With growing pressures on water supplies worldwide, rainwater harvesting is increasingly seen as a viable option to provide drinking water to an ever expanding population, particularly in developing countries. However, rooftop runoff is not without quality issues. Microbiological and chemical contamination have been detected in several studies, well above local and international guidelines, posing a health risk for consumers. Our research explores the use of silver ions, combined with conventional filtration and settling mechanisms, as a safe and affordable model for purification that can be applied on a small scale. The complete systems were installed and tested in rural communities in a Mexican semi-arid region. Efficiencies up to 99.9% were achieved in the removal of indicator microorganisms, with a marked exception where cross-contamination from external seepage occurs. Sites without overhanging branches or with relatively clean surfaces show an absence of total coliforms in the untreated runoff, compared with others where values as high as 1,650 CFU/100 ml were recorded. Thus, given adequate maintenance, the system can successfully deliver high quality drinking water, even when storage is required for long periods of time.
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Research Article|
December 01 2011
Converting rain into drinking water: quality issues and technological advances
I. Adler;
1Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT, UK
E-mail: ilan.adler.09@ucl.ac.uk
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K. A. Hudson-Edwards;
K. A. Hudson-Edwards
2Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
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L. C. Campos
L. C. Campos
1Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT, UK
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Water Supply (2011) 11 (6): 659–667.
Article history
Received:
July 22 2011
Accepted:
October 27 2011
Citation
I. Adler, K. A. Hudson-Edwards, L. C. Campos; Converting rain into drinking water: quality issues and technological advances. Water Supply 1 December 2011; 11 (6): 659–667. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2011.117
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