Drinking the Brent Fish Pond Water

I just finished talking to the third grade classes about Dr. David Manz's invention, the BioSand Filter. Toward the end of the time I drank a full glass of the water as it came out of the filter.


The filter has been in place by the fish pond for two weeks giving the 'bio layer' time to develop.


I had three glasses setting on the table up front along with a plastic bottle that looked like a purchased half liter of drinking water. The plastic bottle had been rescued from the trash and filled from the fish pond and actually looked pretty clear.


After I introduced myself (most of them knew me anyway) I exclaimed "Watch this", and I took the first glass and filled it by dipping it into the fish pond. I then asked which they would drink, from the glass they saw me fill from the pond or from the plastic drinking water bottle (which also had the same water though they didn't know). Of course they chose the plastic bottle. "Why" I asked. "Because it is cleaner" they unanimously responded. Later, just before I drank the filtered water I told them the plastic bottle was filled from the fish pond same as the first glass.

To make a more significant visual point about the filters ability, and I felt it was helpful since the fish pond water was pretty clear, before dumping the bucket of fishy water into the filter I added a handfull of dirt. So the water actually dumped into the top of the filter was muddy looking. A second glass was filled from that water so they could see that the filter would remove such sediment. The water coming out of the filter was crystal clear and had no discernable taste. I filled the third glass with filtered water and drank.

Ask me in 8 hours or so, if in fact it was actually pathogen free, at least enough for my immune system.

An interesting time with a bunch of interested third graders.

And now they know that:

1) over one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water
2) over 4000 people die every day because of disease caused by water born illness
3) there is an invention that is simple, elegant, accessible and affordable that can provide virtually pathogen free drinking water
4) Bill Davis drank water from the Brent fish pond