Household Reverse Osmosis UnitsReverse Osmosis (RO) filters are able to remove both chemical and particulate (microbes for example) contaminants. An RO filter is a semi-permeable membrane with pores that are up to 30, 000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, allowing only pure water to pass through. The Safe Drinking Water Foundation sells extremely high quality household Reverse Osmosis (RO) units that will ensure your family is drinking clean water. For more information click here.Educational Webinar Sessions!Educational webinars are similar to conference calls except that they are conducted via the computer rather than the telephone and people from all over the world can join in with no cost to them. Webinars allow information to be presented (i.e., PowerPoint presentations) over the Internet to a large number of participants who can communicate by talking, typing, and using the wide range of emoticons available in the webinar software. Participants taking part in the webinar need a computer and access to the Internet. A headset to communicate with other participants is beneficial but not required. A wide range of issues are discussed in each session, ranging from water related issues to troubleshooting complex water treatment challenges to the best methods to use the Safe Drinking Water Foundation’s education programs in the classroom. If you are a water operator, teacher, student, community leader, concerned citizen, or just interested in water issues, you can take part in the next webinar session. The Safe Drinking Water Foundation is holding webinars every two weeks, for more information email info@safewater.org or register to take part in the next session.Operation Water DropElementary teachers can demonstrate seven scientific tests on their own community drinking water and high school teachers can guide their students to conduct six additional analytical tests. High school students can test three water samples in addition to their local water. This program encourages students to develop “critical thinking skills” which will empower them to become actively involved in issues such as ensuring safe drinking water within their community, and on a global scale. Click here to find out more!Operation Water PollutionA program useful for grades five to twelve, the students discover how water pollution is reversed and what they can do to affect change in their community with regards to water pollution. Click here to find out more!Operation Water HealthThrough a variety of activities and cooperative learning strategies, the students explore common disease-causing microbes found in water, how these microbes are removed or inactivated in water with water treatment, and the diseases these microbes cause when they are not identified and treated in drinking water systems. Click here to find out more!Operation Water FlowOWF encourages students to establish the true cost of water (economic and environmental); the social responsibilities of providing safe drinking water; the need for national regulations; and the need for water conservation and source water protection, etc. Click here to find out more!Operation Water SpiritA collection of thematic units and lesson plans which will reinforce Aboriginal culture and perspectives regarding water for Aboriginal students - while at the same time provide an Aboriginal perspective to non-Aboriginal students about water issues. Operation Water Spirit invites teachers to encourage classroom discussions to enable students to gain a closer understanding of Aboriginal issues and perspectives surrounding drinking water. Click here to find out more!Template for ChangeIncludes 12 DVDs contained in one wallet. Presentations are by engineers, microbiologists and scientists from around the world giving a global perspective, and an independent, non-government look at water issues. Students can then organize community awareness evenings to pass on their newfound knowledge to community citizens and leaders. This is also an opportunity for students to fundraise by charging a small admission fee to attendees. Click here to find out more!Images LibraryThe SDWF has compiled a library of photos in specific categories for students and teachers to download and use for educational purposes. Check it out...Anaerobic WatersWhen high levels of nutrients are released into water bodies (i.e., rivers, streams, lakes, etc.), the result is the proliferated growth of algae, which consumes all the available oxygen. This unregulated growth starves the water of oxygen and kills other oxygen dependant organisms (i.e., fish, crustaceans, etc.) including itself. This is called eutrophication, and can occur when waste water treatment plants release raw sewage, resulting in turbid and pungent smelling water.Poor Source Water and the IBROMWhen you take the drinking water produced by a conventional water treatment system at Saddle Lake Cree Nation you get a "drinking water" which is a combination of these two pails. The RO that is the final step in the IBROM process splits and discards the waste water (pail on left) and leaves the community with truly safe drinking water (pail on the right). Click here to read more about IBROM! Sustainable CommunitiesLarge amounts of chemicals, such as the ones shown above, are typically required when treating poor source water with conventional drinking water treatment systems (i.e., manganese greensand). Since the installation of the Integrated Biological and Reverse Osmosis Membrane (IBROM) treatment system at George Gordon FN in Saskatchewan, large amounts of chemicals are no longer needed, as the IBROM system uses virtually zero chemicals. It is estimated that George Gordon FN (a population of 1200 people) saves over $100,000 in chemical costs per annum since the installation of the IBROM treatment system. In addition to being extremely cost effective, the IBROM treatment system is very environmentally friendly, as it uses 98% less water than the previous system for membrane cleanings. To learn more about the IBROM treatment system, please click here!Source Water ProtectionSource water protection refers to protecting groundwater and surface water from pollution. Pollutants can come in the form of industrial waste, untreated human waste, and agricultural fertilizers to name a few. Once these water supplies become polluted, it makes water treatment more challenging and can render drinking water unsafe to drink. Yellow Quill FN has extremely poor source water and it is for this reason why the community was on a boil water advisory for nine years. Therefore, protecting source waters is a very important stage in the production of potable and palatable drinking water.Anaerobic WatersWhen high levels of nutrients are released into water bodies (i.e., rivers, streams, lakes, etc.), the result is the proliferated growth of algae, which consumes all the available oxygen. This unregulated growth starves the water of oxygen and kills other oxygen dependant organisms (i.e., fish, crustaceans, etc.) including itself. This is called eutrophication, and can occur when waste water treatment plants release raw sewage, resulting in turbid and pungent smelling water.Reverse OsmosisThe Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration system produces exceptionally pure drinking water, removing minerals, toxins, viruses, bacteria, and protozoans to name a few. In fact, RO filtration renders drinking water so pure, that SDWF scientists recommend that RO water passes through a mineral bed of calcium and magnesium to re-introduce beneficial nutrients to RO water. For more information concerning RO filters, please click here.Saddle Lake Reservoir - before the IBROMThis is a reservoir located at Saddle Lake FN in Alberta. Notice the green tinge to the water, and the green sludge like material at the bottom of the reservoir. Saddle Lake FN has since installed the IBROM treatment system and now has translucent reservoirs that are amongst the cleanest in the world!!Advanced Aboriginal Water Treatment TeamThis is Mr. Leon Cardinal hard at work at the drinking water treatment plant in Saddle Lake FN in Alberta. Mr. Cardinal is a water operator in Saddle Lake FN as well as a member of the Advanced Aboriginal Water Treatment Team (AAWTT). The AAWTT is a group of FN volunteer water operators from throughout Canada. They are highly skilled and provide problem solving assistance concerning drinking water quality issues to other FN water operators within Canada. AAWTT members work closely with SDWF scientists and are considered experts in drinking water quality processes (i.e., IBROM technology). For more information on the AAWTT click here, or here for IBROM technology.Integrated Biological and Reverse Osmosis Membrane (IBROM)The Integrated Biological and Reverse Osmosis Membrane treatment system relies largely on biological filtration to remove impurities found in source waters. Instead of using chemical oxidants (i.e., potassium permanganate) to remove contaminants, the IBROM system relies on microbes to consume the unwanted materials in the water. Under controlled conditions, the microbes are used to remove impurities that cannot be removed by other treatment processes (i.e., manganese greensand filters). Therefore, the IBROM system can treat extremely poor source waters and produce drinking water quality that is second to none! The implementation of the IBROM treatment system at Yellow Quill FN removed a nine year long boil water advisory in this community! That’s tangible success! For more information concerning IBROM technology, please click here.Reverse Osmosis Pore SizeReverse Osmosis (RO) is an extremely efficient method of water filtration. To give you an idea of how small the pore sizes are in RO filters, please examine the above illustration. As you can see, the pore sizes are remarkably small and filter out the smallest of materials (i.e., viruses, bacteria, etc.). As well, RO filters remove nearly all soluble and insoluble material in drinking water, making the water exceptionally pure. In fact, RO water is so pure, that beneficial nutrients that are removed (i.e., magnesium and calcium) during filtration need to be added back into the water for health benefits. For more information concerning Reverse Osmosis, please click here.Black Ooze in Yellow Quill FN Water ReservoirThis is Yellow Quill FN water operator and Advanced Aboriginal Water Treatment Team (AAWTT) member Roberta Neapetung climbing down into the reservoir to clean the black ooze that accumulated in the drinking water reservoirs. This black ooze is the result of very poor source waters and inefficient drinking water quality treatment systems. Cleaning these reservoirs was a monthly occurrence prior to the Integrated Biological and Reverse Osmosis Membrane (IBROM) treatment system that was installed at Yellow Quill FN. In fact, Yellow Quill FN was on a boil water advisory for nine years before the IBROM treatment system was installed. Following the installation of the IBROM treatment system in 2004, a quarter was dropped into the reservoir and it can be seen as clearly today as the day it was tossed in – five years later! For more information on the AAWTT click here, or here for IBROM technology.Microbes and the IBROM treatment systemThis is an electron microscope picture of the bacteria that are harvested and used to remove contaminants and impurities in source water using the Integrated Biological and Reverse Osmosis Membrane (IBROM) treatment technology. IBROM technology uses microbes (as seen in the image) to remove impurities from drinking water. In addition to procuring extremely safe drinking water, the IBROM system is very environmentally friendly and much more cost effective then conventional water treatment systems. For more information concerning IBROM technology, please click here.