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One unit can treat up to 5000 liters a day, which is usually enough to
cater for the needs of a community of about 1250 people or 250 households. The filtration component
can be powered through the regular grid or via a solar panel. The UV bulb has a lifetime of 8000
hours of operation, after which certain parts have to be replaced. Fine and activated carbon filters
should be changed regularly (once every 3-6 months) A local technician can carry out operation and
minor maintenance activities, but major maintenance has to be looked after by a qualified
technician.
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The community is fully involved in the activity, a Water Committee is
created which selects a representative in each village with the agreement of village Committee and
villagers. A day of training is conducted with the new Committee to explain the management and
monitoring of the small enterprise.
Hygiene training was held in five villages. The training was conducted
by the Lao Red Cross team. The purpose of the training was to improve hygiene awareness focusing on
drinking water, cooking and the use of bottled water.
The training took a day per village involving preferentially women and
children.
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In the past eight years, the system has been installed in over 30 sites
in Laos.
When replicating, some basic conditions should be in place:
1. An organized community to oversee the management of the activity;
2. Funding; costs can be broght down by community members contributing with labour;
3. Technical requirements for the installation of the system;
4. Raw water could be found with specific pollution and in that case a specific study and water
analysis should be performed. It will require accordingly additional purification equipment, designed
according to the
case.
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