Thailand Water

In Brief:

This project seeks to provide an affordable, culturally acceptable water purification and filtering system to villagers in the Tha Mai Ruak district, Thailand. Infectious disease and diarrhea are among the major causes of economic disadvantage and death in developing countries. The people of Tha Mai Ruak district in Thailand suffer from diarrheal problems resulting from the lack of adequate water treatment systems. Prior to this project, the villagers only had access to drinking water from the Phetchaburi River, which contained numerous chemicals and pathogens affecting the villagers’ health. The newly designed water filtering system is made of two components: a governmentally provided pipe where chlorine is added, and three PVC pipes made by students at the International School of Bangkok that contain layers of gravel and sand, manganese, carbon and ion exchange resin. Whilst the water samples have passed the standard test for chemical content, further improvement is needed to eliminate bacteria and traces of mercury.

Category:

Water and sanitation; ecology; hydrology; environmental sustainability.

Current Status:

Science for Humanity is currently facilitating collaboration between the seeker, International School of Bangkok, and solvers Professor Voranuch Wangsupachart, Marianela Araya-Quesada and Rafael Vagas to find a sustainable solution to this problem. In particular these researchers are considering innovative strategies to improve the design of the water filtering system and methods to remove E. coli and mercury from the drinking water.

Requirements:

Science for Humanity requires additional scientists and researchers to conduct water sample analysis, evaluate the existing design of the water filtering system for its efficiency, provide a list of water treatment options to educate the villagers and create a manual to teach students and villagers how to maintain the system themselves. We are also seeking funds to cover project expenses in order to aid the researchers in delivering access to cleaner drinking water to the Tha Mai Ruak community.

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Project Impact:

A solution to this challenge can provide approximately 216 households with access to cleaner drinking water and reduce the of spread water-borne diseases. Providing the community with an improved water filtering system will have an immediate impact on their health and economic well-being, as the adults will be able to work and children will be able to attend school. The solution will also be applicable to other Thai villages as well as other developing communities around the region suffering from similar water quality issues.

Get Involved:

To see more details or to get involved join the Thailand Water Group on our membership area here