Gift of Water filter

The Gift of Water system involves prechlorination, followed by a string filter, granular activated carbon, and then post-chlorination. In the first bucket, a 67 mg tablet of free chlorine disinfects the raw water from bacteria. Water then flows through the 1 micron (μm) polypropylene string filter which removes suspended solids and larger disease-causing protozoa in the first bucket. In the second bucket, granular activated carbon is used to remove organics, chlorine, harmful chemicals, heavy metals, bad taste and residual disinfectants, and then a 17 mg tablet of free chlorine for post-chlorination keeps the product water safe from recontamination. Users access the treated water via a tap in the bottom bucket.

Watch here how to Assemble the Gift of Water Bucket-Based Water Filtration System.

Users can access technical support for filters through local technicians that do monthly household visits in Haiti. ^{Interview with representative}

This product is expected to last at least 3 years being used once per day (~5500 gallons) however the exact lifetime is not known; some systems have lasted over 25 years. No warranty is included but in the case of a defective part, the manufacturer changes out the part at no cost. ^{Interview with representative}

Testing by Purdue University in 2013 determined:

• 100% inactivation of the Coli bacteria,
• Effluent turbidity of <5 NTU when the influent water turbidity was ≤ 12 NTU,
• A concentration of 27 μg/L Chloroform (CHCl3) in effluent water samples as the only Volatile Disinfection By-Product found to be present.
• Average free and total chlorine concentrations in the final water samples of approximately 0.54 mg/L as Cl2and 0.58 mg/L as Cl2, respectively.
• An average decreased of 38% of UV-absorbing compounds from the raw to final water samples which implies these compounds are successfully removed by the system.
• An average of 4037 liters of water through the filter before clogging occurred which was determined when the filter reached a flow rate of 2 mL/s, corresponding to a filtration time of 2.8 hours.
• 99.99999% (7 log) removal for the φS1 phage(which infects the bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens) suspension and 99.99% (4 log) removal for the T4 phage(which infects the bacteria E.coli) suspension
• Under the time periods studied, the water used in experiments at Purdue University were worse than what the Gift of Water filter users would experience in Haiti in coliconcentrations(1.5 – 48.3 MPN per 100mL of sample) and turbidity(0.19 – 6.64 NTU).

Potential hazards might include ingestion of a chlorine tablet, which is why the manufacturer instructs that these be kept away from children. ^{Interview with representative}