Design and Evaluation of a Household Chlorination System for Treating Cistern Water in the US Virgin Islands

AbstractIn the US Virgin Islands, >90% of households have rain catchment systems that utilize large cisterns; however, these systems are at high risk of microbial contamination. Available water treatment technologies provide varying levels of protection from microbial contamination and can be exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental engineering (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2022-11, Vol.148 (11)
Main Authors: Voth-Gaeddert, Lee E., Lemley, Mandy, Brathwaite, Kela, Schranck, Andrew, Libbey, Stephen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon
Chlorination
Chlorine
Cisterns
Coliforms
Contact
Contamination
Dyes
Flow rates
Flow velocity
High flow
Households
Islands
Low cost
Membrane filters
Microbial contamination
Microorganisms
Pressure effects
Standard deviation
Systems stability
Technical Note
Technical Notes
Water pollution
Water purification
Water treatment
Water use
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Summary:AbstractIn the US Virgin Islands, >90% of households have rain catchment systems that utilize large cisterns; however, these systems are at high risk of microbial contamination. Available water treatment technologies provide varying levels of protection from microbial contamination and can be expensive. Therefore, we evaluated a low-cost water treatment train that included a passive chlorinator, carbon filter, and membrane filter to provide whole-house treatment for microbial contamination in a mock, pressurized, intermittent-use water system. Two types of locally available passive pool chlorinators were modified and tested for free chlorine residual (FCR) levels across a set of different water use scenarios. Additionally, tracer dye tests were conducted to evaluate chlorine contact time in the system, a carbon filter was evaluated for chlorine removal efficiencies, and a 1-micron nominal filter was evaluated for its effect on system pressure and microbial removal efficiencies. Results suggested the modified passive chlorinators provided relatively consistent chlorine dosing (offline: standard deviation range 0.54 to 0.79 ppm FCR, 3 trials, n=43; inline: standard deviation 0.53 ppm FCR, 1 trial, n=16) and tracer dye tests identified a minimum contact time for high flow rates (18.9 LPM, 5 GPM) of >45  s. The carbon filter reduced FCR levels from as high as 18.5 ppm to
ISSN:0733-9372
1943-7870
DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0002063