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Tariq Ali Takim

Ms. Collins

Grade 9 Science

27/05/2018

Like many poor countries in Africa, Tanzania struggles to provide its people with

access to clean drinking water. Approximately 26 million people within Tanzania don’t have

access to clean water, that’s about half of the entire population ​(WaterAid).​ In a country where

the climate is arid/semi-arid it makes it challenging for people to have easy access to sterile

water ​(Shore).​ Even when people are able to find water, the water tends to be contaminated

with bacteria and microorganisms that causes illness through water borne diseases. Many of

the groundwater wells are located near toxic drainage systems, which ends up leaking into

the clean water making it toxic. Water Borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera as well

as illnesses such as malaria have a significant effect on the local population living in the

slums.

The salmonella typhi bacterium that causes typhoid is normally found in the dirty

drinking water consumed by the people ​(Almeida).​ One of the main causes of cholera in

Tanzania would be that vegetables and other foods are grown and treated with

contaminated water, when this contaminated food is consumed, the bacteria releases a toxin

in the small intestine which causes severe diarrhea ​(WebMD).​ Every year 3,394 children

under the age of 5 die from diarrhea ​(WaterAid).​ Finally there is Malaria which is in between a

water borne disease and a normal illness, all though malaria can not occur from drinking

contaminated water, the contaminated water causes a breeding ground for mosquitoes to lay

their eggs which leaves people in the slums more vulnerable to the illness.
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The rural areas is where most of the lower class people tend to settle, these areas

consists of poor sanitation and poor infrastructure leaving the people vulnerable to all these

waterborne diseases and illnesses that especially flourish during the seasonal rains. Every

year around 24,000 Tanzanians die from waterborne diseases, 16,500 of them being

children ​("Water Contamination" 5:42).​ The goal of our project is to try and provide the local

population with water filters that will allow them to purify the contaminated water that they

collect before drinking it. If this is successful it could save thousands of lives every year.
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The water purification process that I have been working on consists of common

methods merged into one. Fist the contaminated water is sent through a filter that I’ve made

using natural materials. Filtration is one of the most effective ways to purify water. The

method of filtering uses chemical and/or physical processes to purify the water so humans

are able to consume it ​(Kinetico).​ The prototype filter is made using plastic bottles and at the

top of the bottle we’ve attached a piece of cloth. The materials within the bottle consist of

Fine sand, crushed charcoal, small pebbles and large rocks. As the contaminated water gets

poured into the filter it goes through each layer as shown in the diagram below. Through

filtration the rocks and pebbles in the first and second layer removes both large and small

compounds as well as contaminants that cause diseases. For the third layer we use crush

activated charcoal as it has a large internal surface area full of narrow spaces that trap the

dirt and chemical impurities through a process called adsorption. The next layer in the filter is

fine sand, which consists of very small particles of sand that have a large surface area

leaving minimal space for the water to travel. The sand helps to trap any small bags or

organisms, algae, dirt and any other large particles in the water ​(Agriculture and Agri-Food

Canada).​ Finally we finish off the filter with a piece of cloth that strains the water leaving us

with the purified and de-contaminated water which drips into a beaker or bucket placed

underneath.

After the filtration process, we continue the water treatment by boiling the water.

Boiling water is an old yet effective treatment for drinking water and is one of the cheapest

and safest methods of purification ​(Kinetico).​ The filtered water will be put over a stove or fire

until it reaches boiling point. The water needs to be heated until the first few big bubbles

appear to ensure that it is pathogen free. Parasites and germs are things that the human eye

is unable to see and by boiling water we can eliminate the life threatening effects that they

cause towards humans. After using the two common methods of filtration and boiling it’s
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almost safe to say that the treatment will kill bacteria and parasites and provide clean

drinking water for the people of Tanzania.

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Water treatment design and prototype:

→
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The outcome of the water after filtering and before boiling:

The outcome of the water after filtering and boiling:

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In order to check if the water treatment works and does actually purify the water we

conducted an experiment. In the experiment we checked the clarity of the water before and

after the treatment then we compared it to the clarity level of clean drinking water. To

measure the clarity of the water we use a colorimeter which is a device that passes a light

through the water and measures the acidity of the water soluble substances which is the PH

level ​(BBC).​This can indicate to us whether the water is relatively clean or if there are still

some impurities lurking within the water. We first took the dirty water provided by Ms. Collins

and we measured it in the colorimeter, the PH result read 37.60. Then we took clean

drinking water from the water dispensers outside the science room and measured it, it had a

PH result of 100.15. The two results differentiate by a PH level of 62.55 which is quite a

significant number.

For the next part of the experiment we took the dirty water and poured it into the filter.

It took about 15/30 min for all the water to come out again but based on sight it was already

looking much cleaner. After all the water in the filter was out we placed the beaker that had

the water in it on top of a bunsen burner and waited for it to boil. Once it reached boiling

point we switched of the bunsen burner and waited for around 5 min for the water to cool.

We then took the water and put it into the colorimeter, it gave us a reading of 93.58 PH. This

reading is astounding and tells us that the water treatment process we’ve made does

actually help make dirty water cleaner.

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Positive impacts of Potential negative

your water treatment aspects

system

The people will be drinking safer water. Durability of the filter may not be that great.

They walk all that distance to get water that The filter’s resources (Water, pebbles, sand

is normally always contaminated/dirty. They and coal) will have to be changed often in

can now put this water through the order to maintain cleaner water.

purification process using my purifier.

It’s very cheap to make. Not all the germs and contaminants are

removed from filtered water.

Filtration helps remove harmful toxins in the Fuel consumption from boiling water on a

water. stove goes up making it more costly

depending on how long the flame is used

for ​ (Shrestha et al.).

Our water treatment process is easy to use. The people who aren’t able to boil their

water won’t get the full treatment required

on their water.

Boiling water is one of the cheapest and Using firewood to create the flame to boil

safest methods of purification. Parasites the water contributes towards deforestation

and germs are eliminated through boiling and air pollution.

(Shrestha et al.).
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Boiling water is a very easy process that Filtering the water and boiling it takes some

many people have access to. time to do.

A person can get burnt badly if the boiling

water touches their skin.

We won’t be able to distribute the filter on a

massive scale straight away. Tanzania has

a lot of people living in poverty so it will take

us time to reach out to all of them.

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The system will have a very large impact on the Tanzanian society,environment and

economy in a positive way. The society will be less vulnerable to water borne diseases and

illnesses as the water will be cleaner. This will allow families in poverty to spend the money

they would normally use for healthcare on other things like food and education for their

children. The local women normally walk far distances in order to collect water that is

normally always contaminated and dirty. Now they are able to purify the water through the

filter making their long journey worth it. The government and NGOS are not always able to

reach out and provide to all the lower class citizens. The people will not have to depend on

the government and NGOS as much and will be able to provide themselves with clean

water. The resources used to make the filter (rocks, pebbles, charcoal and sand) are easily

accessible. After a few uses of the filter the materials inside need to be changed to maintain

its effectiveness so these easy materials to find will make it convenient for the locals. The

system costs around $2 which is very cheap and affordable for locals, three in ten

Tanzanians survive on less than $1.25 per day so a cheap water filter is helpful for the

population ​(WaterAid).

The system does however have a few negative aspects to it. The use of charcoal

makes it not very eco friendly as it’s contributing to the destruction of trees. Charcoal is

made by burning wood without allowing it to receive oxygen, the filter is increasing the use of

charcoal in the Tanzanian society. The charcoal required in the filter needs to be crushed but

many will not be able to make crushed charcoal for their filter. If the charcoal was not in the

filter it will change the outcome of the water as it has a crucial role in the purification and the

process of removing bacteria and impurities. The system is relatively small meaning that a

large sufficient amount of water will not be able to go in at one time. The filter can only

contain small amounts of water at a time, this is very time consuming and frustrating for the

people as it takes a while for there to be a large and sufficient amount of water for ones

family. Although the system is very cheap it’s not very durable as all the materials will need
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changing after a few times of filtering. This constant requirement to replace the resources is

not very time-efficient for most people, people will get lazy and probably won’t change the

materials as much as required which shall reduce the effectiveness of the water treatment.

Finally the boiling part in the whole process is not very safe as there is a high risk of injury

and in order to boil the water one must use a stove which contributes to air pollution or fire

wood which contributes to deforestation ​(Pure Process Technology).​ Hot boiling water can

cause severe injuries including first degree burns, third degree burns and some cases even

include death.

After carefully analyzing the pros and cons of this water treatment system, the filter

seems to be a device that will help Tanzania’s water problems in a positive manner. It has

various positives such as, prevention of waterborne diseases, helping the people become

more self sufficient and they are getting value for all their hard work from carrying the water

long distances. Of course there are a few negatives such as the effect on the environment

from the charcoal, the energy used to boil the water and the fact that there is a high risk of

injury from the boiling water but the benefits that the people will get will surely make up for

these negative factors. In conclusion we believe that this product will be successful and will

help save the lives of thousands of Tanzanians through clean drinking water.
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Works Cited

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “Filtration: How Does It Work?” ​Agriculture and Agri-Food

Canada​, Canada.ca, 13 Aug. 2015,

www.agr.gc.ca/eng/science-and-innovation/agricultural-practices/water/ponds-and-dugouts/f

arm-surface-water-management/filtration-how-does-it-work-/?id=1189695164631. Accessed

27 May 2018.

Almeida, Minoll. “What Is the Link between Typhoid Fever and Dirty Water?” ​The Asian

Parent Singapore​, TheAsianparent, 2018,

sg.theasianparent.com/link-typhoid-fever-dirty-water/. Accessed 27 May 2018.

BBC. “The PH Scale.” ​BBC Bitesize​, BBC, 2014,

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_pre_2011/chemical_synthesis/acidsal

kalisrev2.shtml. Accessed 27 May 2018.

Biotech Water Researchers. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Water Filtration.” ​Biotech​,

Biotech Water Researchers, 2018,

www.biotechwater.com/advantages-disadvantages-water-filtration/. Accessed 27 May 2018.

Homequicks. “How to Make a Homemade Water Filter.” ​Homequicks.com​, Homequicks.

Accessed 27 May 2018.

Kelly, Jane. ​Boiling Water​. 6 July 2016. I​ stock​, iStockphoto, 2018,

www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/boiling-water?excludenudity=true&sort=mostpopular&med

iatype=illustration&phrase=boiling%20water. Accessed 27 May 2018.

Kinetico. “4 Methods to Purify Your Water.” ​Kinetico Water Systems​, Kinetico, 2015,
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www.schultzsoftwater.com/blog/4-methods-to-purify-your-water. Accessed 27 May 2018.

Pure Process Technology. “Environmental Effect of Water Purification.” ​PPT​, Pure Process

Technology, 2 Oct. 2017,

pureprocesstechnology.com/environmental-effect-water-purification/. Accessed 27 May

2018.

Shore, Rebecca. “Water in Crisis - Tanzania.” ​The Water Project​, Water Project, 2008,

thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-tanzania. Accessed 27 May 2018.

Shrestha, Lerica, et al. “Boiling.” ​SSWM​, 27 Apr. 2018,

www.sswm.info/sswm-university-course/module-6-disaster-situations-planning-and-prepared

ness/further-resources-0/boiling. Accessed 27 May 2018.

WaterAid. “Tanzania.” ​Wateraid.org​, WaterAid, www.wateraid.org/where-we-work/tanzania.

Accessed 27 May 2018.

“Water Contamination in Tanzania | DW Documentary.” ​YouTube​, uploaded by DW

Documenatry, 8 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVootV6EUU4. Accessed 27 May

2018.

WebMD. “Cholera.” ​Cholera: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention​, WebMD,

www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/cholera-faq#1. Accessed 27 May 2018.