Treatment and Purification

Featured Articles
December 2, 2019 Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face
Picture credit: Romit Sen
November 21, 2019 A report by NIUA brings to light the chinks in Jaipur's sewage system and suggests some solutions.
Routine check done by the sewage treatment plant staff in Delawas, Jaipur. The plant is part of the ADB best practices projects list. (Image: Asian Development Bank, Flickr Commons)
November 18, 2019 Bangalore's water utility is understaffed, under financed and unable to service the city's water needs.
Image credit: Citizen Matters
November 13, 2019 Policy matters this week
A domestic RO water purifier
Virological evaluation of domestic water purification devices in India - Inadequate quality and the need for virological standards - Tropical Medicine and International Health
The evaluation of drinking water supply in Indian cities shows increasing evidence of microbial contamination, the study says. Posted on 14 Aug, 2011 03:36 PM

This paper published in the journal

The challenges of ecological sanitation in coastal south India - A case study of Kovalam town - South Chennai (Tamil Nadu) - A presentation
Involvement of women in designing toilets was very important for the success of the programme, the presentation says. Posted on 11 Aug, 2011 05:48 PM

This presentation by Sekhar Raghavan, Director, Rain Centre, Chennai, India highlights the experiences and the challenges faced by Rain Centre in introducing ecological sanitation in the coastal town of Kovalam near Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India along with Coastal and Rural development Trust (CRDT), a small non profit centre based in Kovalam .

The coastal town of Kovalam was selected as a case because of its peculiar situation with its location in a fast developing  peri-urban area in proximity to Chennai city characterised by good groundwater situation, adequate land and housing facilities, but with a glaring and urgent need and demand for toilets.

Guidelines of the Central Rural Sanitation Programme and Total Sanitation Campaign by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (2011)
The Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) moves towards a “demand driven” approach as per new guidelines. Posted on 25 Jul, 2011 07:30 PM

This document by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation deals with the guidelines of the Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP) and Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC). India’s first nationwide programme of rural sanitation, the CRSP was launched in 1986, while TSC was launched in 1999 with the aim of ending open defecation.

Evaluating household water treatment options
A report by World Health Organisation on health-based targets and microbiological performance specifications. Posted on 17 Jul, 2011 02:11 PM

CoverThis document by the World Health Organisation, for the first time, sets forth global criteria to evaluate whether a household water treatment option reduces waterborne pathogens sufficiently to protect health. Through use of a risk-based framework and by emphasizing the philosophy of incremental improvement, it is intended to provide implementers and policy-makers with an evidence-based and pragmatic approach to select options suited to local conditions.

Household water treatment interventions may play an important role in protecting public health where existing water sources, including those delivered via a piped network or other improved sources, are untreated, are not treated properly or become contaminated during distribution or storage. Household water treatment applications are a range of technologies, devices or methods employed for the purposes of treating water at the household level or at the point of use in other settings, such as schools, health-care facilities and other community locations. Point-of-use water treatment is another term used for household water treatment.

Bamboo charcoal as a natural Water Filter - An indigenous rural application
Bamboo charcoal is rich in a number of minerals including potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium, the article says. Posted on 16 Jul, 2011 07:24 PM

Guest post: Shwetha Kamath (India Water Portal Volunteer)


About 74 per cent of India's total population, currently about 1.25 billion, live in rural areas. More than one third of the water available to them is not potable. In a grim reminder that poor quality of drinking water leads to serious health problems, India has admitted that about 180,000 rural populated areas are afflicted by diseases which are caused due to impure, toxic organic and inorganic substances including tri-halo methane, chlorine, etc. Some states have reported multiple contaminations in drinking water and there is no doubt that the current water situation in India will get much, much worse unless suitable solutions are sought. Most existing purification methods not only remove the impurities but drain out the essential minerals as well. Moreover, they are expensive and require extensive maintenance. Thus a natural filter comprising of bamboo, gravel, pebble and other locally available natural adsorbents is a great alternative to carry out water purification. What makes this filter unique is the use of bamboo charcoal which is not commonly used in any filter designed for domestic purposes.

A comparison of PureIt and Swach water purifier brands - Guest post by Mrinalini Goswami
PureIT and Swach are two different water purifiers innovated and manufactured by Hindustan Unilever Limited and Tata Chemical respectively and marketed as low cost water purifier. This post compares the two purifiers against a set of featres Posted on 14 Jul, 2011 11:59 AM

Guest post by: Mrinalini Goswami

Both the purifiers already have identified their space in the niche of household water treatment establishing themselves as competitive technologies. Brief highlights of both the purifiers are compiled in the table below:   

PLC & SCADA based water quality, treatment & distribution management system for 428 MLD PCMC water supply system
Objective: To monitor and control from a single point the water quantity, quality, treatment and distribution process in real time for the entire city. Posted on 12 Jul, 2011 04:16 PM

Objective: To monitor and control from a single point the water quantity, quality, treatment and distribution process in real time for the entire city.

PLC & SCADA based Water Quality, Treatment & Distribution Management System for 428 MLD PCMC Water Supply SystemThis project caters to the need for a real time water auditing, monitoring and control system for the entire city of Pimpri Chinchwad spread over 171 sq.kms with a water supply of 428 ML per day.

Guidelines for drinking water quality - Fourth edition by World Health Organisation (2011)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has come up with the fourth edition of “Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality”. Posted on 09 Jul, 2011 10:41 AM

WHOThis integrates the third edition, which was published in 2004, with both the first addendum to the third edition, published in 2006, and the second addendum to the third edition, published in 2008. It supersedes previous editions of the Guidelines and previous International Standards. 

This edition of the Guidelines further develops concepts, approaches and information introduced in previous editions, including the comprehensive preventive risk management approach for ensuring drinking-water quality.

Hi-tech vs low-tech in the water sector in the village of Dandiganahalli near Bangalore - Article by S. Vishwanath
Dandiganahalli, very close to Bangalore, has a problem of high TDS in its water, meaning the water is too salty and brackish. Worse still it has Fluoride in it. The video explores appropriate means of dealing with this issue. Posted on 28 Jun, 2011 05:40 PM

Ever since Schumacher wrote his now very, very famous book small is there has in my mind been a question of the appropriateness of the solutions we urban educated types posit for rural ‘problems’.

Multi-district assessment of water safety (M-DAWS) in Gujarat - A study by Water and Sanitation Management Organisation
This report survey assesses the condition of drinking water quality in the Gujarat in the context of severe water shortages. Posted on 15 Jun, 2011 12:08 PM

WASMOThis report by the Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) is based on the analysis of Multi-District Assessment of Water Safety (M-DAWS) carried out in 8 districts of Gujarat (Vadodara,Valsad, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Kachchh, Surat, Ahmedabad and Dangs) , where ensuring adequate and safe drinking water to the people has been looked upon as a huge challenge needing urgent action during years 2007 and 2008 .

The Multi-District Assessment of Water Safety (M-DAWS) programme was undertaken by Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) with financial and technical support from UNICEF.

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