FILTER BUCKET

FILTER BUCKET

Introduction

The Kisii Filter bucket has been developed in collaboration with the Rural Water Development (RWD) Project in Kisii, Western Kenya, as a response to the low quality of household water in that area. After introduction, it became clear that this low cost technology was very much appreciated also in Nairobi, where most people boil the water from the tap. The Kisii bucket is becoming increasingly popular, as well in the rural areas as in the towns were people have water from the tap.
The specific idea of the “Kisii Filter Bucket” is to use low cost transparent PVC containers with a ceramic filter to compose a water filter system.
In the upper bucket contains a “ standard” (normally available on the market) ceramic filter, the filtered water drips into the lower PVC bucket and can be used with a small tap. The lower bucket is well closed for safe storage.
This innovative and new idea provides the same quality and quantity of safe water as is obtained with the “official” filter unit, but for a fraction of the price

With the Kisii filter bucket, safe drinking water becomes affordable.

Upscaling of the iniative
We promote that projects introduce these filters and that the filter candles are distributed through the existing network of pharmacies. This will make the filters available at low cost, all over the country.

Rationale

In spite the over thousands of “safe” water points created in rural Africa, the results of bacteriological water tests in many studies showed that the quality of the water used at the household level is normally below acceptable standards. Consequently, water borne diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid and cholera remain epidemic.
The reason for the poor water quality at household level is twofold. On one hand, the groundwater at the water source is often already polluted (due to poor protected sources and the presence of latrines near these water sources, or simply because of poor maintenance of a piped water system).
On the other hand, people have no secure means of storing water at home. Often they use traditional clay pots which are difficult to clean and to use in a hygienic way) also offers many opportunities for recontamination. The water may be somewhat cooler in the pot, but is also often contaminated.
When aware of these problems, most people boil the water before drinking. However, boiling of water is cumbersome, expensive and also uses large quantities of charcoal, firewood or other energy. On top of that, the boiled water should also be stored in a safe way. In towns were a water company adds some chlorine to the water, the chlorine rests also disappears with the boiling and the water remains without any protection. Storage remains a problem.

Related Environmental problem

It is estimated that at least 5 % of the household energy consumption is used for boiling of water in Africa. The use of energy to boil water creates an additional stress to the environment because there is already a high pressure on the forest resources that are increasingly used for production of charcoal for cooking..

Maintenance

The filter system needs only a minimum of maintenance (regular cleaning of the outside of the ceramic element and inspection and cleaning of the inside of the buckets). The filter candle can be used for six month up to several years, depending on the quality of the water to be filtered.

Two types of ceramic filters candles are recommended:
1. A “slow speed” ceramic filter candle, made in India, costs about 1 US$ (in local shops) and can filter 3 litres of water per day. This candle can be impregnated with silver for additional security.
2. A “high speed” filter, with additional silver and active carbon already inside, made in Brazil, costs about 3US$ and can produce 25 litres of safe water per day.
The filter bucket is transparent. Users can see how much water is present both in the filter unit and in the lower storage unit. It also is directly visible when the filter candle needs to be cleaned. This improves trust and a better management of the available water in the household.
We believe that also in other countries in Africa and all over the world, more promotion of this simple solution could bring relief to many families, especially those who cannot afford expensive solutions to improve their water quality situation at home.

Impact

The impact of the Kisii Filter Bucket can be summarised as:

Impact on health, on short and long term the health conditions are improved and secured, because safe and clean water in sufficient quantities is always available at home with a Kisii Filter Bucket.
Social impact, due to the low cost safe water becomes now available for a large group of people. Availability often goes with affordability.
Impact on availability of safe water. The filter system has a large storage, so safe water is not likely to run out and more available. Traditionally, people store household water in a clay pot, which was cumbersome to use in a hygienic way and difficult to clean inside.
Impact on hygiene awareness. It is more convenient and hygienic to use a tap than to scoop water from a claypot. The tap symbolises also clean water.
Impact of household daily costs. As boiling of the water is no longer required with the filter, less money is spend on the use of charcoal and other energy sources.
Impact on efficient water use. Due to the tap, people take only the exact quantity of water out of the bucket that is needed, so finally less water is wasted or thrown back into the claypot.
Impact on Children. When introduced to safe water from a filter, it creates a clear reference for children to value safe water. Traditionally, children also used to scoop drinking water from a clay pot, a container and are not aware about the quality aspects of water.
Environmental impact, boiling of the water is no longer required with the filter; the use of charcoal and other energy sources is less, the environment and forest benefits from this every day.

Stakeholder Participation

The users of the Kisii Filter buckets are important stakeholders. Their participation and feed back revealed the following aspects:

Most people actually want to see the filter element and the clean water inside. This created trust in the system and motivates people to use it.
Users become promoters. People who buy the Kisii filter buckets and use it in their households appreciate the benefits and start automatically to advocate the system with its low price to neighbours and friends, promoting safe drinking water in other households as well.
Cost recovery is possible. The Kisii Filter bucket is not a sponsored project, people can pay for their filter system. The small profit is re-used in producing even more filter systems. In this way, the distribution of the Kisii Filter bucket is taking off by itself due to the indirect financial participation of the beneficiaries.

Sustainability aspects

The sustainability of the Kisii filter bucket profits from the following aspects:

There is a high need for the filter buckets. In fact every household in Africa needs this product, not only in the rural areas, but also in the cities, where people do not trust the water of the Water Company. Most people now feel that it is better to organise themselves a safe water supply in their home, because there is no external agency that takes responsibility for the quality of the water source.
The Kisii Filter bucket is very cheap, compared to any other household water filter system on the market. This means that many people can buy and will buy this concept, the price will go down even further and availability will improve, as more organisations and also the commercial private sector will start to distribute this cheaper concept.
People are prepared to pay the real cost of the buckets. Unlike other sponsored activities that stop when the funding has ended, this concept can always be reproduced and made available, as it is a 100 % cost recovery action.
The Kisii Filter bucket is made from good quality materials. The filter element needs replacement after some years, but we expect that the PVC bucket itself with the tap will function for at least 10 years. That means that it will last for a very long time with low operational costs, which promotes sustainability.
The Kisii Filter bucket uses a standard ceramic filter candles. These filters are not specifically made for the Kisii Filter bucket, but already normally available in many shops throughout the world. It is expected that with increasing popularity of the Kisii Filter bucket system, also the availability of these standard filters will increase and the prices of the individual filters will go down.

Obstacles for the sustainability could be that when people are not motivated too regularly clean the filter and the bucket, this may on the long run influence the effectiveness of the system and damage the reputation of the filter system.

Prices of the Kisii Filter Bucket system

The Kisii Filter System can provide about 100 litres of safe water per week.
A complete set is already available for 10 US$

“ But I can also make it myself; why should I buy this?”

Correct, we encourage people to please do so, it is not difficult at all, however, we point out that they should use the right materials.

Other reactions are:

“ This is so simple, I could also easily have invented it myself”.

Also correct, but the fact is that the concept as we developed it, especially with the transparent buckets, had not yet really been developed and promoted!

The only “problem” that we heard of with the Kisii Filter Bucket is that people who start using it at home, do not want to live without it anymore. It becomes a true friend in the family, to be used every day, day after day.

Technology and innovation aspects

Innovation in using local available materials (two simple PVC buckets with a small tap). This system supplies therefore a realistic solution to an unsolved problem, “how to easily have safe water at home”. Most households (before being introduced to the Kisii Filter bucket) were even not even aware of any alternative of treatment of water other than boiling.
Technology used is in fact the natural filtering capacity of ceramic stone. In the “high speed filter” this is also combined with the sterilising effect of silver inside the stone and the absorption capacity of active carbon.
The tap that is used is a high quality PVC tap that closes by itself. This type of tap has a very high resistance against leakage, also after many years of use.
The design is original and can be used to make larger filter bucket combinations as well. When using larger PVC buckets with 5 to 8 filters inside, the Kisii Filter bucket system can easily provide 100 litre of safe drinking water per day for hospitals, schools, and kitchens in restaurants and hotels.

Other applications

Additional Fluoride or Arsenic filter unit

The Kisii Filter bucket can also be used to remove a high Fluor or Arsenic content of the water, in case the water source has too much of these elements. For this purpose, additional filter material is added to the top bucket and placed around the ceramic candle.

How does it work?

The stone of the filter candle slowly absorbs the water, but the germs cannot enter in the stone, so the filtered water is now save to drink. Boiling or chemicals are no longer required for most water sources. You can use a slow speed filter or high-speed filter. The high-speed waterfilter gives more water, but is more expensive, it also contains silver in the stone to kill the germs and Carbon to improve the taste of the water. The lower bucket collects the clean and save water and makes it available with a tap.

How to start?

Remove the candle from the box and clean the outside of the filter with water, always avoid touching the filterstone with your hands; hold the filter at the bottom.
Put the sprout of the filter candle in the hole(s) in the bottom of the top bucket and also through the hole(s) in the cover of the lower bucket.
Make sure that on the lower side and on the topside the sprout is sealed with the rubber seals, firmly attach the bolt to avoid leakage around the sprout.
Place the cover with the filter bucket attached to it on the lower bucket.
Fill the top filter bucket with water, use a scoop.
Within some minutes, the water will drip out of the filter; the first water can contain some dirt, so throw away the first litres of water and only start using the filter after that.

How to maintain your filter bucket?

For the best results of your filter bucket system, you should:

Clean gently the outside of the filterstone every week to remove some dirt, use a clean brush or scotsbrite, but never use soap.
Inspect the inside of both buckets every week and clean it when necessary.
Keep the unit on one secure place out of the sun; do not walk around with the filter bucket.
Use always a scoop to fill up the top bucket as much as possible, the filters works faster when the waterlevel is above the filterstone.
Normally the filter can stay inside the bucket when cleaning. In case the filter is removed from the top bucket for cleaning or replacement, be sure that the filter is re-installed properly, with the rubber seals on place.

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