The ultra-filtration plant.

Fresh water is something most of us take for granted – yet for people living in countries such as Kenya, having access to safe drinking water is a rare and precious luxury.

A group of Maltese volunteers leaving for Kenya tomorrow will be taking a valuable piece of equipment along with the usual stock of medicine and food: a water filtration unit to convert contaminated water into drinkable water for 600 families.

Doctors, nurses, educators, engineers and builders are among the 35 volunteers who will be travelling to the Diocese of Embu as part of the Kenya Mission International, organised by the New Era Movement.

Work on the unit began around two months ago after Fr Colin Apap approached engineers Michael Attard and Marco Cremona to assist other Maltese engineers in developing water projects for Embu.

The challenge was to construct a water treatment plant which does not require consumables or chemicals

Situated around 150 kilometres north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, Embu’s water source is a borehole which can deliver up to 50,000 litres a day. However, the water extracted is contaminated and can lead to dysentery and cholera.

“The water is microbiologically contaminated, which means that it harbours harmful bacteria,” Eng. Cremona explained to Times of Malta.

“The challenge was to construct a water treatment plant which does not require consumables or chemicals, also keeping in mind that electricity is expensive and intermittent.”

Eng. Cremona designed an ultra-filtration plant, using a membrane which he had obtained in 2005 to conduct research.

The technology is similar to that which he had used to extract potable water from sewage and can produce up to 3,000 litres of water per hour. The membrane contains extremely small pores which block bacteria from passing through.

The plant was purposely made as simply as possible, which would enable anyone to make use of it. The filters can be easily cleaned out while the valves and pump are quick to change.

“In fact, the operating manual is only one page long,” Eng. Cremona smiled.

The ultra-filtration plant would need to be fed by the electricity grid but in order to have a backup in cases when electricity fails, the engineers also built an Ultraviolet Disinfection System which operates with photovoltaic panels.

“We’re also discussing ways of how we can carry over any surplus water to the wider community.”

The unit has been dismantled and labelled accordingly so that the engineers can easily set it up once in Embu.

In addition, the engineering team, in collaboration with the University of Malta, have designed a solar distillation unit which can produce around five litres of water per day – enough to cater for one family.

The solar distillation prototype will be carried to Embu and set up there. The Maltese will then teach the locals how to reproduce as many as they wish.

“The fantastic thing about it is that it is absolutely sustainable – it needs no filters, no electricity and no solar panels.

“It is therefore ideal in remote communities. It can be constructed from local materials, allowing them to make as many as they want.”

Fr Colin described the projects as “invaluable”, which will help prevent the loss of many lives, while empowering the locals to become self-sufficient.

The volunteers will also be working on a dormitory for orphaned children.

“We want to make them happy.”