Calgary-based biosand filter organization celebrating 30 years of providing clean water
The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) has recorded 1.7 million biosand filters built in communities all over the world, thanks to the training the charity has provided since 2001.
Taryn Meyers, senior manager of marketing and engagement, says they're made with simple elements that can be found locally and consist mainly of concrete and filtered sand.
"You have a layer of sand that is specifically sifted so that it's the right size and the right mix," Meyers said.
"Then, you pour your water in and the water that goes in it actually creates a microbiological layer and that's the part that's special about it. This microbiological layer, it consumes all the bad organisms that would make you sick."
Meyers has travelled all over the world promoting the biosand filter and often hears how it's changing the lives of people struggling with safe drinking water.
Her last trip was to Kenya.
"When people have healthy water, their world changes, their life changes, kids are going to school, girls are staying in school, they're not spending three hours collecting water each and every day and then drinking it and it's making them sick," she said.
"When I asked a woman what she does now that she has safe water nearby, she told me that she has time to do laundry, and that her kids have a meal to eat at lunch when they come home from school."
Meyers says many people living in North America take accessible clean drinking water for granted.
But in 1993, a University of Calgary professor came up with a solution to help millions of people around the world have access to drinking water that won't make them sick.
"Dr. David Manz developed (the biosand filter) in 1993 at the University of Calgary," she said.
"One of the people that learned about it was our co-founder, Camille Dow Baker, and she started CAWST for the humanitarian distribution of this filter to make sure that it could get to the farthest reaches of the world where people need safe water the most."
For the first time in four years, CAWST is hosting workshops for people to learn how to build the biosand filter, so they can travel to other parts of the world and teach people how to make their own.
Mohammad Maarefi is going into his second year of chemical engineering at the University of Calgary.
He's representing a group called Project 90 that helps a number of NGOs with research projects.
He wants to learn how the biosand filter works.
"It was really the simplicity that caught me and actually, it is really what I wanted to do with chemical engineering," he said.
"I want to work in sustainability, so I already have a lot of past experience with solar, so just anything related to sustainability in general."
He's enjoying the hands-on learning.
"This is kind of what every engineer dreams to do in general," he said.
"Just get hands-on with a team of like-minded people. Everyone's doing it for the same cause, per se to help humanity. You get that vibe and it's just really, really fulfilling. It's awesome."
Jacob Amengor, also attending the University of Calgary as a master's student, received his first degree in water sanitation at the University of Ghana.
Now, he's in civil engineering, specializing in environmental engineering.
He's also the chair of the International Water Association's Young Water Professionals committee and wants to put the biosand filter to use in his home country.
"In Ghana, I started a social enterprise where we build solar mechanized water systems in rural, hard-to-reach communities so that they can have access to clean water," he said.
"And what I'm thinking that this will do for me is that there are some of these communities that have surface water, they have streams, they have rivers, so having this biosand filter in their house makes it easy for them to get water and then treat it with their biosand filter."
The 12 people enrolled in the four-day course will take what they've learned and soon help others around the world.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.