 In South Africa, safe drinking water supplies still remain an acute problem, particularly in peri-urban and rural areas where the large majority of the people are typically low-income earners.  Rural communities are widely dispersed and peri-urban informal communities are constantly expanding.  The implementation of centralized systems not only requires large financial inputs but highly skilled personnel for continuous maintenance and management.

 Lack of technical skills in water sector has been highlighted as one of the major challenges to sustain quality water provision through centralized systems.  It seems to be unlikely that dispersed rural and peri-urban informal communities communities will receive a treated piped water supply in the near future

 Decentralized or point-of-use water collection and treatment systems are the short- to medium- term solutions to ensure rapid implementation and improvement of the quality of life in scattered rural areas.  High incidences of waterborne disease outbreaks and diarrhoeal diseases in the rural communities of South Africa have raised a concern for the urgency to provide safe drinking water through decentralised water treatment systems

1.Household water treatment systems (HWTS) contribute to the reduction of microbial contaminants that are of public health concern. They provide a short–term solution to meeting the basic need of safe drinking water in rural communities. 2. HWTS are cost–effective, easy to construct and operate, do not require highly skills. 3. Materials for the construction of HWTS are locally available. 4.Members of rural communities can be trained in terms of construction, operation and maintenance of the promising household devices.

The project aimed to assess the current state of the science, evaluate promising technologies for local application and provide guidelines for the selection and use of appropriate home water treatment systems by rural households.

Step 1:selection of Devices Selection criteria – choice of devices evaluated in the laboratory/field. Evaluation criteria – characteristics tested during laboratory/field work. 1.Can members of rural communities afford obtaining the unit? Construction and operation cost must not exceed earnings 1. Cost (capital/running) 2. Effective removal of microorganisms 2. Final water quality must comply with SANS 241 drinking water guidelines ( 0 cfu/100 mL E.coli) 3. Effective reduction of turbidity 3.Turbidity of treated water must comply with SANS 241, <1NTU 4. Ease of construction and operation 4. Extensive knowledge not required by user in rural community 5. Power requirement does not exceed equitable share 5. Little or no energy /fuel (power or fire) required for operation 6. Robustness – durability of filter6. Robustness (test) 7. Produce minimum required volume of 25 L/p/d for basic human activity, including 1.8 L/p/d for drinking, 7. Acceptable flow rate 8. Does not negatively affect lifestyle of consumer or has social implication 8. Social acceptance Through extensive literature review desk, a number of criteria for the selection and evaluation of the water devices were identified

Step 2: Construction of selected HWTS 1. Silver impregnated porous pot (SIPP) Filter receptacle Receiving bucket in which water is collected 9 Made of clay mixed with saw dust, impregnated with 23.5 g of silver nitrate Can be manufactured in rural areas by local potters

2. Ceramic candle filter (CCF) Ceramic candle Jacket over Ceramic candle to trap larger particles 10 Ceramic candle – purchased, local suppliers in RSA (Headstream Water Holdings) Manufacturing of ceramic candle requires specialised skills

Step 2: Cont… 3. Biosand filter sand - standard (BSF-S) 11 Materials: fine and course sand (R40/40 Kg) and gravel Can be manufactured in rural areas with local materials –no skills required

A – Plumbing, gravel and coarse sand layers, B – Coarse sand layer and zeolite layer, C – Zeolite layer and fine sand layer, D – Fine sand layer with supports for the diffusion plate, E – Skeletal view of the BSFZ showing the internal content No special skill required 4.Biosand filter with zeolite…

28 cm 41 cm 5. Bucket filter (BF), fast sand filter 13 Materials locally available, no special skills required Step 2: Cont…

2 FiltersRand (ZAR) Dollars (USD) BSF-S BSF-Z BF CCF SIPP

 All the selected filter are capable to produce the minimum volume of drinking water required : 25 L/p/d  They are suitable for use by a family of six members for the production of drinking and cooking water.

 If the community is not properly informed and made aware of the advantages of the new household water treatment systems, they may not accept the units and will therefore not use them.  The community members should be thoroughly informed via community meetings so that all may understand, or at least have an idea, of how the treatment systems work.

Prof Momba with Mrs Christinah Skosana addressing the Makwane community Prof Rugimbana sitting with some of the members of the community as they listen.

Prof Momba and Christina explaining the operation of the filter

Setting up of the clay pot filter and zeolite filter in one of the homes

South African Guidelines for the Selection and Use of Appropriate Home Water Treatment Systems by Rural Households

Introduction The need for home water treatment systems as an alternative for centralized water supplies Purpose of the guidelines Who will benefit from the guidelines Who should use the guidelines Recommended Home Water Treatment Systems/Devices Background to selected methods Cost and performance of home treatment systems/devices Overall Handbook Structure

Guidelines for the Selection of Home Water Treatment Systems/Devices Classification of raw water quality for South African raw water sources Decision tools for use in the selection of home water treatment systems/devices How to use the guidelines Guidelines for Implementation Community acceptance Training and monitoring Monitoring the impact of implementation Installation, operation, maintenance and trouble -shouting Procurement Funding and budgeting Other aspects

Guidelines for Construction of Selected Home water Treatment Systems Construction by communities General guidelines for design and construction by private companies Issues related to operation and maintenance

Various household water treatment systems and devices have been extensively reported in the literature. Little is known about the way to assist local communities in making their choices on a particular system or unit that can be appropriate to their situation. A better understanding of sustainable HWTS and the criteria for the selection can assist rural communities to make the right choice of the filters that can produce safe drinking water and eradicate preventable waterborne diseases prevalent in the rural communities of Africa. African leaders must focus not only on centralized water supply systems, but also to decentralized systems such as cost-effective HWTSs to provide access to safe drinking water to all.