Water Disinfection Techniques: A Review

Abstract

Water pollution, inadequate water supply and poor waste treatment facilities have greatly contributed to diarrheal and other water borne disease conditions. Regular presence of Escherichia coli and other coliforms are probable indicators of water contamination. State of the art water disinfection methods of boiling and chlorination success has been limited due to inadequate germicidal effect and health risks. Frequent outbreaks of water borne illness in the rural areas of developing nations continue to exit despite the administration of boiling, chlorination and use of herbs as water disinfection techniques among the residents. Solar water disinfection has emerged as alternative to back-up the existing water techniques. However, the acceptability and adoption potential has not been fully realized. Some of the solar water disinfection technologies have exhibited draw-backs of: Limited volume, post-disinfection regrowth, incomplete disinfection and pulsating flow rates. In addition, the experimented solar water disinfection technologies have mainly focused on indicators organism such as Escherichia coli and coliforms. The effect of solar water disinfection on diverse water borne pathogens has not been fully established. Water disinfection techniques are reviewed here in with focus on sustainable development goal 6 (SDG).