Introduction

Good morning, I am Nicole Angel A. Mateo, and I am going to present the

proposal for my study entitled “ Developing an Alternative Water Filtration System
Using Ceramic Filters and Granular Activated Alumina.”

Background of the Study

Read it.

Statement of the Problem

This study is guided by 2 main questions:

[Link] ceramic filters and granular activated alumina (GAA) remove biological (e.g.,
bacteria) and chemical (e.g., fluoride, arsenic) contaminants and improve water
quality effectively?

[Link] what extent do ceramic filters and granular activated (GAA) remove biological
and chemical contaminants and improve water quality?

Related Legal Bases

This research supports national policies like the Clean Water Act and the Safe
Drinking Water Act, which aim to protect water sources and ensure access to
safe and clean water, especially in communities with limited supply.

 The Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan (PWSSMP), led by
NEDA (2019), focuses on providing clean water access to all communities by
2030.
 Government efforts promote affordable, small-scale filtration systems as part of
long-term solutions (Senate Economic Planning Office, 2023; Good Governance
Philippines, 2021).

Related Literature
Related Literature/Studies show that ceramic filters are good at removing dirt and
bacteria from water. While GAA is helpful in removing chemicals like fluoride and
arsenic.

GAA helps make water safer by absorbing harmful chemicals, while ceramic filters
are reusable and easy to clean, making them a sustainable option. When combined
they offer a more effective solution by removing both biological and chemical
contaminants from water.
Related Studies
 Ceramic filters have been shown to reduce cases of diarrhea by 51% in both
children and adults (Belihun et al., 2023).
 GAA reduces fluoride to safe levels below 0.1 ppm, which helps prevent
fluorosis and other health problems (Cabados, 2024).
 Using both ceramic filters and GAA has been proven to improve water quality
more than using one filter material alone (Shayo et al., 2023).
 Countries like the USA, Netherlands, Canada, and Western Australia use ceramic
filters for safe household water treatment (Shayo et al., 2023).

Significance of the Study

This study will benefit and improve child health, families, future researchers, and
healthcare workers.

Scope and Delimitations of the Study

This study wants to find out if ceramic filters and granular activated alumina (GAA)
can help clean dirty water in some parts of Burgos, Ilocos Norte. It will test water
from wells, rivers, lakes, ponds, and even sewage-contaminated water to see if these
filters can remove harmful germs and chemicals. The goal is to make a low-cost,
easy-to-use, and strong water filter that can help people get safer water to use every
[Link] study will take place over six months in areas of Burgos where they mostly
use common water sources like wells and will filter dirty and sewage water. It will
only look at small and simple water filters, not big or expensive systems. It will also
not check how these filters affect the environment or how they work after six months.
This research simply wants to see if these filters can help make dirty water cleaner
and safer to use.
Research Methodology
The study will use a combination of field testing and laboratory analysis

 This study will test the effectiveness of ceramic filters and Granular Activated
Alumina (GAA) in cleaning water in Burgos, Ilocos Norte.
 The researcher will collect water samples from various sources such as wells,
rivers, lakes, and sewage-contaminated water before and after using the filters.
 Laboratory tests will measure levels of harmful bacteria and chemicals like
fluoride and arsenic to see how much the filters improve water quality.
 The main goal is to find out if these filters can provide safer, cleaner drinking
water for the community.
 Along with lab results, the researcher will keep detailed notes on the installation,
use, and maintenance of the filters.
 Observations will include any difficulties faced, how easy the filters are to
operate, and their durability over time.
 By combining test results and personal observations, the study aims to show
whether these affordable filters are a practical and lasting solution for clean water
in areas with limited access.

Ending
And that ends my presentation, thank you for listening, let’s proceed to the Q&A
Session.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS:
Main Objectives of your study:

To design and evaluate an affordable and effective water filtration system using
ceramic filters and granular activated alumina (GAA) that can remove biological and
chemical contaminants from various water sources in Burgos, Ilocos Norte.

Specific Objectives:

To develop a prototype water filtration system that combines ceramic filters

and granular activated alumina (GAA) for household use.

To test the system’s effectiveness in removing biological contaminants

such as bacteria (e.g., E. coli) from different types of water sources (e.g.,
wells, rivers, sewage-contaminated water).
 To evaluate the system’s ability to reduce chemical contaminants,
particularly fluoride and arsenic, to levels within World Health Organization
(WHO) safety standards.

To assess the filtration system’s ease of use, durability, and maintenance

requirements under real-world conditions in Burgos, Ilocos Norte.

To compare the performance of the combined ceramic-GAA filter system

against traditional or single-material filters, if available

How will you conduct your study?:

This study will be conducted through the development, testing, and evaluation of a
low-cost water filtration system that combines ceramic filters and granular activated
alumina (GAA). The filtration prototype will be designed to target both biological
contaminants, such as bacteria, and chemical contaminants like fluoride and arsenic.
Water samples will be collected from various sources in Burgos, Ilocos Norte—
including wells, rivers, lakes, and sewage-contaminated water—which represent
common water sources used by local communities. These samples will undergo pre-
filtration laboratory testing to measure baseline levels of bacteria and chemical
pollutants. After filtration, the same water samples will be tested again to evaluate the
reduction in contaminants. The filtration system’s performance will be assessed based
on its effectiveness in improving water quality, using World Health Organization
(WHO) standards as a reference. In addition to lab analysis, the study will include
observations of the system’s usability, maintenance requirements, and durability in
real-world conditions. Data will be analyzed to determine the filtration system’s
efficiency and potential as a practical, sustainable solution for areas with limited
access to clean water.

How will you implement your research? Where will

you test it? What is the time and duration of your
experiment or treatment?
The research will be implemented in selected rural communities within Burgos, Ilocos
Norte, where residents primarily depend on natural water sources such as wells,
rivers, and small ponds, also in small sewage systems and where access to clean and
safe drinking water is limited. The experimental setup will involve collecting water
samples from these sources and testing them both before and after filtration using the
ceramic and granular activated alumina (GAA) filtration system. The implementation
will occur in two phases: laboratory testing of water quality at a partner institution or
local testing facility, and field observation of the filtration system's use in households
or community settings. The entire experiment, including the design, installation, water
sampling, filtration, and post-treatment evaluation, will take place over a period of six
months, from [insert start month, e.g., July 2025] to [insert end month, e.g., December
2025]. During this period, regular testing and monitoring will be conducted to observe
filter performance, ease of use, and maintenance requirements under real
environmental conditions.

Who will benefit from your research?

This research will primarily benefit rural and low-income communities, especially
those in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, who lack access to clean and safe drinking water. By
providing an affordable and easy-to-use filtration system, the study can help reduce
the risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea, especially
among children and elderly residents who are most vulnerable. Local health
workers and clinics will also benefit, as improved water quality may lead to fewer
cases of illness, reducing pressure on rural healthcare services. In addition, the
research can assist government agencies, NGOs, and community-based
organizations working on water and sanitation projects by offering a practical, low-
cost solution they can replicate or scale up. Lastly, the study can support future
researchers and innovators by contributing data and insights on sustainable water
filtration technologies using locally available materials.

Gaps of the Study:

Note: You can find it in your manuscript: Review it

This leads to a significant research gap: there is limited data on how effective these
two materials are when used together in a single, low-cost filtration system under
real-world rural conditions. Furthermore, while existing studies may prove that
these materials can remove contaminants in controlled lab settings, few have tested
them using actual contaminated water sources from specific local contexts like
Burgos. And most filtration system materials use biodegradable, which makes my
research proposal a unique taste because it uses non-biodegradable materials for
filtration.

The research on developing water filtration systems using non-biodegradable

materials in rural areas of the Philippines has some important gaps. First, there isn’t
enough information on how effective these non-biodegradable materials are compared
to biodegradable options, we need more data on the long-term performance of non-
biodegradable filters in rural settings. Additionally, policies like the Philippine Water
Supply and Sanitation Master Plan (PWSSMP) address water access, a gap remains in
understanding how community-driven efforts can improve the sustainable use of
water filtration systems in rural areas, especially when using non-biodegradable
materials. Lastly, more research is needed to determine the cost-effectiveness of non-
biodegradable materials compared to the cheaper biodegradable options that
communities prefer. Filing these gaps will help develop better water filtration
solutions for rural areas.
Gap of the Study and Its Relevance to the Proposal
The relevance of this study lies in the fact that although ceramic filters and
granular activated alumina (GAA) have individually been shown to remove
specific contaminants from water, very few studies have combined these two
materials into a single, low-cost filtration system and tested them under real-world
conditions in rural communities like Burgos, Ilocos Norte. Most available research
focuses on laboratory environments or on large-scale filtration systems that are too
expensive or inaccessible for low-income households. Additionally, there is a lack of
data on how well this combination performs in treating water that is both biologically
and chemically contaminated, which is a common scenario in rural water sources.

This gap—the lack of localized, practical, and combined filtration studies using
ceramic filters and GAA—makes your proposal highly relevant. Your research
addresses this by developing and testing a low-cost, effective, and user-friendly
filtration system that specifically targets the real needs of communities that still rely
on untreated water. By focusing on effectiveness, usability, and affordability, your
study bridges the gap between theoretical effectiveness and practical application,
making it both innovative and urgently needed.

Why did you formulate the questions?

The first research question—

“Does ceramic filters and granular activated alumina (GAA) remove

biological (e.g., bacteria) and chemical (e.g., fluoride, arsenic)
contaminants and improve water quality effectively?”
—was formulated to directly address this knowledge gap by
verifying whether this combined filtration system works effectively
in removing both types of contaminants simultaneously.
The second question—

“To what extent do ceramic filters and granular activated alumina

(GAA) remove biological and chemical contaminants and improve
water quality?”
—was designed to go deeper by quantifying the effectiveness, such
as measuring how much bacteria or fluoride remains after
filtration.

Together, these questions were formulated not just to test whether the materials work,
but to assess how well they work in combination, in a local setting, and whether
they are truly practical, affordable, and sustainable for communities that need them
most.

What are your expected outcome?

The expected outcomes of this project include improved child and family health
through reduced cases of waterborne diseases, increased awareness about the
importance of clean water, and valuable data on the effectiveness of low-cost
filtration systems. Additionally, the project aims to support future innovations in
water purification and reduce the strain on local healthcare facilities.

Why six months and not more or less?

A six-month duration provides a balanced timeframe to observe both short-term and
ongoing impacts of the filtration system. It is long enough to collect reliable data on
health improvements and system durability, while remaining practical in terms of
project scope, budget, and monitoring. Less time may not show consistent results,
while a longer period could delay actionable insights without significantly changing
the outcome.