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11
Measuring chlorine levels
in water supplies
As the quality of water can be seriously affected by a disaster
or an emergency, it is best practice to disinfect all emergency
water supplies. The most common way of disinfecting is with
chlorine. This technical note explains why disinfection is
important, why chlorine is used, how it works, how to test for
its presence and where and when to test.
Why should emergency What is disinfection? due in part to their thick outer wall.
The process only works, however,
water supplies be Many of the diseases that affect
if the chlorine comes into direct
disinfected? traumatized communities are caused
contact with the organisms. If the
by micro-organisms carried in
When disaster strikes a stable water contains silt, the bacteria that
drinking-water. Hence the reference
community with access to reside within it may not be reached
to water-borne diseases. Disinfection
drinking-water of a certain quality, by the chlorine. Chlorine disinfects
is the process of destroying these
their situation changes: water but does not purify it: there
organisms to prevent infection.
are some contaminants it cannot
• Disasters often damage There are a number of methods of
remove (see Box 11.1 overleaf).
existing water supplies leading disinfecting water, but chlorination
to contamination or further is by far the most common. Table Chlorine takes time to kill
contamination of the supply. 11.1 lists the advantages and organisms. At temperatures of 18OC
disadvantages of using chlorine for and above, the chlorine should be in
• People sometimes have to disinfection. contact with the water for at least 30
move to new locations and minutes. If the water is colder then
are forced to drink water from How does chlorine work? the contact time must be increased.
new sources for which they When chlorine is added to water, It is normal, therefore, to add
have no natural immunity to its it destroys the membrane of many chlorine to water as it enters a
contamination. microorganisms and kills them. storage tank or a long delivery
However, it is ineffective against some pipeline to give the chemical time to
• Disasters frequently affect
cysts, such as cryptosporidium, which perform its disinfecting action before
people’s physical and
are resistant to chlorine disinfection it reaches the consumer.
psychological health, making
them more susceptible to Table 11.1. Advantages and disadvantages of using chlorine as a disinfectant
infection and disease.
Advantages Disadvantages
It is important, therefore, that all It comes in several forms: powder, It is a powerful oxidizing agent which must be handled
people affected by a disaster granules, tablets, liquid and gas. with care and breathing chlorine fumes must be avoided.
are provided with access to safe It is usually readily available in one form It does not effectively penetrate silt and organic particles
drinking-water. There is a wide or another and relatively inexpensive. suspended in the water.
variety of methods for improving It dissolves easily in water. It can give an unpleasant taste if slightly overdosed,
the quality of drinking-water, which can dissuade people from using the supply.
It provides residual disinfection (see Box
many of which are discussed in 11.2).
Its effectiveness against some organisms requires higher
Technical Notes 4 and 5. Most of concentrations of chlorine and longer contact times.
It is effective against a wide
these treatment processes are Is ineffective in removing cryptosporidium and where this
range of disease- causing micro- pathogen is a concern other methods should be used in
designed to prepare the water organisms. combination with chlorine (i.e. filtration).
for disinfection, which is the final
stage in the treatment process. Source: Adapted from Davis and Lambert (2002)
TECHNICAL NOTES ON DRINKING-WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN EMERGENCIES Updated: July 2013 11.1
Measuring chlorine levels in water supplies
from the water. Chemical The quickest and simplest method • Just after the chlorine has been
contamination is more difficult to for testing for chlorine residual is added to the water to check
remove and requires specialist the dpd (diethyl paraphenylene that the chlorination process is
knowledge and equipment. diamine) indicator test, using a working.
comparator. A tablet of dpd is added
• At the outlet of the consumer
to a sample of water, colouring
nearest to the chlorination point
it red. The strength of colour is
to check that residual chlorine
Box 11.2. Residual protection measured against standard colours
levels are within acceptable
on a chart to determine the chlorine
Most disinfection methods kill levels.
concentration. The stronger the
micro-organisms effectively but
colour, the higher the concentration • At the furthest points in the
do not provide any protection
of chlorine in the water. network where residual chlorine
against recontamination further
along the supply system. levels are likely to be at their
Several kits for analysing the lowest. If chlorine levels are
chlorine residual in water, such as found to be below minimum
Chlorine has the advantage
the one illustrated in Figure 11.2, are levels (see Box 11.3) it might be
of being both an effective
available commercially. The kits are necessary to add more chlorine
disinfectant and its residual can
small and portable. at an intermediate point in the
protect the supply downstream
from the disinfection point. network.
Step 1. Step 2.
Place one tablet in the Crush the tablet, then
test chamber (a) and fill chamber (a) with the
add a few drops of chlorinated water
the chlorinated water supply under test.
supply under test.
a
a
Step 3. Step 4.
Place more of the chlorinated The level of residual chlorine (R) in mg of chlorine per litre
water supply under test (mg/l) is determined by comparing the colour of the water
(without a tablet) in the supply under test in chamber (a) with the tablet added
second chamber (b). This with the standard colours on the vessel (chamber (b)).
is the blank control for Note that chamber (c) would be used if a higher chlorine
colour comparison. residual is to be used. b
a b c
b
Figure 11.2. Steps in determining the chlorine residual in water using a comparator
Further information
WHO (2011) Guidelines for drinking water quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chlorine
4th ed., WHO, Geneva. http:www.who.int/water_ residual testing fact sheet. CDC SWS Project
sanitation_health/publications/2011/dwq_guidelines/ (Undated). http://www.cdc.gov/safewater/publications_
en/ pages/chlorineresidual.pdf
Davis J, Lambert R. (2002) Engineering in Emergencies Action Contre La Faim (2005) Water sanitation and hygiene
2nd edition, chapter 13. ITDG UK. for populations at risk, chapter 11. Hermann Editeurs
Des Sciences et des Arts, Paris ISBN 2 7056 6499 8
Prepared for WHO by WEDC. Author and Series Editor: Bob Reed.
Editorial contributions, design and illustrations by Rod Shaw
Line illustrations courtesy of WEDC / IFRC. Additional graphics by Ken Chatterton.
Water, Engineering and Development Centre Loughborough University Leicestershire LE11 3TU UK
T: +44 1509 222885 F: +44 1509 211079 E: wedc@lboro.ac.uk W: http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk
© World Health Organization 2013. All rights reserved. All reasonable precautions have been taken by the World Health Organization to verify the information contained in
11.4 this publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and
use of the material lies with the reader. In no event shall the World Health Organization be liable for damages arising from its use.