CHAPTER 5.

TREATMENT METHODS FOR RURAL WATER

SUPPLY
5.1 Introduction
Ethiopia is situated at the area where the weather is complimented with relatively higher amount of
rainfall. This has given the country with enormous water resource potential. Accordingly, it was estimated
that the country has an annual surface runoff of 122 billion cubic meters of water. The country’s
groundwater potential has been estimated to be 2.6 billion m 3.
In spite of this immense water resource potential, sizable proportion of the country used to have faced
uneven water distribution and inconsistency of its accessibility in terms of time and space (IMWI, 2007).
The major sources of drinking water for the vast majority of the rural population (84% of the country
total) in Ethiopia are surface run offs represented by unprotected springs, ponds, rivers, and hand dug
wells whose health risk is significant as they are exposed to contamination caused by human beings,
livestock, wildlife and uncontrolled flooding.
All sources confirm that water supply coverage in Ethiopia is on a strong upward trajectory. According to
official government data, water supply coverage has risen from 19 percent in 1990 (11 percent rural, 70
percent urban) to 66 percent in 2009 (62 percent rural, 89 percent urban). Based on the official
government data, Ethiopia has already met the MDG(Millennium Development Goal) target of 60
percent.
National targets for Ethiopia are embedded in the Universal Access Plan (UAP), an ambitious national
plan launched by the Government of Ethiopia in 2005 with the objective of achieving full access to water
supply and sanitation for all Ethiopians by 2012. Following the update of the Plan for Accelerated and
Sustainable Development to End Poverty (PASDEP-2) in 2010, these targets were adjusted slightly to
98.5 percent coverage, and the target date extended to 2015. These are still well above the MDG targets.

THE RURAL SUB-SECTOR- Access to improved drinking water is particularly lacking in Ethiopia’s
rural sub-sector with coverage levels estimated to be less than the 31 percent in-operable equipment and
poor maintenance budgets. During the dry season more traditional sources of water are placed under
pressure as shallow wells or other perennial sources dry-up. This situation worsens as these sources of
water supply are shared with livestock. Taken together, rates of morbidity and mortality in rural areas is
particularly high since few have access to improved water supply, sanitation facilities, and awareness of
hygienic practices. WSS(Water Supply and Sanitation ) service has been fully decentralized to towns and
local Woreda Water Desks (WWD); however, decentralization has also redistributed vital equipment and
staff throughout rural areas to the extent that poorer areas now have even less access to technical
assistance. Although the government has established technical training institutes and is now training
adequate personnel, the WSS sector’s financing and stock of equipment supplies and services still need
improvement. Multiple opportunities exist to support the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation
Program, especially in local capacity building, legalization of WatSan committees for borrowing
purposes, and facilitating the involvement of the private sector in financing and equipment sales and
maintenance.

5.2 Treatment of saline water

Solar Distillation: Before beginning a discussion on water treatment systems that utilize solar power, it is
worth mentioning the sun and how much power is actually available. As the Earth is an imperceptible
cosmic dot from the sun’s perspective, very little of the total energy emitted from the sun ever reaches the
Earth. In fact, at the outmost reaches of our atmosphere we receive only one-billionth of the energy that
the sun produces. The sun’s energy per unit area is called solar flux, and is generally measured in W/m 2 .
While the extraterrestrial solar flux (flux at the outer edge of our atmosphere) is 1,353 W/m 2 , this can
never be reached on the Earth’s surface. If the solar flux were that high on the Earth’s surface we would
be in much greater danger from the sun, so we are quite thankful that the atmosphere absorbs much of the
solar flux. However, the interference from the atmosphere complicates solar technologies. Due to
atmospheric diffusion, solar flux is reduced by at least 15–30%, even on the sunniest day of summer on
the equator. Typically, solar flux from 300 to 1,000 W/m 2 is referenced as being used for solar
technologies. Often times, references to higher solar flux values include the magnifying characteristics of
compounding reflectors. Solar technology is surprisingly fickle as it is heavily dependent on sufficient
solar flux. Attributes that affect solar flux are absorption and scattering by the atmosphere, the time (day,
month, or year), latitude, altitude, and meteorological effects. Additionally, technology used to capture
the sun’s energy is expensive to manufacture and produce, though often not as expensive as other water
treatment technology costs. Under current systems and operations, desalination costs are substantial for
developing communities—particularly those with comparatively small populations. The infrastructure
required to produce and support continuous desalination and purification—including power supply, pre-
treatment, brine management, janitorial maintainability, repairs and modifications maintainability, and
inventory—is a daunting task when the protective hedge of other city-sized systems are far removed.
However, while cities may have the cash flow to employ full-scale operations to alleviate water needs,
those left beyond the reach of urbanization have hand-collected water from unsanitized sources as their
only recourse. Yet despite developing countries with 50–70% of their population living in the few urban
centers (UN DESA 2007), there still remains hundreds of millions of people qualified by the UN as being
“water-stressed” who need access to cheaper and more reliable technology to bring them clean water.

Drinking Water Treatment Technology by Solar distillation:- Solar distillation is a rising star among
such technologies. A very simple technology in both concept and design, solar distillation utilizes the
natural process of evaporation to capture purified water. The structure used in solar distillation is called a
solar still, and a common solar still has a slanted glass cover over a black-painted, water filled basin. As
sunlight penetrates the device, solar energy is absorbed by the basin liner and transferred to the water via
conduction and convection. Minor heat losses exists from reflection by the glass and water surface, and
absorption from the basin liner (energy is transmitted to the ground). As the water evaporates, water
vapor begins collecting on the glass cover. As build-up occurs and condensate beads become larger,
gravity overpowers adhesion and the purified water molecules trickle down the slanted glass plate to
collect in a gutter designed to capture the pure water and carry it to a storage tank or spigot. Since
evaporation is the mechanism of purification, this technology is effective for the complete removal of all
chemical, organic, and biological contaminants within the feed water. However, solar distillation requires
higher amounts of solar energy for longer periods of time than does solar pasteurization or even indirect
distillation or UV irradiation. Therefore, solar distillation requires the most amount of solar energy
compared to the other solar technologies. While the per-volume demand of solar energy may be higher
for UV irradiation due to the utilization of photo-voltaic (PV) panels, solar energy captured when the
system is not in use can be stored in batteries to supplement the device at a later time, allowing UV
irradiation to operate under lower solar flux scenarios than solar distillation. Additionally, due to the slow
rate of evaporation that occurs even on the most ideal day, the production per square meter of the still is
low. Because the still is glass covered and tends to be rather large, the capital cost for implementation can
be quite high (for manufacturing the glass and delivering it to the site), and the risk of environmental
damage is also significant (from animals, weather, and other unforeseen events). Since there are no
moving parts and the only input required is the addition of more water, maintainability of a solar still is
extremely simple compared to technologies such as RO, MD, and RBF. Depending on specific
construction, slow sand filtration and solar pasteurization may also have similarly low maintenance
requirements. In fact, the only maintenance required is to occasionally clean out the basin of contaminants
and the removal of algal growth that builds up over time. This is most common when purifying salt water
using solar distillation, though cleaning would still be required if contaminated water had only bacteria
and protozoa as the dead microbes would eventually form a layer which would begin interfering with the
efficiency of the basin. Solar distillation is a technology that may be readily accepted in rural areas due to
its simplicity and smaller scale of operation. Understanding the concept of evaporation and condensation
can be easily grasped by anyone, and small, low yield examples can be delivered to villages. As the
community witnesses the cupful of pure water produced each day, it will be understandable for there to be
a general desire for larger stills to produce more pure water.
5.3 Treatment of wastewater
A large section of population lives in villages and is mainly engaged in agriculture. They belong to
weaker section of the society. There is a definite trend of rural population migrating to the urban areas
due to lack of employment opportunities, low earnings, insufficient means of transport and insanitary
living conditions. One source of insanitary condition in rural areas is the drainage of waste water from
bathing and cooking areas of dwellings over the roads and lanes having inadequate slopes. The situation
is further aggravated due to the movements of carts and animals which result in the creation of pot holes
and ditches that gets filled up with dirty stagnant water. The mosquitoes and flies find good breeding
centres in these places and spread diseases.
Some of the village roads are brick paved with drains for waste water disposal. But these have not served
the required purpose due to improper slopes, insufficient maintenance and unpredictable flow of water.
Rural dwellings having their own source of water supply like hand pumps discharge more water on the
streets. Furthermore, the agricultural waste and domestic refuse collect in drains obstructing the flow of
water and ultimately, all these things appear on the streets.

The Septic Tank

The septic tank was patented in London around 1900. The septic tank is “A tank in which waste matter is
decomposed through bacterial action.” The modern septic tank is a watertight box usually made of precast
concrete, concrete blocks, or reinforced fiberglass.

A septic tank consists of one or more concrete or plastic tanks of between 4000 and 7500 liters (1,000 and
2,000 gallons); one end is connected to an inlet wastewater pipe and the other to a septic drain field.
Generally these pipe connections are made with a T pipe, allowing liquid to enter and exit without
disturbing any crust on the surface. Today, the design of the tank usually incorporates two chambers, each
equipped with a manhole cover, and separated by a dividing wall with openings located about midway
between the floor and roof of the tank.
Wastewater enters the first chamber of the tank, allowing solids to settle and scum to float. The settled
solids are anaerobically digested, reducing the volume of solids. The liquid component flows through the
dividing wall into the second chamber, where further settlement takes place. The excess liquid, now in a
relatively clear condition, then drains from the outlet into the septic drain field, also referred to as a leach
field, drain field or seepage field, depending upon locality. A percolation test is required prior to
installation to ensure the porosity of the soil is adequate to serve as a drain field.
The remaining impurities are trapped and eliminated in the soil, with the excess water eliminated
through percolation into the soil, through evaporation, and by uptake through the root system
of plants and eventual transpiration or entering groundwater or surface water. A piping network, often
laid in a stone-filled trench (see weeping tile), distributes the wastewater throughout the field with
multiple drainage holes in the network. The size of the drain field is proportional to the volume of
wastewater and inversely proportional to the porosity of the drainage field. The entire septic system can
operate by gravity alone or, where topographic considerations require, with inclusion of a lift  pump.
Certain septic tank designs include siphons or other devices to increase the volume and velocity of
outflow to the drainage field. These help to fill the drainage pipe more evenly and extend the drainage
field life by preventing premature clogging or bioclogging.
An Imhoff tank is a two-stage septic system where the sludge is digested in a separate tank. This avoids
mixing digested sludge with incoming sewage. Also, some septic tank designs have a second stage where
the effluent from the anaerobic first stage is aerated before it drains into the seepage field.
A properly designed and normally operating septic system is odor-free and, besides periodic inspection
and emptying of the septic tank, should last for decades with minimal maintenance.
A well designed and maintained concrete, fiberglass, or plastic tank should last about 50 years
Septic Tank with Baffle

Solid material overflowing into the soil absorption area should be avoided at all costs.   It is this solids
overflow that clogs soil pores and causes system to fail.  two main factors cause solid material to build up
enough to overflow: (1) bacterial deficency, and (2) lack of sludge removal.
Bacteria MUST BE PRESENT in the septic tank to break down and digest the organic solids.  Normal
household waste probides enough bacteria to digest the solids unless any harm is done to the bacteria.
Bacteria are very sensitive to environmental changes.  Check the lables of products you normally use in
home.  Products carrying harsh warnings such as “HARMFUL OR FATAL IF SWALLOWED” will
harm bacteria.

 Detergents
 Bleaches
 Cleaning compounds
 Disinfectants
 Acids
 Toilet cleaners
 Polishes
 Caustic drain openers
Bacteria must be present to digest the scum. If not digested, the scum will accumulate untill it overflows,
clogging the soil absorption area.

The sludge in the septic tank – inorganic and inert material – is not biodegradable and will not
decompose.  If not removed, the sludge will accumulate until it eventually overflows, again clogging the
soil absorption area.

The Cesspool

Cesspools (or leaching pools) are pits into which concrete, brick or cement block walls have been placed.
Wastewater flows into the cesspool and drains or “percolates” into the soil through perforated walls.

Cesspools which serve only as “overflow” pits from septic tanks are much more efficient than the older
systems because they receive much less solid material. However, where there is no septic tank to hold the
solids, the cesspool will require much more maintenance. Over time, when the drainage area around the
leaching pool becomes saturated, additional pools may have to be dug to handle the volume
5.4 Treatment methods for rural water supply.
Water is a major need on the earth, without it life is impossible. About 1 billion people are without safe
drinking water worldwide. The vast majority of these people are located in sub-Saharan Africa, South
Asia and East Asia. Countless lives are lost annually due to drinking and using contaminated water
(WHO 2006). The people at greatest risk are children, people living under unsanitary conditions and the
elderly (WHO 2006). Globally, 4 billion cases of diarrhoea are reported every year causing 1.8 million
deaths, out of which about 90 % are children under five (UNESCO 2007). In Ethiopia, the diarrhoea
morbidity is around 17 % . The most common source of drinking water for the rural people is
groundwater from boreholes (deep wells), shallow wells and springs. Groundwater is usually consumed
without any form of treatment. Water is a medium of thousands of microorganisms some of which are
disease-causing. Pathogens (e.g. bacteria, viruses, protozoa and helminths) in water cause a variety of
diarrhoea-related diseases such as cholera. These pathogens are commonly derived from human faecal
material. Approximately 2.2 billion people are without adequate sanitation in the world. In Ethiopia, the
majority of people in rural areas and high density townships in urban areas use pit latrines which are often
in a state of disrepair and unhygienic. In the rainy season, faecal matter from pit latrines and open sources
is washed into water bodies, thereby contaminating the water. In urban areas, sanitation facilities fill up
and overflow if they are not properly managed. Microbiological water quality from shallow wells (with
depths not exceeding 20 m), has been found to be more inferior in the wet season compared to the dry
season.

Conventional water purification systems using imported chemicals are prohibitively expensive for
developing countries. Ethiopia being a developing country where 52.4 % of people live below the poverty
line (World Bank Annual Report, 2013), such expensive conventional methods of assuring potable water
quality are unsustainable. In addition to the high cost of importing water treatment, chemicals like
aluminium sulphate (Alum), a common coagulant, a number of researchers have also found out that its
residue in water may be carcinogenic. As a result, people use untreated water from borehole/shallow
wells, which pose a threat to their health.

Natural plant extracts have been used for water purification for many centuries. Most of these extracts are
derived from the seeds, leaves, pieces of bark or sap, roots and fruit extracts of trees and plants, For
example, Strychnos potatorum was being used as a clarifier between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
BC. Shulz and Okun (1984) together with Sanghi et al. (2006) reported that seeds of the nirmali tree
(Strychnos potatorum) were used to clarify turbid river water 4,000 years ago in India. It is further
reported that in Peru, water has been traditionally clarified with the mucilaginous sap of tuna leaves
obtained from certain species of cacti. Zea mays was used as a settling agent by sailors in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries.

Natural coagulants have been reported to have several advantages compared to Alum. Natural coagulants
produce much lower sludge volume, the natural alkalinity is not consumed during the treatment process,
they are biodegradable, safe to human health, cost effective since they can be locally grown and have a
wider effective dosage range for flocculation of various colloidal suspensions. Moringa oleifera is
medicinal species, belonging to monogeneric family Moringaceae (order Brassicales). It has 33 species of
trees and shrubs distributed in sub-Himalayan ranges of India, Sri Lanka, North Eastern and South
Western Africa, Madagascar and Arabia. Today, it has become naturalised in many locations of the
 tropics and is widely cultivated in Africa, Ceylon, Thailand, Burma, Singapore, West Indies, Sri lanka,
India, Mexico, Malabar, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Bacterial removal in the range of 90–99 % by the powder has also been reported. Yongabi (2008) tested
the coagulative and disinfective capabilities of M. oleifera, Jatropha curcas, Pleurotus tuberrregium
sclerotium, Hibiscus sabdariffa and Alum on wastewater samples. M. oleifera coagulated about 90 % of
the particles in the samples. The coagulation effect was superior in heavily polluted water than less
polluted water. The number of coliforms also reduced substantially. It has been also used as water
softener.

The aim of drinking water treatment is to remove impurities and bacteria in order to meet the quality
guidelines for drinking water (WHO 2004). M. oleifera seeds are recommended for eco-friendly,
nontoxic, simplified water treatment where rural and peri-urban people living in extreme poverty.

Materials and methods

Plant extracts

The plant extracts database was produced from literature from different authors. The information on plant
extracts included plant names, species, harvesting characteristics, where the plant is cultivated, climatic
requirements, uses, estimated cost and other general information were documented.

Preparation of powder and solution

Good quality seeds (not rotten) of M. oleifera, J. curcas and Guar gum were ground using a domestic
food processor. The powder was then sieved through a 600 μm sieve. The solution was prepared by
dissolving 10 g of powder in 100 ml of distilled water. An appropriate volume of solution was then
measured and poured in a 1,000 ml of sample water for the desired concentration.

Measurement of water quality parameters

Sedimentation jar tests which shown in Fig. 1 will be used to determine the coagulation properties of the
plant extracts used during water treatment. Five glass beakers of 1,000 ml capacity is filled with raw
water obtained for the selected shallow wells. One beaker is used as a control while the other four will be
dosed, with each plant extract in turn, with concentrations ranging from 50 mg/l to 500 mg/l. Water
samples will be mixed at a high speed of 200 revolutions per minute for 60 secpnds, as recommended by
Peavy et al. (1985). Rapid mixing for a few seconds is important after adding a coagulant to obtain a
uniform dispersion of the coagulant and also to increase the opportunity for particle-to-particle contact.
Subsequent gentle and prolonged mixing (15 min), which cements the microscopic coagulated particles
into larger flocs, followed. The solution is then allowed to stand for 30 min to allow the coagulated
particles to settle to the bottom. The supernatant is then filtered on Whatman filter papers no. 542.
Turbidity of water can be measured using a turbidity metre (ELE: 430-260). Turbidity is measured at
extract concentrations ranging from zero (control) to 500 mg/l. Faecal coliforms will be only measured at
optimum extract concentration to produce minimum turbidity. Faecal coliforms will be determined using
the membrane filtration technique. A measured volume of water as guided by WHO (2006) was filtered
through a membrane. Membranes will be then incubated on Membrane Lauryl Sulphate Broth (MLSB) at
44 °C for 24 h. Each test is duplicated and comparable results averaged, essentially to reduce any errors
related to measurement. Bacteria that are present on the membranes grew into visible colonies. The viable
colonies will be counted and converted to represent a count per 100 ml.

Fig. 1 Jar test equipment