“The human right entitles everyone to sufficient, safe and acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use,” UN General Comment No. 15 on the Right to Water.
Water has its existence since the inception of earth. Thus, access to clean drinking water is a human need and right of every male, female and child. We all deserve safe drinking water but the shrinking of water resources has been adding fuel to the fire. Water holds substantial meaning in life and is the adamant element in sustaining the nature but 1.1 billion people has no access to water and 2.7 billion people experience water scarcity at least one month a year. According to studies, two-third of people across the globe will be facing water shortages by 2025 [1].
Below you can have a look on NADI filter. NADI is a clay vessel designed to produce fresh drinking water by multi-layers of sand in it. The small container at the top of NADI vessel is known as Mutca.
Source: Field Office Pak Mission Society, Khipro City
However, the current scenario of drinking clean water in Pakistan has reached an alarming stage where 30-40% deaths nationwide linked to poor water quality (UN & GOP, 2020). The deficit in water is undermining prosperity, health and economic growth. Every year, 53,000 Pakistani children die by drinking bacterially contaminated water, says UNICEF. There are many practical, technological and environmental challenges to have sustainable water resources in Pakistan [2]. The ecosystem of the earth laid it foundation on water cycle but without water the nature may collapse. The water scarcity in Pakistan has been destroying human potential on an epic scale. The current situation adumbrates the need of hour to innovate the water purification technology that is sustainable and widely available. On average, a person should drink 3.7 liters for each day [3]. NADI filter has the potential to meet the demand of clean drinking water in water scarcity regions in Pakistan i.e. Sindh Province and South Punjab. Following is the list of organizations for their contribution to provide clean drinking water in the region.
Lower Sindh Rural Development Association [4]
Association of humanitarian development [5]
Arche Nova [6]
Association for the development of Pakistan [7]
Pak mission society [8]
There are various technologies available from indigenous to conventional and from conventional to state-of-the-art to purify water for drinking purposes. The selection of water purification technology depends on the nature of water available and economic cost. Above all, the economics sustainability is the most important aspect of the technology. In this perspective, NADI filter meets the description of the problem and provides sustainable solution to the cause. In fact, the concept is widely accepted in the region. NADI is a vessel made of clay and widely available in coastal areas and desert areas in Sindh province. In English term “NADI filter” is known as “Bio-sand Filter”.
NADI filter was first designed by Lower Sindh Rural Development Association (LSRDA) located in Mirpurkhas [3]. The technology has been gaining currency due to low cost and water scarcity across various cities in Pakistan particularly in South Punjab and Sindh Province. NADI Filter has reached many coastal areas in Sindh Province including Acchro desert, Nara desert and Cholistan desert which is located in South Punjab. The NADI filter has been playing a vital role to meet the demand of water purification and impacting the human health at large scale. Two NADI filters shown in the following figures display the major parts of the bio-sand filter. The lower part of the filter known as NADI in local language and the upper part is known as Mutca a known pot to carry water inside it from one place to another. NADI is the main part of the filter in which stones, gravels, and sand are placed to make a sand bed. The sand bed varies in particle size from top to the bottom and vice versa. For simple understanding, the largest size particles are placed at the very bottom of the NADI known as stone layer. Above the stone layer, there is a layer of drainage gravel. Third layer of bed is known as separation gravel and so on.
The NADI filter functions in a very simple way. The filter is simply an optimized residence for the “good microbes” that eat up the microbes that cause diseases. They require a stable surface to live on with a constant supply of dirty water and oxygen to feed. The sand in the filter provides an enormous surface area for them to live on and they multiply to fill this space. This takes two to three weeks to establish. Over the next four weeks, water is far better and meet all the drinking standards set WHO. This is bio-sand placed at the very top of NADI filter. The bed layer is thick enough to sustain pathogens and viruses to be trapped by sand eaten by good bacteri or friend bacteria.
Source: During Experiment at Pak Mission Society Field Office, Khipro City
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Reference
1. J. A. Aziz, “Management of source and drinking-water quality in Pakistan,” East. Mediterr. Heal. J., vol. 11, no. 5–6, pp. 1087–1098, 2005.
2. The US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering & Medicines.
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