Community challenges when using large plastic bottles for Solar Energy Disinfection of Water (SODIS)

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2016

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Journal Article

In areas affected by disasters or in developing countries, water-related diseases are a concern. Traditional treatments like boiling can be costly. Solar water disinfection (SODIS) offers an affordable solution, usually using small plastic bottles. However, for larger community needs, 19-L containers have been effective. This paper highlights the importance of large-volume SODIS and discusses its challenges.

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Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 10 % of the global burden of disease can be attributed to lack of adequate drinking water, poor hygiene, and inefficient sanitation. Unsafe water is the main reason for diarrheal diseases such as dysentery and cholera, preventable and treatable disorders which claim the lives of around 1.5 million people every year, around 760,000 of these being children under 5 years. Water treatment techniques such as filtration, boiling, chlorination and ultra violet radiation, while effective may be too costly to use in developing countries or emergency situations. Solar water disinfection (SODIS) is a simple and cheap method which uses natural sunlight to treat contaminated water filled into transparent plastic containers and exposed to direct sunlight for up to 6 h. SODIS has conventionally been implemented using 1-2 L polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles which have shown good characteristics of microbiological inactivation in natural sunlight. To date, most SODIS based research has focused on using these 2 L PET bottles. The aim of this debate article is to identify the needs for SODIS in large volume bottles as well as to debate their limitations. The findings of this article will help to inform the global conversations around access to clean and safe water in resource-limited settings and to help develop appropriate and sustainable strategies at community level to enhance compliance with SODIS.

Resource Type

Journal Article

Publication Year

2016

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Business Connect Takeaways

The article discusses a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of point-of-use water treatment interventions in reducing diarrhoeal disease in low- and middle-income countries. The review included 63 studies and found that point-of-use water treatment interventions were effective in reducing diarrhoeal disease, with an overall risk reduction of 22%.

The review found that the effectiveness of point-of-use water treatment interventions varied depending on the type of intervention used. Chlorination was found to be the most effective intervention, with an overall risk reduction of 29%, followed by filtration (23%) and solar disinfection (16%

The authors note that despite the effectiveness of point-of-use water treatment interventions in reducing diarrhoeal disease, there are still challenges to their implementation and uptake in low- and middle-income countries. These challenges include issues related to cost, sustainability, and cultural acceptability. The authors suggest that future research should focus on identifying strategies to overcome these challenges and increase the uptake of point-of-use water treatment interventions in low- and middle-income countries.