Hi,
I do not agree with your assertion that chemicals are impossible to source. Relief agencies (international ones at least) use them all the time and this approach is aligned with that, giving them yet another option. This has been my experience in Haiti, Pakistan, South Sudan, Indonesia, etc. Where a chemically-based treatment was adopted (and consumables were also locally sourced).
Indeed, they are “imported” (i.e. not available in traditional markets, rather brought for the relief effort), but then again this is not intended to substitute long-term water supplies. Rather a relief option during a crisis.
Anyhow, thanks for the interest.
Caetano

Dear Caetano,

During emergencies (earthquakes; flooding), it is always impossible to get chemicals for water treatment. This is my experience in Pakistan during floods in recent past.

Would it help, if you do away with the "chemical" aspect?

Regards,
F H Mughal

Hi Dean,
Not sure what exactly what your question refers to. Anyhow, beyond the "treatment" technique itself, there is how it is implemented, how it is accepted by operators, how it is accepted by beneficiaries, etc. So, beyond a simple treatment efficacy study, this project intends to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach.
One of the pitfalls of some POU approaches is that it is quite labour intensive. This is sometimes a factor that leads users to abandon it, despite sometimes having high treatment efficacies. In the approach we want to study the onus of the labour is with the trained operator. Once water is treated, beneficiaries can collect water in these semi-decentralised water points. There is no contention (at least at this point) that this is the best approach. However, we have very limited evidence of how well it can work (or not) and this is the ultimate objective of this project. There is no "silver bullet" in emergency water treatment, as every context is different and requires different approaches. However, approach has potential to add to the arsenal of options to consider as part of a "silver buckshot".
Cheers,
Caetano

caetano,
could you explain the approach beyond relying on "pre-mixed chemical formulation for the treatment of surface waters" please?
cheers
Dean

As I infer from the attachment, this semi-decentralized water treatment, is a sort of midway between the bulk water treatment systems, and the POU (point-of-use) water treatment systems.

This is a very interesting course (I would love to take it). I am familiar with bulk water treatment systems, community-level water treatment systems, and the household water treatment systems (some classify POU as household water treatment systems).

I would humbly suggest that, in addition to this forum, the post may also be made at the following 2 forums:

1. The Water Network - thewaternetwork.com/

2. RWSN - Rural Water Supply Network www.rural-water-supply.net/en/

Contacts:

Sean Furey
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Director, RWSN Secretariat
Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN)

Dr. Kerstin Danert
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F H Mughal

Master's opportunity on water treatment in humanitarian settings. Please share! Ideally, we would like to recruit for a start in May 2018. So, apply now!
Please send cover letter, CV, and academic transcripts to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..