Sehgal Foundation took a step toward technological advancement when it installed the world’s first stainless steel biosand filter on January 22, 2015. The foundation team installed the filter in community centre of Ghaghas village, Mewat, Haryana.
Biosand filter removes biological contaminants and suspended solid particles from water and makes it suitable for drinking. The filter is an adaptation of the traditional slow sand filter.The use of biosand filter becomes imperative in the rural parts of the country, where biological contaminants and suspended impurities are rampant in water.
Despite India’s booming economy, poor water quality remains a major cause of child mortality and morbidity, especially among the poor. According to Unicef report ‘Water in India – Situation and Prospects’, India lost more than 6 lakh under 5 children in 2010 due to WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) related diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia. These diseases are caused by pathogens (biological contamination).
Traditionally, biosand filters are made of concrete. However, the issues in portability due to weight and quality control of concrete biosand filters triggered Sehgal foundation to work toward stainless steel biosand filter. Some of the common quality issues in concrete biosand filters are due to variations in construction material, and manufacturing faults. Further, the concrete filter body is prone to cracks or breakage, efflorescence due to salts in water. The edges of the filter get cracked easily during transportation of heavy (95 Kg) filter. It makes the filter difficult and risky to transport in remote or hilly rural locations. The newly developed stainless steel biosand filter overcomes these shortcomings and provides better quality control. Besides adding to its looks, stainless steel adds to the strength, reliability, and durability of the filter.
In some parts of the world, the biosand filters are also available in plastic; however, the high cost prevents their use in rural India. Lalit Mohan Sharma, Director, Adaptive Technologies, Sehgal Foundation, said, “The stainless steel biosand filter is an improved version of its concrete counterpart. The organization will be promoting it across nation through partnerships with like-minded organizations to benefit as many rural families as possible”.
Dedicated to promote stainless steel filter nationwide, Sehgal Foundation believes it can make a difference and save lives in areas where other technology has quality concerns or is too costly.
A quick glance at the advantages of stainless steel bio sand filter:
- Removes biological contamination
- Removes suspended impurities in water
- Easy to transport
- Affordable water filter for the poorest of poor
- Maintenance free
- Better quality control
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