Passive membrane filtration: addressing drinking water quality challenges in small, rural and/or marginalized communities

在加拿大，超过70%的原住民社区饮用水系统面临污染风险。在具有高风险系统的社区中，迄今为止有数百个社区处于沸水供水系统之下。虽然联邦政府承诺为结束这些水处理系统提供约27亿美元，将有助于解决财政挑战，但资金无法完全解决技术挑战-原住民社区根本没有操作传统（即复杂）水处理系统所需的技术人员。被动膜过滤是由UBC研究人员在过去5年中开发的，专门用于小型，偏远和/或边缘化的第一民族社区，这些社区由于系统复杂性而面临饮用水质量挑战。被动膜过滤利用重力和自然存在的微生物来产生渗透的驱动力并清洁膜，从而能够以有限的系统复杂性生产高质量的水。由于被动膜过滤的复杂性有限，Hupacasath第一民族与UBC，加拿大土著服务和第一民族卫生局合作，正在采用这种新方法来提供高质量的水。然而，需要立即进行进一步的研究，以确保被动膜过滤的长期成功。拟议的研究伙伴关系的总体目标是解决这些紧迫的研究需求，并制定成功实施被动膜过滤所需的操作协议，为Hupacasath第一民族提供高质量的饮用水。

In Canada, over 70% of First Nations communities' drinking water systems are at risk of contamination. Of the communities with high-risk systems, hundreds are under boil water advisories to this day. Although the ~$2.7 billion pledged by the Federal Government to end these advisories will help address financial challenges, the funding will not completely address technical challenges - First Nations communities simply do not have the technical personnel required to operate conventional (i.e. complex) water treatment systems. Passive Membrane Filtration was developed by UBC researchers over the past 5 years specifically for use in small, remote and/or marginalized First Nation communities that face drinking water quality challenges because of system complexity. Passive Membrane Filtration use gravity and naturally occurring microorganisms to generate the driving force for permeation and to clean the membrane, thereby enabling the production of high-quality water with limited system complexity. Because of the limited complexity of Passive Membrane Filtration, the Hupacasath First Nation, in partnership with UBC, Indigenous Services Canada and the First Nations Health Authority, is adopting this novel approach to provide high quality water. However, further research is immediately required implement and ensure the long-term success of Passive Membrane Filtration. The overall goal of the proposed research partnership is to address these immediate research needs and develop the operating protocols required for the successful implementation of Passive Membrane Filtration to provide high quality drinking water for the Hupacasath First Nation.