scholarly journals Methods, Protocols, Guidance and Standards for Performance Evaluation for Point-of-Use Water Treatment Technologies: History, Current Status, Future Needs and Directions

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1094
Author(s):  
Emily S. Bailey ◽  
Nikki Beetsch ◽  
Douglas A. Wait ◽  
Hemali H. Oza ◽  
Nirmala Ronnie ◽  
...  

It is estimated that 780 million people do not have access to improved drinking water sources and approximately 2 billion people use fecally contaminated drinking water. Effective point-of-use water treatment systems (POU) can provide water with sufficiently reduced concentrations of pathogenic enteric microorganisms to not pose significant health risks to consumers. Household water treatment (HWT) systems utilize various technologies that physically remove and/or inactivate pathogens. A limited number of governmental and other institutional entities have developed testing protocols to evaluate the performance of POU water treatment systems. Such testing protocols are essential to documenting effective performance because inferior and ineffective POU treatment technologies are thought to be in widespread use. This critical review examines specific practices, procedures and specification of widely available POU system evaluation protocols. Testing protocols should provide standardized and detailed instructions yet be sufficiently flexible to deal with different treatment technologies, test microbe priorities and choices, testing facility capabilities and public health needs. Appropriate infectivity or culture assays should be used to quantify test enteric bacteria, viruses and protozoan parasites, or other appropriate surrogates or substitutes for them, although processes based on physical removal can be tested by methods that detect microbes as particles. Recommendations include further research of stock microbe production and handling methods to consistently yield test microbes in a realistic state of aggregation and, in the case of bacteria, appropriately physiologically stressed. Bacterial quantification methods should address the phenomenon of bacterial injury and repair in order to maximally recover those that are culturable and potentially infectious. It is only with harmonized national and international testing protocols and performance targets that independent and unbiased testing can be done to assure consumers that POU treatment technologies are able to produce water of high microbial quality and low health risk.

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Brown ◽  
C. Farrow ◽  
E. A. McBean ◽  
B. Gharabaghi ◽  
J. Beauchamp

Abstract Diarrheal illnesses and fatalities continue to be major issues in many regions throughout the world. Household water treatment (HWT) technologies (including both point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) treatment solutions) have been shown as able to deliver safe water in many low-income communities. However, as shown herein, there are important inconsistencies in protocols employed for validating performance of HWTs. The WHO does not stipulate influent concentration as a parameter that could influence removal efficacy, nor does it indicate an influent concentration range that should be used during technology evaluations. A correlation between influent concentration and removal is evidenced herein (R2 = 0.88) with higher influent concentrations resulting in higher log-removal values (LRVs). The absence of a recommended standard influent concentration of bacteria (as well as for viruses and protozoa) could have negative consequences in intervention efforts. Recommendations are provided that regulatory bodies should specify an influent concentration range for testing and verification of HWT technologies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Wani Jube Gore ◽  
Yulin Tang ◽  
Harrison H. Boying

The supply of clean drinking water is one of the most critical facets of primary health care, the main challenges of sustainable development in rural regions. However, Rajaf Payam experiences significant challenges in accessing clean and safe water. The study is designed to explore drinking water treatment methods in Rajaf Payam. Questionnaire was designed to conduct survey on sources of drinking water and drinking water treatment methods in the area, published articles included reports from the national government and some NGOs working in the rural drinking water sector were collected. So far 200 people participated in this study, from whom 60% were male, 40% female. However, 50 critical informant interviews and surveys were conducted, with 150 participants filling out questionnaires. The results show that 66% of the community use chlorine for drinking water treatment. Nonetheless, 19% are using boiling method, 10% using normal filtration (Water settling). At the same time, 5% know nothing about drinking water treatment. Therefore, this study recommending the Point-of-use (POU) of drinking water treatment technologies such as boiling, slow sand filtration, chemical disinfection, flocculation and coagulation, UV-C disinfection, and solar disinfection to the community of Raja Payam to enable them to access high quality drinking water and to avoid chronic drinking water related disease.


Author(s):  
Kathryn Gwenyth Nunnelley ◽  
James A Smith

With significant infrastructure investments required for centralized water treatment, in home treatment technologies, known as point-of-use, have become a popular solution in the developing world. This review discusses current filtration-based point-of-use water treatment technologies in three major categories: ceramics, papers and textiles. Each of these categories has used silver for added antimicrobial effectiveness. Ceramics have had the most development and market infiltration, while filter papers are a new development. Textiles show promise for future research as a cheap, socially acceptable, and effective method. Also, a new method of silver incorporation in ceramics is explored.


Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 872
Author(s):  
Resoketswe Charlotte Moropeng ◽  
Maggy Ndombo Benteke Momba

The current study investigated the acceptance rate and long-term effectiveness of cost-effective household water treatment systems deployed in Makwane Village. A structured questionnaire was used prior to implementation to collect information such as level of education, level of employment, and knowledge about point-of-use water treatment systems in the target area. The long-term effectiveness was determined by factors such as the Escherichia coli removal efficiency, turbidity reduction, silver leached, and flow rate of the household water treatment devices. The results of the survey prior to deployment revealed that only 4.3% of the community had a tertiary qualification. Moreover, 54.3% of the community were unemployed. The results further revealed that 65.9% of the community were knowledgeable about other point-of-use water treatment methods. The acceptance rate, which was found to be initially higher (100%), reduced after three months of implantation (biosand filter with zeolite-silver clay granular—82.9%; silver-impregnated porous pot filters—97.1%). Moreover, the long-term effectiveness was determined, taking into consideration the adoption rate, and it was found that silver-impregnated porous pot filters have a long life compared to biosand filter with zeolite-silver clay granular. Although household water treatment systems can effectively reduce the burden of waterborne diseases in impoverished communities, the success of adoption is dependent on the targeted group. This study highlights the significance of involving community members when making the decision to scale up household water treatment devices in rural areas for successful adoption.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin W. Lykins ◽  
Robert M. Clark ◽  
James A. Goodrich

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