Keith's Dad and Luke climbing rocks by Lake Victoria

 

What does it take to get clean water here in Musoma, Tanzania?

First, where does our water come from?

The water comes from Lake Victoria. So, unlike many parts of Tanzania which don’t have easy access to water, we have lots of water.

Picture from friend, during rainy season here

You have lots of water- So what’s the problem?

It’s not clean!

Not only can’t we drink the water from the lake, it’s not safe to touch it! This is because there is bacteria in the lake that can make us very sick. It is worse close to the edge of the lake because it is carried by snails. If the water sits (in a container) for 3 days, then this bacteria will die and the water is safe to handle, but not to drink. We could also get things like Typhoid or ameba from drinking unfiltered water.

We need to have filtered water for drinking and brushing teeth. We also need to be careful when we take showers, because if we get any water in our mouth, it could make us sick. This can be a challenge for children to understand and be careful of.

The town of Musoma pumps water out of the lake and it is piped into our homes.

So, there are two issues with the water.


Whole house water filter with string filter

1. The dirt in the water.
    
    
2. Health risks in the water. The waters of Lake Victoria have bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other pollutants. We used to buy fresh fish from neighbors, until we found out they used poison to 'catch' their fish.  



We use a variety of methods to deal with dirt. First we use ‘whole house’ filters which are directly in the water lines. This helps reduce the dirt, but not by much. I usually use string filters. I have tried higher end filters, but the water was so dirty it clogged them within a day. I can’t afford to put in a new high end filter every day!

For general water use, washing hands, showers, washing floors, we just know the water is already dirty. During the raining season the water is really dirty. This is because the storms stir up the dirt in the lake. See the picture of water being run into a bath tub. It’s not usually this bad, but this is what we are trying to clean up!

First we run the water through a sand filter.


Sand filter, dirty water in top, drains into bucket



Next we run that water through a ceramic filter, such as a Katadyn filter system. There are various other options (such as Tulip Filters from India, and Iodine filters).





3 Ceremic filters

Katadyn ceremic filter, dirty water in top

After that the drinking water is stored in used water bottles (which are only cleaned with filtered water). We have to make sure that we have a good supply on hand at all times. If you have company over, you can go through a lot of drinking water quickly. This water also needs to be used for brushing teeth. We also always try to have 4-5 bottles in the refrigerator.


 So- If you live in a part of the world where you can safely brush your teeth or drink water directly from the faucet, Don’t take it for granted!



stock pile of water in water bottles


More info on the filters:

This is what the inside of the sand filter looks like.

 

For more info on sand filters, just Google sand filters in Africa. Here is one sample site.

http://practicalaction.org/appeal_community_info

Katadyn Water Drip Filters

http://www.katadyn.com/usen/katadyn-products/products/katadynshopconnect/katadyn-water-filters-endurance-series-products/katadyn-drip-ceradyn/

Tulip Water Filters around $15, but would need to have 3 to be similar to Katadyn)

http://www.tulipwaterfilters.com/

There are also some filter units that use iodine to help purify the water.