A problem and a solution
People caught in a disaster-devastated area always need clean water. By clean we mean without bacteria – those little unseen critters that make people sick with diseases such as Cholera. Without clean water, people cannot maintain their health and strength and they cannot begin recovery.
Ron Mathis and the Texas Baptist Men’s Water Ministry, the group Ron chairs, are very aware of the importance of potable water. They travel to impoverished or war-torn parts of the world and into places wrecked by natural disasters.
Just Water Ceramic Drip-Filter
To provide clean, drinkable water to these areas, the Texas Baptist Men initiated the development of a practical, inexpensive, but very effective, ceramic water filter. They call it the “Just Water Ceramic Drip-Filter.”
Ron described it as, “A ceramic, half-micron water filter that removes water-borne bacterium.” In March 2011, the filter hole size was reduced from .5 to .2 micron (a 60% reduction). Nothing gets past this filter. Some Hospitals are using the water directly for IV tubes.
The inside of the filter is loaded with different media or ingredients, such as man-made carbons, mother nature carbons and man-made resins. Those different resins and carbons remove the different contaminants in the water. “So if we know where a person will be taking and using this filter,” Ron said, “we can load that filter with the correct media. That will provide the filter with a bacteria wall that will remove the bacterium as well as media in the filter to absorb chemical contaminants.”
Every Household needs one
Every household in the world would do well to have a filter on hand. How often do we get a boil-your-water order right here in America? After the Japanese disaster, the number one problem was safe drinking water. This is the number one problem facing survivors of most disasters. And the disaster does not have to be more than a broken water pipe in your neighborhood.
According to Ron, teaching people how to assemble the Just Water Ceramic Drip-Filter does not require printed instructions or even the ability to speak the local language. Individuals only have to watch someone put this water filter together to learn how to do it. Nor does the assembly call for any unusual or hard-to-find tools.
“This is the simplest form of water filtration that you could have,” Ron said. "It’s extremely simple to use and maintain. Easy-to-use was one of our main goals. Every time we design a filter system – small or large – simplicity has to be part of that design, or it’s just a waste of time and money. In general the units will filter 5,000 gallons of water. The filter can be cleaned with a simple abrasive pad.
Putting the Just Water Ceramic Drip-Filter to use only requires two plastic, same-size containers with lids and a knife or some other tool that will cut a hole in plastic.
Ron said, “This is a two-bucket system, one mounted atop the other. The buckets or containers must be plastic, but they can be almost any size – two-gallon, five-gallon or ten-gallon. Size doesn’t really matter. My personal filter that I travel with all over the world is two, plastic, Folgers coffee cans.”
Assembly begins by cutting two holes: one in the bottom of the top bucket and one in the lid of the bottom bucket. The filter is then centered in the top bucket, with its stem going through the hole. That stem is threaded, so it can be secured with a wing nut.
The top bucket is then mounted atop the bottom bucket, with the filter stem going through the hole in the lid of the bottom bucket.
“When you put water in the top bucket,” Ron said, “it passes through the filter, into the hollow stem and drips into the bottom bucket.”
The Texas Baptist Men have enhanced their Just Water Ceramic Drip-Filter by also developing a pre-filter sock and a spigot. The sock, which fits over and protects the filter, can be secured with a rubber band. It’s used in areas with extremely turbid water that has contaminants such as fish scales or fecal matter. And the spigots provide a handy, easily installed faucet.
We also have available, as an option, buckets and a small hand pump to increase the through-put of the water by 5 times. Another option is a simple lid that can handle a hand pump.
Note: This is for the .5 micron filter. The new .2 micron filter is even more effective.
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, as well as other laboratories, have tested the Just Water Ceramic Drip-Filter. They found the system very effective in filtering all bacteria from laboratory test water. Click here to read a recent email from Johns Hopkins.
Monolithic’s president David B. South said, "We plan to tell anyone and everyone involved in a DFTW (Domes For The World) project about these filters. They are sorely needed everywhere. We also have the same types of units for under sink, whole house use. And for neighborhoods and towns.
“And we here in the U.S.,” he added, “would be wise to consider making this effective, inexpensive water filter as a part of our 72-hour emergency kit and supplies. In an unforeseen disaster, you could filter water from ANY source and make it perfectly safe. You could use rainwater, creek water, standing water in culverts, etc.”
For prices and ordering information, please visit the Monolithic Marketplace
Note: We first published this article in October 2007.