Introducing the British Berkefeld filter - something you can count on when the chips are down

The latest earthquake in New Zealand (Christchurch and surrounding area, 4 Sep 2010, 4:35a.m. Saturday, 7.1 magnitude) got me thinking about the supply of water again but this time round it prompted me to pen it down. (Long post as follows)

If you have been following this year's (2010) natural disasters - earthquakes in Haiti, Chile; flood in Pakistan, public water supply has always been a fragile creature. Infrastructure can be destroyed, piping and storage tanks can be broken.

In Pakistan, the deluge caused natural sources of water (e.g. wells, springs, streams) to be contaminated with whatever the flood water carried - human and animal waste, pathogens from corpses and carcasses, pesticides from farms, heavy metals from industry. In the short term though, it was the water borne diseases that caused the most problems - diarrhea, dysentry, cholera, typhoid etc. The breakdown of sanitation and water supply led to a nightmare for public health (probably nowhere near top notch even before the flood).

Bottled water naturally became a valuable commoditity as seen in Chile when it became one of the top looted items (together with bread and candles). I imagine the same would have occurred in Haiti if there was enough bottled water to go around to be looted.

Being a developed country, New Zealand was spared from serious looting (some still took place according to the news) or outbreaks of water borne diseases. Heck, no one was killed by the quake as according to some experts, the strict building codes to quake-proof its structures have helped. (Compare against 230 000 killed in the Haiti quake.) Nevertheless, the sewage pipes were broken in the quake, allowing sewage to mix into the drinking water supply which probably probably suffered from broken piping too.

Consequently, residents in affected areas were asked to boil their tap water for drinking. I am thinking: these people are lucky (despite the quake and all). They still have electricity or/and gas. Imagine... if you have no gas, no electricity and only sewage infused tap water, how are you going to boil your water?

Imagine some more.... the NZ scenario (without the gas and electricity) happens right here in good old SG (assuming we survive the quake), do you have a wood burning stove and charcoal at home? How about a camp stove with extra gas tanks? The lucky ones will be those NOT using piped gas. The years of effort to heft around those gas cylinders would have been worth it.

Do you have Aquatabs on hand? Bleach? Do you know how much to add into water? Personally, these are not my favourite choices because of strong chlorine taste and many health controversies of overchlorination. By the way, if you opt for bleach, only use the straight ones without extra ingredients e.g. scent.

Boiling is good if you can do it but it only removes the bugs and not all the other nasty stuff (pesticides, metals) in the water. Imagine having a Pakistani scenario here. I will boil my water before running it through a good filter.

I personally recommend the British Berkefeld (or Doulton) gravity filter. (In America, it is sold under the name of Berkey.) No water pressure, no electricity needed. Simply pour your water through the top and collect clean water at the bottom. The key element in the setup is the filter candle with the ATC SuperSterasyl being the best. It has a ceramic outer shell impregnated with silver. The ceramic physically remove microbes and particulate matter from the water while the silver suppresses bacterial growth. The water next enters a granular activated carbon core containing a metal ion removal medium (works by ion exchange, I believe) to eliminate many organic compounds (e.g. pesticides), chlorine and metals (e.g. lead, cadmium).

Figure: The external setup of the British Berkefeld stainless steel gravity filter minus the faucet which should be attached near the bottom. It is certainly not small (this is already the smallest stainless steel model) so it should be used for the family or small group at a static location.

Figure: Opening the lid reveals 3 holes for fixing a filter candle each

Figure: The heart of the filter system - ATC SuperSterasyl filter candle. Notice the white ceramic exterior. Water enters through the ceramic and filtered water leaves through the black nozzle on the right.

Figure: The top portion is removable for fixing the filter candles. Filtered water goes into the bottom portion for dispensing via a faucet.

Having one of these filters will certainly add a great degree of water security to any family. And if you are involved in overseas community projects, keeping one with you serves as insurance, especially if you are not sure of the water quality or source of your drinking water.

This line of filters may be procured locally from Arkwater. Of course, I am in no way affiliated with the company except for purchasing these filters from them.

Dear, we have run out of water from the tap. Can you head to the nearest supermarket and loot some? (Earthquake in Chile)

Different country but same story and ramifications.

Chile was hit by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake on 27 Feb 10, killing at least 700 people by last count. As always, the quest for survival has only started for the survivors. Public utilities like water, gas, electricity and telephone are down. Police presence is barely felt but sorely needed as some parts of the country turn into a looters' paradise.

Imagine a densely populated city like Concepcion (the hardest hit major city) and take away all public utilities. You now have a recipe for social chaos. People become desperate when no water comes out of the tap, the food stalls and supermarkets are closed, no lights to reassure the soul at night, transportation is dysfunctional.... When children get cranky from hunger and thirst, parents are invariably driven nuts.

Cops also face the same challenges and need to take care of their families. It will be lucky if half the police force turns up for work.

Not surprisingly, looting starts and spreads. And the number one items looters look for - water (bottled, packaged, canned), food (bread is a favourite), lighting (candles, torches) and fuel.

Remember, electricity is so ubiquitous in our city lives that if it fails, lots of other systems fail (aka systems built upon other systems in Matrix Reloaded). Even if you want to be law abiding and pay for your groceries, you probably can't do so as the ATMs, NETS (or its equivalent in Chile), cash card and credit card machines are down.

Similarly, even if petrol stations are willing to risk opening for business, their pumps can't work without electricity so your vehicle is only left with whatever gasoline remains in the tank. Therefore, we see footage of looters siphoning fuel from underground storage tanks at petrol kiosks, probably using manual or portable electric pumps.

Throw some opportunistic looters going after electronics and non-essential items in the mix and you have an anarchy brewing.

By the way, the above events are happening just on the second day after the quake. Who knows how ugly the situation will degenerate if utilities remain down for a week, 2 weeks?

One other thing - don't count on your hand phones working either. The base stations or switches may be hit by the earthquake itself or they may have shut down due to the lack of power. Heck, even your own mobile may go "low batt" without a power supply to recharge. (Or are you one of the lucky few to have a crank operated mobile charger? Hint, hint. ) In Chile, the government actually sets up a generator in a public area for people to charge their mobiles. Yes, communications is right at the top of the list, next to water, food and lighting. Another concern is even if the mobile network is all and well, you can expect the network to be jammed in the initial hours after a catastrophe. (This happened right after the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.)

Folks, do keep some supplies at home - water especially, food, candles (torches, batteries), first aid items. If you consume soft drinks, why not reuse the PET bottles to store water instead of dumping them? More environmentally friendly too. If you have empty Lock-and-lock containers lying around, fill them with water. Water is not just for drinking, you still need to wash, bathe, cook and even clear your waste in the W.C.

See my previous post on Haiti for a related discussion.