Objective

I founded this personal initiative to ensure access to safe drinking water in my local neighborhood by assessing water quality and providing water filters to those in need.

Process

I identified three clusters of residential communities in my immediate neighborhood and approached Equinox Labs Pvt Ltd to measure key indicators such as pH levels, turbidity, bacteria presence and chemical contaminants. All three locations received water from the same government utility so had the same the incoming water quality.

Water was tested post storage and handling at all these homes in order to determine the actual quality of water before consumption. The results showed that the water had a low microbial count, but pathogens were observed in some samples. The pH and chemical load in the water was within prescribed parameters but some variance could be due to pipes used for transporting the water to the homes or the materials used in the vessels for storage.

Concerns

In all locations, the water flow from the municipal sources came in at a specific time in the morning and lasted 2-3 hours before shutting off. All households would have to wait in line at the common tap to collect enough water in vessels for consumption and other uses such as washing, bathing, cleaning and cooking.

It was observed that the vessels used were made of plastic, stainless steel and aluminium. Very often the storage vessels for drinking water were not separate. Moreover, users dipped into the water storage vessels to access the water rather than it be dispensed. Some households boiled the water to make the drinking water safer, but then again with a common vessel, the manner of usage made the water prone to contamination.

Conclusions

The incoming water quality was observed to be good and fit for drinking but storage containers have to be separated for drinking water. The storage used for the water needs to have some basic treatment so that the water is safe to drink and less susceptible to contamination. Using stainless steel as the storage medium is preferred as it is easier to maintain, clean, is not corrosive, more durable than plastic and does not release harmful microplastics.

‘Adopt a Filter’

I have identified a local vendor who supplies a gravity based water filters. These units have a treatment and storage chamber of 10 litres each. The units meets the basic daily drinking water requirement for a family of 4. I have run a crowd funding initiative on ‘Fuel A Dream’ and collected funds to acquire the filters for donation. I am now developing a plan for distributing filters to households, ensuring that those with the highest need receive them first. I aim to conduct follow-up visits to check the filters’ effectiveness and gather feedback from users about water quality improvement. This initiative has provided me with a meaningful way to contribute to public health and promote sustainable practices.