Drinking water quality and solar disinfection: effectiveness in peri-urban households in Nepal

The study examined pH, turbidity and fecal contamination of drinking water from household water storage containers, wells and taps, and the Godawari River, and tested the effectiveness of solar disinfection (SODIS) in reducing levels of fecal contamination from household containers. The research was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of water and health 2005-09, Vol.3 (3), p.239-248
Main Authors: Rainey, Rochelle C, Harding, Anna K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coliforms
Containers
Contamination
Disinfection
Disinfection & disinfectants
Disinfection - methods
Drinking water
Family Characteristics
Fecal coliforms
Feces
Feces - microbiology
Households
Humans
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Nepal
pH effects
Rainy season
Rivers
Solar Energy
Storage containers
Suburban Population
Training
Turbidity
Water Microbiology
Water pollution
Water purification
Water quality
Water storage
Water Supply - standards
Water wells
Wet season
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Summary:The study examined pH, turbidity and fecal contamination of drinking water from household water storage containers, wells and taps, and the Godawari River, and tested the effectiveness of solar disinfection (SODIS) in reducing levels of fecal contamination from household containers. The research was conducted in 40 households in a village 6 km outside the capital city of Kathmandu, Nepal. Three rounds of data were collected: a baseline in March 2002 followed by training in solar disinfection, and follow-ups in June and July 2002. Untreated drinking water was found to have levels of contamination ranging from 0 to too numerous to count fecal coliform CFU 100ml(-1). Source water was significantly more contaminated than water from the household storage containers. Wells were less contaminated than taps. SODIS reduced the level of contamination under household conditions. Turbidity from taps was above 30 NTU in the rainy season, above the maximum for effective solar disinfection. SODIS was routinely adopted by only 10% of the participating households during the study.
ISSN:1477-8920
1996-7829
DOI:10.2166/wh.2005.036