2006 Environment Award Laureate
Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji
| Laureate Country: Nigeria |
| Project Country: Nigeria |
| Website: www.ruralafrwadp.org |
| Video: 2006Videos/joachim ezeji.mov |
Project Overview:
Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji's Mor-sand filter is an improved adaptation of the slow sand filter combining the processes of coagulation offered by the moringa oleifers seed, indigenous to Nigeria, and filtration to significantly reduce the concentration of micro-organisms in water. Coagulation, a traditional first unit process in conventional water treatment is crucial for the removal of impurities in water. Proper coagulation followed by sedimentation and filtration can achieve more than 99 percent reduction in bacteria and viruses.
Problem Addressed:
Public health concerns associated with industrial pollution, high population density, and poorly managed on-site sanitation systems are still rife in Nigeria. Over 10 million people found in the oil-bearing Niger Delta are vulnerable to these concerns. The fragile nature of the environment, coupled with the flawed process of awarding water contracts have often resulted in poorly developed water systems that were never sustainable. Other problems such as contamination from leachate plumes and organic growth from oxygen intake during pumping combine to make clean drinking water a scarce commodity in the entire area. As of today many abandoned and comatose boreholes dot the entire landscape. Presently, the establishment of a waterborne sewage system is not even a priority to the government because of water-logged nature of the terrain, while the environmental regulatory laws have not been well enforced. On the other hand, efforts to build new latrine or sanitation systems have largely remained unsuccessful. Reasons associated with such failure have largely been traceable to environmental and technical shortcomings.
Technology Solution:
Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji's Mor-sand Filter is an integrated water quality improvement system that combines the coagulant Moringa (seed) powder with slow sand filtration. This filter offers an intervention at the household level. It adopts the combined processes of coagulation, predation, absorption and mechanical filtration to make water clean. It markedly differs from other filters by its adoption of these processes and its combination of the individual strengths of slow sand filtration with the effectiveness offered by coagulation using Moringa powder. In this way, it effectively rids the drinking water of health threatening impurities.
