scholarly journals Photocatalytic Enhancement for Solar Disinfection of Water: A Review

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Anthony Byrne ◽  
Pilar A. Fernandez-Ibañez ◽  
Patrick S. M. Dunlop ◽  
Dheaya M. A. Alrousan ◽  
Jeremy W. J. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Waterborne Diseases ◽  
Safe Drinking Water ◽  
Developing Regions ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Semiconductor Photocatalysis ◽  
Solar Disinfection ◽  
Clean Drinking Water

It is estimated that 884 million people lack access to improved water supplies. Many more are forced to rely on supplies that are microbiologically unsafe, resulting in a higher risk of waterborne diseases, including typhoid, hepatitis, polio, and cholera. Due to poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking water, there are around 4 billion cases of diarrhea each year resulting in 2.2 million deaths, most of these are children under five. While conventional interventions to improve water supplies are effective, there is increasing interest in household-based interventions to produce safe drinking water at an affordable cost for developing regions. Solar disinfection (SODIS) is a simple and low cost technique used to disinfect drinking water, where water is placed in transparent containers and exposed to sunlight for 6 hours. There are a number of parameters which affect the efficacy of SODIS, including the solar irradiance, the quality of the water, and the nature of the contamination. One approach to SODIS enhancement is the use of semiconductor photocatalysis to produce highly reactive species that can destroy organic pollutants and inactivate water pathogens. This paper presents a critical review concerning semiconductor photocatalysis as a potential enhancement technology for solar disinfection of water.

scholarly journals Coping with poor water supplies: empirical evidence from Kathmandu, Nepal

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hari Katuwal ◽  
Alok K. Bohara
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Point Of Use ◽  
Quality Of Water ◽  
Major Treatment ◽  
Clean Drinking Water ◽  
Selection Of

The authors examined the demand for clean drinking water using treatment behaviors in Kathmandu, Nepal. Water supply is inadequate, unreliable and low quality. Households engage in several strategies to cope with the unreliable and poor quality of water supplies. Some of the major coping strategies are hauling, storing, and point-of-use treatment. Boiling, filtering, and use of Uro-guard are some of the major treatment methods. Using Water Survey of Kathmandu, the authors estimated the effect of wealth, education, information, gender, caste/ethnicity and opinion about water quality on drinking water treatment behaviors. The results show that people tend to increase boiling and then filtering instead of only one method if they are wealthier. In addition, people boil and then filter instead of boiling only and filtering only if they think that water delivered to the tap is dirty. Exposure to information has the strongest effect in general for the selection of all available treatment modes.

Sustainability of Water Supplies in Provincial Egypt

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. F. Nicholson
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Water Supply Systems ◽  
Waterborne Diseases ◽  
Safe Drinking Water ◽  
Rapid Population Growth ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Piped Water ◽  
Supply Systems

Life, health and hygiene all depend on access to a plentiful supply of safe drinking water. Piped water supplies in rural Egypt are insufficient to meet the demands of the existing population. This situation is worsening due to the rapid population growth and failure of existing water supply systems. There are already areas of the country with severe piped water shortages. If corrective action is not taken soon densely populated villages will become vulnerable to outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Immediate action is needed to reverse the deterioration of water supply systems and to improve the benefits gained from capital works investments in the sector. This paper promotes the concept that sustainable water systems in rural Egypt depends on a central government and local unit partnership. Also needed are consumer bodies to determine user needs; local units to be given powers to manage the revenue and expenditure accounts; and the central government to concentrate on setting policies and guidelines, and assisting with the implementation of major capital works.

Functionality and water quality of Elephant pumps: Implications for sustainable drinking water supplies in rural Malawi

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rochelle Holm ◽  
Robert Stroud ◽  
Golden Msilimba ◽  
Simeon Gwayi
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supplies

scholarly journals Biosensors to Monitor Water Quality Utilizing Insect Odorant-Binding Proteins as Detector Elements

Biosensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spiros D. Dimitratos ◽  
Allison S. Hommel ◽  
Kenneth D. Konrad ◽  
Lauren M. Simpson ◽  
Jessica J. Wu-Woods ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Coliform Bacteria ◽  
Waterborne Diseases ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Vitro Assay ◽  
Ligand Selectivity ◽  
Odorant Binding

In the developing world, the identification of clean, potable water continues to pose a pervasive challenge, and waterborne diseases due to fecal contamination of water supplies significantly threaten public health. The ability to efficiently monitor local water supplies is key to water safety, yet no low-cost, reliable method exists to detect contamination quickly. We developed an in vitro assay utilizing an odorant-binding protein (OBP), AgamOBP1, from the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, to test for the presence of a characteristic metabolite, indole, from harmful coliform bacteria. We demonstrated that recombinantly expressed AgamOBP1 binds indole with high sensitivity. Our proof-of-concept assay is fluorescence-based and demonstrates the usefulness of insect OBPs as detector elements in novel biosensors that rapidly detect the presence of bacterial metabolic markers, and thus of coliform bacteria. We further demonstrated that rAgamOBP1 is suitable for use in portable, inexpensive “dipstick” biosensors that improve upon lateral flow technology since insect OBPs are robust, easily obtainable via recombinant expression, and resist detector “fouling.” Moreover, due to their wide diversity and ligand selectivity, insect chemosensory proteins have other biosensor applications for various analytes. The techniques presented here therefore represent platform technologies applicable to various future devices.

scholarly journals Fe0/H2O Filtration Systems for Decentralized Safe Drinking Water: Where to from Here?

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Nanseu-Njiki ◽  
Willis Gwenzi ◽  
Martin Pengou ◽  
Mohammad Rahman ◽  
Chicgoua Noubactep
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Safe Drinking Water ◽  
Iron Corrosion ◽  
Small Communities

Inadequate access to safe drinking water is one of the most pervasive problems currently afflicting the developing world. Scientists and engineers are called to present affordable but efficient solutions, particularly applicable to small communities. Filtration systems based on metallic iron (Fe0) are discussed in the literature as one such viable solution, whether as a stand-alone system or as a complement to slow sand filters (SSFs). Fe0 filters can also be improved by incorporating biochar to form Fe0-biochar filtration systems with potentially higher contaminant removal efficiencies than those based on Fe0 or biochar alone. These three low-cost and chemical-free systems (Fe0, biochar, SSFs) have the potential to provide universal access to safe drinking water. However, a well-structured systematic research is needed to design robust and efficient water treatment systems based on these affordable filter materials. This communication highlights the technology being developed to use Fe0-based systems for decentralized safe drinking water provision. Future research directions for the design of the next generation Fe0-based systems are highlighted. It is shown that Fe0 enhances the efficiency of SSFs, while biochar has the potential to alleviate the loss of porosity and uncertainties arising from the non-linear kinetics of iron corrosion. Fe0-based systems are an affordable and applicable technology for small communities in low-income countries, which could contribute to attaining self-reliance in clean water supply and universal public health.

scholarly journals Microbiological Quality of Drinking Water in Sachets Sold in the City of Yaoundé in Cameroon: Tests of Sensitivity to the Antibiotics of Bacteria Isolated

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Nguepidjo Gilbert ◽  
Kapso Tchouankep Mireille ◽  
Ngong Ankiambom Innocent ◽  
Tonmeu Douyong Chimène Sandrine ◽  
Enoka Patrice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Microbiological Quality ◽  
Positive Culture ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Salmonella Spp ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The City

Water is the basic drink for human beings and drinking water in sachets is very popular because of its relatively low cost and availability. The aim of this study is to determine the bacteriological profile of sachet drinking water sold in the city of Yaounde. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study covering the period from March to June 2019, carried out in the application laboratory of ETMS-Yaounde. A total of 230 samples of drinking water in sachets purchased in different markets in the city of Yaounde were analyzed using Mac Conkey's flooding method. The identification was done on the API 20 E Gallery and the susceptibility test on Mueller Hinton media. The size of the sample was 230 packaged sachet drinking water and 213 of the 230 revealed 92% of positive culture of germs, and only 17 samples gave a negative culture, at a percentage of 8% of isolated germs. The isolated bacterial species and their respective abundances in samples were Enterobacter gergoviae (3%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (5%), Proteus mirabilis (5%), Serratia fonticola (5%), Salmonella choler arizonae cloacae (8%), Salmonella spp. (8%), Enterobacter cloacae (10%), Staphylococcus aureus (10%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (28%). All these tested germs were resistant to Amoxicillin and Erythromycin and 70% of tested germs were sensitive to Gentamycin. Overall, the results revealed poor microbiological quality of these waters. This exposes consumers to health risks, and it is important to inform and sensitize consumers about the risks involved, to educate producers and to control their activities by the health services.

scholarly journals Microbial indicators, pathogens and methods for their monitoring in water environment

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaurav Saxena ◽  
Ram Naresh Bharagava ◽  
Gaurav Kaithwas ◽  
Abhay Raj
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Microbiological Quality ◽  
World Health ◽  
Waterborne Diseases ◽  
Safe Drinking Water ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Indicator Microorganisms ◽  
Water Safety Plan ◽  
Health Organization

Water is critical for life, but many people do not have access to clean and safe drinking water and die because of waterborne diseases. The analysis of drinking water for the presence of indicator microorganisms is key to determining microbiological quality and public health safety. However, drinking water-related illness outbreaks are still occurring worldwide. Moreover, different indicator microorganisms are being used in different countries as a tool for the microbiological examination of drinking water. Therefore, it becomes very important to understand the potentials and limitations of indicator microorganisms before implementing the guidelines and regulations designed by various regulatory agencies. This review provides updated information on traditional and alternative indicator microorganisms with merits and demerits in view of their role in managing the waterborne health risks as well as conventional and molecular methods proposed for monitoring of indicator and pathogenic microorganisms in the water environment. Further, the World Health Organization (WHO) water safety plan is emphasized in order to develop the better approaches designed to meet the requirements of safe drinking water supply for all mankind, which is one of the major challenges of the 21st century.

Health Impact of Community Based Water Treatment Systems in Honduras

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Jeffery Deal
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
World Health ◽  
Waterborne Diseases ◽  
Safe Drinking Water ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Basic Sanitation ◽  
Health Organization

The United Nations Millennium Development Goal Number 7 states that it wants to "Halve, by 2015 the proportion of the population (global) without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation" (United Nations 2010). Most waterborne diseases result in diarrhea, which continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to World Health Organization data, if existing technologies were widely used, ten percent of the worldwide burden of disease would be removed by the water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and management of water resources. This estimate makes water related diseases arguably the most manageable set of health problems affecting humans (Prüss-Üstün et al. 2008).

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