H2O Project: Clean Water in Dominican Republic

H2O Project -  Dominican Republic 

Portland Rotary, in partnership with Freeport Rotary, Cape Elizabeth/South Portland Rotary and 18 other clubs have developed a project to provide clean drinking water to families in the Dominican Republic by providing a BioSand filter, one per household to remove virtually all waterborne diseases.

NO RURAL DRINKING WATER IS SAFE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In many of the homes/bateyes of the Domincan Republic, there is no access to clean water. The children who drink this contaminated surface water get very sick. They suffer diarrhea and dysentery, and some die...

50,000 children die from water borne diseases every year.

80% of illnesses detected originate in contaminated water supplies.

78% of the population depend on contaminated surface water.

Water treatment filters for these families can help this critical need for clean water, and we at Portland Rotary are working hard to bring clean and safe drinking water to the families in the Dominican Republic.

PROJECT GOAL
Working with local health officials, the project will deliver filters to provide clean water to the families that live in the bateyes.

The BioSand filter has no moving parts. It requires no electricity or chemicals, making it ideal for com­munities with few resources. It is effective in spo­radic usage. It utilizes centuries of proven results.

BioSand filter is low cost! Simple construction in-country with locally available materials. All-in-all, the slow sand household filter can and will make a measurable difference in family health and peoples' lives.

The BioSand Filter Removes -

* 93% of Fecal Coliform.
* 100% of Giardia.
* 99.8% of Crytosporium.
* 100% of Worms and Parasites.
* More effective than chlorine

HOW THE WATER IS CLEANED
Several factors determine the best approach to water purification in rural communities in coun­tries such as the Dominican Republic. Most significant among these are:

Cost: Villagers in rural third world countries can­not afford expensive techniques.

Reliability: The purification system must operate for years with little maintenance.

Power: The ideal system should not rely on exter­nal power or sunlight to function.

Location: Extensive field experience has deter­mined that locating the water purification in the home produces the most effective results.

Simplicity: Education of the consumer and fol­low-up monitoring by trained personnel are essen­tial to success. The simpler the system, the better the outcome.