Alternative Water Filter Set Up

Contaminated water causes health problems around the world. Without effective methods of ensuring clean water, illness and death results. In developing nations where cost is an issue, alternative methods of purifying water are necessary.

Alternatives

• There are a number of alternative methods to filtering a water supply: Screen filtration, slow sand filtration and disk filtration. Each method varies in effectiveness and cost. Some filters are designed to clean water enough for industrial or agricultural use, others purify water for human consumption.

Screens

• Screen filtration passes the water over a series of screens made of different types of porous material. The holes allow water to flow through but are small enough to trap particles of sand or other debris. Screens are sufficient for uses where the water is not intended for drinking as they do not filter out many biological agents.

Sand

• Slow sand filtration provides one of the most effective and least expensive methods to filtering water. A container with multiple layers of gravel and sand traps particles and debris. A biological layer, known as the schmutzdecke, traps even finer particles and other biological agents like bacteria.

Disks

• Disk filters use a series of disks made of ceramic or other material. The specialized surface of the disks filters particles from water when a series of them are stacked together and water is forced through them.