COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND

ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH

WATER SUPPLY AND
SAFETY
Dr Momodu Sesay
Content
• Wholesomeness of water
• Sources of water
• Contamination of water
• Water- related disease
• Water treatment technology
Wholesomeness of water

Introduction
• What is water ?(H20)
• Water is essential for the survival of life on earth
• 65 % of human body is composed of water.
• Water has both physical and chemical properties
Definition
Safe and wholesome water can be defined as one that is :
(a) uncontaminated and have no potential danger to human
health;
(b) free from poisonous substances
(c) free from excessive amounts of mineral and organic
matter
 Sources of water
Hydrologic or water cycle (Evaporation, precipitation,
condensation, Rain water)
Sources of water
• Surface water(rivers, streams,lakes,swamps)

• Underground water(boreholes, springs, wells

• Rain water ( Pure or not?)

• Drinking Water can be contaminated at all levels in the

water supply chain
 Contamination of water
• Three broad categories of drinking water contaminants:
• Microbial
• Pathogenic microbes (Bacteria,virus,protozoa e.gs.
• Non-pathogenic microbes (e.g., Lactobacillus acidophilus –
a part of normal intestinal flora)
• Chemical
• Inorganic chemicals (e.g., arsenic, nitrate, heavy metals)
• Organic chemicals (e.g., pesticides,phenols disinfection by-
products)
• Radiological (e.g., radioactive wastes, mining by-products)
Sources of contamination
• Micro organisms
• Chemicals-pesticides, fertlisers
• Animal manure
• Leaky pit latrines
• Open defecation
• Landfills
• Sewage treatment plant
• Industrial liquid waste
microbes
Virus : Hepatitis A and E
Bacteria: Pathogenic Escherichia coli (enterotoxigenic
[ETEC])
• Salmonella Typhi (causes typhoid fever and paratyphoid)
and non-typhoidal Salmonella
• Vibrio cholerae (causes cholera)
Protozoan Parasites
• Cryptosporidium
• Giardia
• Entamoeba histolytica
 Chemicals
• Chlorine:(Acceptable limits 4mg/l)Excess causes
congenital defects such as cleft palate, ventricular septal
defect, diarrhoea
• Fluoride:(acceptable limits 0,5-0.7mg/l).Causes Dental
Fluorosis(white or opaque spots on the tooth
• Iron: (Acceptable limits 0.3 mg/l).Causes
haemochromatosis ,wrinkling of skin, metallic taste
• Lead: Causes convulsions, coma and reduced IQ in
children, still birth and miscarriage in preg.women
• Mercury:(2micrograms/l).Causes brain and kidney
damage
Water related diseases
• Water borne
(Amoebiasis, Giardiasis, Cryptosporiodiosis, shigollosis,
Cholera,Typhoid)
• Water washed
Diseases of poor hygiene arising from direct contact e.g
Scabies, Lice, ringworm,Tropical ulcers, Dermatomycosis,
Trachoma
• Water-based diseases
Transmission occurs through a vector that breeds in water
eg Malaria, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, dengue fever
Waterborne
• Diseases transmitted from person to person through
drinking water contaminated by human or animal faeces.
• Usually referred to faeco-oral group of diseases
• Breaking the faeco-oral route is the basis of prevention
and control
 F-DIAGRAM

Fingers

Flies

New
Faeces Food Host
Fields

Fluids
BARRIER TO FAECA ORAL MEANS OF TRANSMISSION OF DISEASES
Hand-washing after
defecation, after cleaning
Finge children’s bottom, before
rs handling food,
before eating or feeding

Protection of food
(e.g., safe waste reuse)

Protection of food
Safe eating (e.g.,
VIP Latrines Flies (e.g., storage) washing fruits and
vegetables
before eating them
Faece raw) Final
Food
s Host
Fields Protection of food
(e.g., handling,
Secondary
preparation) Barrier

Pit Latrines Fluids Protection of water in transit and

in the home

Primar Secondary
y Protection of Barrier
water sources
Barrier
Water treatment technology
• Depending on the source of water entering a
water plant, treatment methods may vary.

• Groundwater treatment works obtained from

below ground sources such as aquifers and
springs. These sources tend to be relatively clean
and fewer water treatment steps may be required .
Surface water
• Surface water treatment works obtain water from
above ground sources, such as rivers, lakes and
reservoirs. This raw water is exposed to direct
environmental contaminates.
• multiple methods /steps are required to clean
and finally disinfect the abstracted water .
Basic technologies often used
• Screens. Screens are used on many surface water
intakes to remove particulate material and debris from raw
water. ...
• Gravel filters. ...
• Slow sand filters. ...
• Activated carbon. ...
• Aeration. ...
• Membrane processes
• Screens
Gravel filters
Gravel filters
• Can be used to remove turbidity and algae
• .Consist of a rectangular channel or a tank divided into
several sections and filled with graded gravel (size range
4 to 30mm).
• An inlet distribution chamber allows the raw water to enter
horizontally a first layer of coarse and then the finer
gravel.
• An outlet chamber collects the filtered water with solids
being removed from the raw water accumulate at the floor
of the filter.
Sand filtration
Slow sand filters
• Used to remove turbidity, algae and microorganism
• Suitable for treatment of small supplies.
• Slow sand filters usually consist of tanks containing sharp
sand (size range 0.15-0.30mm) to a depth of between 0.5
to 1.5m.
•
UV water treatment
• shining a light on disinfection
• Invisible to the human eye, ultraviolet (UV) light can be
used to disinfect microorganisms in water treatment
processes.
• The wave lengths of UV light range between 200 and 300
nanometers (billions of a meter).
• germicidal,-UV are capable of inactivating
microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses and protozoa.
(inhibit reproduction and infecting capability.
 Ozone water treatment

• ozonation system includes passing dry, clean air through

a high voltage electric discharge

• Ozone can be used throughout water treatment as it has,

excellent disinfection and oxidation qualities
Large Water treatment Plant Process (Municipal)
• Storage and sedimentation
• Flocculation and settlement
• Filteration
• Disinfection
• Distribution
Household treatment technologies
• Range of devices or methods employed for the purposes
of treating water in the home or at the point of use.
• Note that not all water treatment technologies are highly
effective in reducing all classes of waterborne pathogen
e.g
• chlorine is ineffective against oocysts of the waterborne
protozoan Cryptosporidium
Chemical disinfection
• Chemical disinfection of drinking-water includes any
chlorine-based technology, such as chlorine dioxide.
• proper dosing of chemical is required to maintain a residual
concentration in the water
• Disinfection of household drinking-water using free chlorine,
either in liquid form as hypochlorous acid (household
bleach) or more dilute sodium hypochlorite solution 0.5%
and 1% hypochlorite
• Recommended dosage with free chlorine at about 2 mg/l to
clear water and 4 mg/l to turbid water.
• a free chlorine residual of 0.2 mg/l in stored household
water treated by chlorination.
 Methods contd……
Membrane, porous ceramic or composite filters
• They rely on physical straining through a single porous
surface or multiple surfaces having structured pores to
physically remove and retain microbes by size exclusion
Granular media filters
• Slow sand or earth filter
Solar disinfection
• using solar irradiation to disinfect water
Thermal (heat) technologies.
• primary mechanism for the destruction of microbes in
water is heat produced by burning fuel (boiling and
heating)