Understanding Bio-Sand Filters

What are Bio-sand filters?

When in an area that lacks clean drinking waters, bio-sand filters can be a life savers. Bio-sand filter is an innovative version of the “slow sand filter”, generally designed for household use. The engineering of the Bio-sand filter is comprised of a container ,plastic or concrete, and is about the size of an office water cooler. However, in emergency cases, it can be as small as a water bottle. It has an inset plastic pipe and is filled with layers of sand and gravel.

 Dirty water is poured into the top of the bio-sand filter, where a distributor plate evenly distributes the water over the sand bed layer. The water travels down through the sand bed, passes through multiple layers of gravel, and is collected in the plastic pipe at the bottom of the filter. The clean water then exits through the plastic piping for a individual to collect in clean containers.

By removing the contaminants, as well as diseases, within the water through this systems it makes the water more usable, especially for drinking!

For more information, or to get more involved, visit:

https://www.greenempowerment.org/

image 2: https://www.waterforcambodia.org/biosand-filters.html

image 3: https://visual.ly/community/infographic/environment/biosand-filter