Waterborne diarrheal diseases are common in developing countries. Home water chlorination and storage using plastic jerry cans prevent illness. In many countries, clay pots are preferred for storage, and plastic containers may not be acceptable. CARE and CDC compared the disinfection efficacy of clay pots with plastic jerry cans.
We treated filtered and unfiltered water from a lake, a river, and a pond stored in clay pots and jerry cans with standard doses of chlorine in the laboratory, and determined residual free chlorine and Escherichia coli levels at various time intervals. We randomly allocated traditional clay pots, spigoted clay pots, and jerry cans to 20 households in a village. Stored water was treated with standard doses of chlorine. Free chlorine and E. coli levels were determined at 0, 0.5, 24, and 48 hours.
We detected 20 to 200 colony forming units (cfu)/100ml of E. coli in source water. At chlorine doses of 16-24 ml, free chlorine levels ³0.2 mg/L and no detectable E. coli were found after 24 hours. In the village study, following chlorination, free chlorine residuals ³0.2 mg/L and no detectable cfu of E. coli were found in water samples from all containers after 0.5 hours. After 24 hours, E. coli was not detected in 100% of spigoted clay pots and jerry cans, and 80% of traditional clay pots.
Effective water disinfection for up to 24 hours is possible in traditional or modified clay pots. Further study is needed to determine optimal storage practices and their health impact.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: Water Quality, Water Test
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.