A System for Treating Rainwater Collected for Human Use in Rural Communities in Mexico

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.