According to a research report “As a result of July–August 2010 flood 3999 water supply schemes and 2842 sanitation schemes were damaged, which resulted in the mixing of sanitation water with water for domestic use. Tis mixing produced extensive volume of contaminated water which became the basis of the spread of dangerous diseases among the affected community like gastroenteritis, hepatitis, cholera, typhoid fever and diarrheal diseases. Diseases like diarrhea are infectious diseases and are transmitted by the fecal-oral route. Such diseases are termed as waterborne diseases. Many of the non-epidemic infectious diseases spread through direct contact with contaminated water. Some of these diseases are wound infections, dermatitis and ear, nose and throat infections. Many other water and sanitation related diseases are associated with water and solid waste and are number of times transmitted through vectors”.
During the heavy Floods, Water passing over submerged areas picked up an unimaginable number of contaminants including, but not limited to, dangerous strains of bacteria and fecal matter from animals. TNW with support of WHO (World Health Organization) took 250 water samples from the affected areas of Layyah and Muzaffargarh districts to assess the biological contamination in drinking water at the identified locations of both districts. According the reports of WHO and PCRWR 62% of the water samples were found bacteriological contaminated.
Keeping in mind the above dangerous situation and play role to save affected people from water related diseases, The NGO World proposed a project to Deniz Feneri “Provision of Biosand Water Filters”.
A bucket of contaminated water is poured into the top of the biosand filter. The water simply flows through the filter and is collected in another storage container at the base of the spout. A biological layer (often called the biolayer) of slime, sediment and microorganism develops at the sand surface. Pathogens and suspended material are removed through various physical and biological processes that occur in the biolayer and sand.
When water is flowing through the filter, oxygen is supplied to the biolayer by the dissolved oxygen in the water. During pause times, when the water is not flowing, the oxygen is obtained by diffusion from the air. If the standing water layer is kept shallow, enough oxygen is able to pass through to the microorganisms to keep them alive and effective.
The identification of the solution was based on research studies.
“A 6-month study carried out by Stauber et al (2006) in the Dominican Republic during 2005-06 was the first health impact study to be done on the household biosand filter. The results showed that the 75 households that used the biosand filter had 0.53 times the odds of diarrhoeal disease as control households (or 47% reduced risk), indicating a significant protective effect of the BSF against waterborne diarrheal disease. Work carried out during 6 months in 2007 in rural Kenyan households by Tiwari et al (2009) found that households using biosand filters had a 54% reduction in child diarrhoea days compared to control households”.
The NGO World provided Biosand water filters to 1000 flood-affected families of district Layyah and Muzaffargarh along with necessary training of installation and proper use. The project helped the beneficiaries to fetch safe drinking water at their own house.