Community-Scale Biosand Filter Pilot Project in Cambodia

Abstract

Clean water is a basic human necessity that is essential for the health of all population, yet 700 million people worldwide lack access to this vital resource, particularly in developing countries like Cambodia. This results in high incidences of water-borne illnesses due to the use of contaminated sources and is a burden that prevents people from leading productive lives. Slow sand filtration, both on the municipal level and the household level, is a low-cost technology that has been implemented around the world to address this problem, yet biosand filtration has not been widely implemented on a community level due to the lack of tested, effective filter technology. In this pilot project, a community-scale biosand filter was designed, constructed and tested to determine if it can meet the water needs of a small floating village in the Siem Reap Province of Cambodia. With the collaboration of local partner organizations, this project demonstrated that community-scale biosand filters are a viable and effective solution to rural clean water challenges in Cambodia.