Our mission
Safe drinking water for a thirsty
world
Blackburn & Associates is dedicated
to the design and development of non-chemical water and wastewater treatment
that is economical, efficient, appropriate, and available to a wide
variety of locations, peoples, and applications. A dedication to minimal
or no power use is a key element in all our designs. Our systems employ
biological and physical processes that are basic and reliable. Why,
in this high-tech world, would we do that? Because it is our belief
that in the long run, reliance on high-tech equipment, membranes, toxic
chemicals, and energy guzzling pumps is not the answer to supplying
the world's urgent need for quality water.
Blackburn & Associates works with
our manufacturing partner Blue
Future Filters, Inc. to make available a series of modular, slow
sand filters, roughing filters, iron-removing filters, and accessories
such as activated carbon and ultra-violet disinfection. These systems
emphasize simple and rapid installation, simple maintenance, low-energy
demand, and user friendliness. These systems can process water from
450 gallons per day to 64,000 gpd or more. These systems are particularly
useful for the rural development agency trying to extend its budget.
It is our belief that to be sustainable, technologies
must employ in their basic design, the involvement of those who use
them from concept to financing to installation to maintenance. Blackburn
& Associates works with development agencies and educational institutions
worldwide to design, develop, and implement low-cost village water treatment
systems. Innovative methods and careful hydraulic design result in systems
that are inexpensive, easy to maintain, and effective at removing bacteria,
cysts, viruses, suspended solids, sand, silt, turbidity, iron, manganese,
and hydrogen sulfide to name a few. We also are available to consult
and evaluate planned projects worldwide.
About our
founder and president
Humphrey Blackburn has 25 years experience with water
systems. He became interested in developing slow sand filters while
pursuing a masters degree in the late 1980s. His first SSF project was
for his thesis and involved creating a slow sand filtration system for
the residents of a small community in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico.
After he received his Masters in Environmental Systems - International
Development Technology from Humboldt State University in 1995, he founded
Blackburn and Associates as a research, design and consulting firm that
specializes in sustainable water treatment technologies including slow
sand filters, iron filters, roughing filters, wastewater treatment,
piping and control systems.
In 2003, Humphrey formed Blue Future Filters in Santa
Rosa, California to manufacture and market the filtration systems developed
by Blackburn & Associates. To further expand his business, and be
closer to family, Humphrey and his wife Xan relocated from Santa Rosa
to Bellingham, Washington, where he opened a second manufacturing location
in early 2005.
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Blackburn & Assoc. works towards providing
clean water to peoples the world over, no matter how remote.
Blackburn & Associates, working with local
and international groups and the Ghana government, and supplied parts
for a pilot project slow sand filter at the Liberian refugee camp in
Accra, Ghana. B&A also developed training and operational protocols
to make this filter a success and a model for future filter projects
in this part of West Africa.
Humphrey Blackburn
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