Naegleria fowleri and Chlorination of Drinking Water in Karachi

Since May 2013, the brain-eating amoeba or Naegleria fowleri has caused the death of three persons. As
reported in this paper (July 3), in a meeting held by the Karachi commissioner, it was informed that 41
per cent of water being supplied to the city was found with insufficient amount of chlorine. A total of 44
of the 1,445 samples had no chlorine at all; 546 samples had less than 0.25 ppm (parts per million), a
value which KWSB calls incorrectly as a standard.

There is no such thing as a standard for residual chlorine in water distribution systems. The World
Health organization (2008) gives the guideline value of residual chlorine as: “For effective disinfection,
there should be a residual concentration of free chlorine of ≥0.5 mg/l (milligrams per liter) after at least
30 minutes contact time at pH <8.0.

While the Karachi commissioner deserves a pat on the back for taking interest, he should note that the
issue of chlorination of drinking water is not that simple. A number of parameters impact the
chlorination process.

Chlorination will not be effective if the turbidity of water is more than 3 ntu ( nephelometric turbidity
units). This is because suspended particles protect microorganisms, which hide themselves within the
particles to escape the disinfection. Karachi drinking water is quite often turbid.

Disinfection process is also affected by the pH value of water. pH, a measure of the degree of the
acidity or the alkalinity of a solution, is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion
concentration. The optimum range of pH for chlorine disinfection is between 6.5 and 7.5. The
effectiveness of chlorine disinfection reduces by a factor of between 3 and 6, when pH increases from 6
to 9. Chlorine disinfection is poor when the pH is above 9.

Temperature of water impacts disinfection efficiency. Temperatures above 20°C (Celsius) are suitable for
disinfection. When temperature drops below 20°C, the disinfection efficiency reduces. For every 10°C
drop in temperature, below 20°C, the efficiency of disinfection reduces by 50-60 per cent. Near 0°C
disinfection efficiency becomes very poor.

Disinfection efficiency is significantly impacted by the contact time. Contact time is defined as the period
available for the interaction between the disinfectant and constituents in the water. It is an important
parameter in the design of disinfection systems for water treatment. The minimum contact time for
chlorination should be 30 minutes, at 20°C, to ensure effective disinfection. In case of Karachi, this
means that there must be the contact time of 30 minutes of chlorine with water, before the water
reaches “the first consumer.” If the temperature drops below 20°C, the contact time should be
increased. Contact time increases from 30 to 60 minutes, if the temperature drops from 20°C to 10°C.

The generally accepted value of residual chlorine of 0.5 mg/l is required to be maintained in the
distribution system up to the last customer. In Karachi, the water supply is intermittent and the water
pipe systems leak. When the water supply is switched off, the pressure will drop and contaminated
water will enter the distribution system through the leaks in the pipes. The contamination that enters
the pipelines will consume the residual chlorine and, the net result will be zero residual chlorine further
down the distribution system. The water agency in Karachi must note this point and undertake remedial
measures. One such measure is the rechlorination (booster chlorination) in the distribution system.

Indus River, a major source of water for Karachi’s water treatment plants, receives large-scale untreated
municipal and industrial wastewaters. This is addition to the diffused sources of agricultural flows,
containing agrochemicals. As a result, the Indus River supports microbiological communities that include
pathogens. A rational program of watershed management can reduce the discharge of pollutants in the
Indus River, but Karachi water agency never undertook Indus River watershed management initiatives.
Current and emerging organisms of concern in Karachi’s raw water are Giardia lamblia and
Cryptosporidium.

A major issue is the use of standard disinfectants of required strength. Substandard chemicals are
widely available in Karachi. Substandard disinfectants will cause rapid residual chlorine decay in the
distribution system.

F. H. Mughal
Karachi