Performance evaluation of pond sand filters in rural Bangladesh | |
| Author | Rahman, Mahzabeen |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-07-23 |
| Subject(s) | Water--Purification--Arsenic removal--Bangladesh Water--Purification--Sand filtration--Bangladesh |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management. |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. EV-07-23 |
| Abstract | Pond sand filter (PSF) based on the principle of slow sand filter, is one of the alternate sources of drinking water to mitigate arsenic problem in Bangladesh. United Nations Children fund (UNICEF), Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) and Grameen Shkkha have installed a number of PSFs at Muradnagar upazilla of Comilla district in Bangladesh where a total of 2,01,897 population are at serious health risk due to arsenic problem. With the logistic support of WHO and UNICEF this study was conducted to evaluate the performance of installed PSFs at Muradnagar upazilla. Along with these, identification of the potential problems upstream of PSFs as well as the assessment of the acceptability of currently operating PSFs to local community were also performed in this study. Four PSFs were selected for testing the water quality parameters. Out of these four PSFs three PSFs were DPHE-Grameen Shikkha Filters and one was BUET Multi Stage Filter. Most of the parameters were tested by Wagtech Portable Water Testing kit. Assessment of the acceptability of currently operating PSFs to local community was performed through questionnaire survey and discussion with the user households. It was observed that average turbidity of pond water was 86.7 NTU whereas for filtered water it was 5.1 NTU. Average turbidity removal efficiency of PSFs was 93.9%. Average fecal coliforms of pond water were observed 233 CFU/100 ml whereas for filtered water it was 2 CFU/100 ml. Average pH of the pond water was 7.79 whereas pH of filtered water was 7.47. It was observed that pH of the ponds, which were used for fish culture, was higher than that of the ponds that were not used for fish culture. Use of fertilizer, cowdung and lime adversely affect- the quality of pond water and accordingly filtered water. This study revealed that about 58 percent households used to collect their drinking water from the PSFs. Education level as well as awareness status of the households were the influential factors that significantly guide peoples attitude and behavior in selecting their drinking water option. Disadvantage of regular cleaning of sand beds and proper operation and maintenance of the filters and lack of participation of all the users in these managerial issues acted as the obstacles for sustainability of technology at community level. |
| Year | 2007 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. EV-07-23 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shipin, Oleg V.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh;Mokbul Morshed Ahmad; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | THAILAND (HM Queen).; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |