NVA's "Schoolmade" Water Filtration System

 

HT(2013) 30 September, 2013. Chicago: GCE

 

In my second action project for my Water course, I had to create a filtration system that was supposed to clean pond water. To make my filtration system, I used a gallon water container to hold layers of materials. In my container (from bottom to top), I put cotton, sand, gravel, and dirt.  I also placed a jar under the container to hold and collect the filtered water.  The dirt I collect was from my backyard; the sand, gathered from a sandbag; and the gravel, from a old fish tank. The water was retrieved from my pond in my backyard.

When making a filtration system, collect supplies. Then, cut open the bottom of the water container. Next, stuff in 2 hands full of cotton.  Then add the gravel on top of the cotton.  Next, put 12 scoops of sand on top of the gravel.  Top the sand with 5 big scoops of dirt.  After layering materials in this manner, poke a hole in the cap with some scissors.   Set the bottle on a jar. Lastly, pour the water through. I thought my filtration system would work well, because all the supplies that are on my materials list are very common. Also, I knew that the carbon would work because many common water filters use carbon to clean water.  I also learned in my class that activated carbon binds to the impurities in the water.  Another reason I had a feeling my system would work is because ground filtration uses dirt, gravel, and sand in the ground to catch big chunks of bacteria. I chose not drink the filtered water, because I didn’t want to get sick from an ineffective filter.

Prior to filtration, I observed the water to be a dark greenish color (pH 5).  After filtration, I observed the water to be a light green color.  I could also see that the layers in the filter removed big chunks of debris from the water, because the debris would get stuck in the layers, while the water would drain through the gaps in the materials.  When I added a pinch of activated carbon to the water and filtered it through coffee filters, the water turned clearer.  When I measured my final pH at the end of the filtration, it was a pH of 6.  In other words, the water turned more basic after filtration,  -log[0.001]

REFERENCES

“ Water Purification” n.p. Practical Primitive, May/June 2010.  Web. Retrieved 1 Oct 2013.

“ How To Make A Water Filter” n.p. Wilderness Survival Skills, 2013. Web. Retrieved 1 Oct 2013