The present study was conducted in Naranjo County located in the municipality of Mixco, Guatemala. The water supply source comes from two wells with a maximum flow of 25.24 and 33.44 L·s . The aim of this study was to conduct laboratory tests, basic engineering and supervision of the construction and evaluation of an operations plant using two configurations, A (low-rate sedimentation and ceramic filter) and B (high-rate sedimentation and clinoptilolite filter), to remove arsenic present in water for human use and consumption. This plant supplies water to Naranjo County in Mixco, Guatemala (5000 inhabitants). First, a laboratory Jar Test was performed to evaluate arsenic removal efficiency. And second, a conventional clarification plant was then built (design flow: 25.24 L·s ) for arsenic, values that comply with Guatemalan standards. For this case, the relation between Fe(III) dosage/mg and As(V) removal was 1:46.

The country of Mexico is facing serious problems with water quality and supply for human use and consumption in rural communities, mainly due to topographic and isolation. In Mexico the average annual precipitation is 1,500 cubic kilometers of water, if 3% of that amount were used, 13 million Mexicans could be supplied with drinking water that they currently do not have access. Considering the limited infrastructure and management in rural communities, which do not receive services from the centralized systems of large cities, a modified pilot multi-stage filtration (MMSF) system was designed, developed, and evaluated for treating collected rainwater in three rural communities, Ajuchitlan and Villa Nicolas Zapata (Morelos State) and Xacxamayo (Puebla State). The efficiencies obtained in the treatment system were: colour and turbidity >93%. It is worth mentioning that the water obtained for human use and consumption complies with the Mexican Standard NOM-127-SSA1-1994.

The northern area of the State of Morelos is facing serious problems with water supply for human use and consumption mainly due to geographic conditions and the type of subsoil that predominates in the area, which is made of permeable materials that allow rainwater infiltration to the impermeable layers (800-2342 mm year−1), more than 500 meters deep, making the extraction of this vital liquid difficult and costly. The aim of this project was to develop a system for the treatment of collected rainwater for the rural community Villa Nicolas Zapata in the State of Morelos, Mexico. Considering the limited hydraulic infrastructure and management in this community of 300 inhabitants, which does not receive services from the centralized water systems, a modified pilot multi-stage filtration (MMSF) system for producing drinking water for human use was selected, designed, built, and evaluated. The efficiencies obtained by this treatment system were: real color 96.3%, turbidity 98.0%, pH 6.5 and absence in total and fecal coliforms. The modified multi-stage filtration technology (MMSF) is suitable for treating collected rainwater, obtaining an effluent with water quality that complies with Mexican Official Standard NOM-127-SSA1-1994.