important
- Understand the role of household water treatment and the biosand filter in improving health
- Effective ways to implement future WASH projects.
At the end of the trainer, the WASH SDO trainer had directed the participants in investigating the challenges and opportunities that can present themselves during implementation of a biosand filter project. Integrated throughout the workshop were opportunities to discuss and begin planning future projects.
8 Key Filter Performance Points
- The filter was installed more than 30 days ago.
- The filter is used at least once every day, with water from the same source every time.
- The water poured into the filter is clear.
- The filter container does not have any cracks and is not leaking.
- There is a diffuser in good condition.
- When the water stops running, the water surface is 5 cm (2″) above the top of the sand.
- The top of the sand is flat and level.
- When the filter is full, the flow rate is 400 mL or less per minute.
