Water Filter Construction & Maintenance

The availability of potable water is decreasing as the world's population increases. In Cambodia, 1 in 7 children die before the age of five from preventable diseases such as typhoid, malnutrition, malaria, dengue. The common denominator in many of these is waterborne illness.

To address this issue Trailblazer is constructing and providing bio-sand water filters. They are a low cost way to provide potable water to impoverished areas from any water source (ie: pump wells, pit wells, rivers, ponds). Bio-sand water filters are a new technology to Cambodia. They are made of gravel, sand and cement at a cost of $45 USD per filter. The filters are easy to construct with locally available materials, install and maintain. They are an excellent compliment to pump wells.

The filtration media consists of a layer of gravel, a layer of course sand, and a layer of fine sand. There is a diffuser plate above the water level to avoid disturbing the naturally occurring biolayer. The biolayer holds the key bacteria essential to removing 98% of biological pathogens and 100% parasites. Water poured through the filter processes at a rate of one liter per minute. Each filter can optimally filter 50 to 80 liters of water per day.

Prior to Trailblazer Foundation, there was no other international aid in Sras village and the result was a high rate of illiteracy, sanitation and health issues. This project is a true definition of "trailblazing" and is our pilot project for expanding to other rural villages. This project, in its entirety, has attracted the attention of other NGO's (non-government organizations), principal politicians, and ministry officials in Cambodia.