Kolar Project

Frequently Asked Questions About The Clean Water Project in Kolar, India

When was the first Kolar Water Project filter put into service?
The first Bio-Sand Filter was produced in the Kolar Workshop in November 2005 and installed in a household in Kolar, the headquarters town of Kolar District, Karnataka state, India, about 60 miles east of Bangalore.

What do people in Kolar say when they use a filter for the first time?
The water tastes sweet. This is because the dissolved salts and minerals are removed. Also, when you hold up a glass of “before” and “after” water, you can see the organisms and sediment floating in the “before” water, but the “after” water is clear. People often say they literally can taste the healthy difference. That’s why we call them “Sweetwater Filters™.”

How is a Bio-Sand Filter made in Kolar?
Filters are made of concrete poured into a steel mold. A copper pipe runs inside the filter wall where it is not easily damaged from the bottom of the filter to the discharge spout. A filter is about the size of an office water cooler. The container holds about 10 gallons (40-50 liters). Layers of specially selected, sifted and washed sand and gravel are placed inside and a splash plate is placed on top of the layers to dissipate the force of the water poured into a filter. A tin lid protects the filter opening.

What is the price for a local filter?
South Asia Pure Water Initiative produces Bio-Sand Filters in the Kolar Workshop in India very efficiently and economically using readily available local materials. Filters are priced at about half the direct cost to make a filter to allow the widest acceptance for even the poorest village households. The cost of filters is subsidized by South Asia Pure Water Initiative, Inc. fundraising.

How long does it take to make a filter in the Kolar Workshop?
About 15-22 days. Poured concrete sits in the mold for 1 day, and then the mold is removed. Containers are filled with water and stand for 14-21 days to let the concrete cure. Kolar filters are painted on the outside in distinctive colors, and a heavy-gauge tin lid is added with a popular red-cherry enameled-metal handle. Once a filter is delivered to a household, installation takes about an hour.

How is a filter installed?
Staffers transport the concrete tank to the household and hand carry the container into the house to place the filter in position. Layers of gravel, sand and splash plate are placed in tank one by one. Staffers are specially trained to install the filter media in an exact sequence. Two or three test batches of water are poured through the filter to remove residual dust. The filter is ready to use.

Is the water only for drinking?
Bio-Sand Filters produce clean water. As well as drinking water, most households in Kolar use the water for cooking and washing. Households are encouraged to use clean filter water for all their household water needs. Care should be taken to store clean filter water in clean, covered containers to avoid recontamination of the clean water. Clean recycled plastic water bottles are encouraged.

Are filters only used in homes?
No. Bio-Sand Filters are ideal for schools, dormitories, clinics, hospitals, restaurants, small hotels, offices, workshops, etc., wherever clean water is needed and provision has been made to capture the filtered water in a sanitary receptacle. Many filter users put the clean water in a terracotta "gouda" (pronounced “gooch-dah”) that cools the water by its surface evaporation. Another popular setup is a filter-and-jug combination with tap faucet. Where use is heavy, like schools, several filters can be filled from one cistern in a special water-bottle refilling station, much like an office water cooler in the United States.

How many people in the Kolar area can one filter supply?
One filter can easily supply clear, clean household drinking water for as many as 45 people. Typically the capacity of a filter is more than enough to provide clean water for drinking and cooking for a household of 15 people per day.

How did South Asia Pure Water Initiative learn about the Bio-Sand Filter?
Mike Lipman & Cathy Forsberg are the co-founders of South Asia Pure Water Initiative (SAPWII.org). Lipman traveled to Calgary, Canada, in June 2004 to be trained in the technology by CAWST.org. The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) provides technical training and consulting services, and acts as a catalyst bringing together the right partners and funders to make household water and sanitation projects a reality for the poor in the developing world. Since 2001 CAWST has provided training in water and sanitation to hundreds of organizations in the developing world. By 2006 CAWST estimates almost 500,000 people in more than 40 countries have been impacted with clean drinking water.

What are the greatest challenges the Kolar Project faces?
There are many challenges. First is increasing the production of the Kolar Workshop to meet the demand for filters. At of the end of January 2006 the workshop had 10 filter molds in place which can produce about 40-50 filters a week. Second, the Kolar Workshop needs a second delivery vehicle, ideally a four-wheel-drive small pickup truck that can carry six filters and the sand/gravel media, as well as two technicians. When deliveries of 10-20 filters can be coordinated at once, the workshop hires a larger transport truck to take the filters as close as possible to the households. Third, there is an ongoing need for fundraising to pay the difference between the direct costs of making filters and the larger overall costs of running the Kolar Water Project. Ultimately the goal of the South Asia Pure Water Initiative is to provide as many filters to as many households as possible, sustain valuable employment for the Kolar Workshop workers and provide ongoing water and sanitation education.

How can I financially support this project?
To support this project, make a general-fund donation or earmark it to a specific Wish List item.

Make Check Payable To:

South Asia Pure Water Initiative, Inc.
2832 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT 06518
USA

Go to Donate for more information regarding giving options. If you have questions about how you or your organization can make a gift to the South Asia Pure Water Initiative, Inc., contact:

Cathy Forsberg, SAPWII Co-Founder Info@sapwii.org, (203) 281-0747