Simple Options to Remove Turbidity
The health consequences of inadequate water and sanitation services include an estimated 4 billion cases of diarrhea and 1.9 million deaths each year, mostly among young children in developing countries. Diarrheal diseases lead to decreased food intake and nutrient absorption, malnutrition, reduced resistance to infection, and impaired physical growth and cognitive development. Since 1996, a large body of published work has proven the effectiveness of interventions to improve water quality through household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) at reducing diarrheal disease. However, not all of these interventions remove the turbidity that causes water to look dirty. Although the following options are not proven to reduce diarrheal disease incidence on their own, they can be used to pre-treat water to reduce turbidity before the use of household water treatment products. These options mechanically (through filtration) or chemically (through flocculation and settling of suspended material) remove particles and reduce turbidity. These pre-treatment methods may also increase the efficacy of household water treatment products by removing contaminants that interfere with disinfection and physical filtration processes.
Bio-toilets: Sustainable Solution to India’s Sanitation Challenge
Banka BioLoo Pvt Ltd, a firm committed to environmental betterment and social uplift, is supporting to eradicate the malaise of open defecation in India. By providing eco-friendly bio-toilets (or bioloos), the enterprise is helping meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG-7) and actively supporting the government’s vision of an open defecation free society.
ADDIS ABABA: Sanitation Status
Sanitation provision in Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia) is grossly deficient, as in most cities in sub-Saharan Africa: most people do not have access to a hygienic toilet; large amounts of faecal waste are discharged to the environment without adequate treatment; this is likely to have major impacts on infectious disease burden and quality of life (Hutton et al. 2007). This article briefly summarizes the current sanitation situation in Addis Ababa.