Pathway to Development and Treatment of a Drinking Water Source

Pathway to Development and Treatment of a Drinking Water Source

Community drinking water supplies are sometimes difficult to find in rural areas and developing countries.  Surface water often contains biologic contamination while groundwater may contain constituents that cannot be treated effectively, are too expensive to treat, or that require a technologically complex treatment the residents cannot maintain.  Balancing the need for water with the economic and social concerns can be a difficult task.

Cardinal Resources has developed a solar powered, community-sized water treatment system that can be used in developing and emerging countries.  When discussing the system with a potential client, the first questions are about the water source.  What type of flow rate can be achieved?  Will this change seasonally?  Are constituents present in groundwater requiring removal?  How technologically difficult and expensive is the required treatment?  For example, while treatment options for naturally occurring arsenic are available, they may be technologically complex and relatively expensive.  Other constituents, such as coliform, can be treated more simply and cost effectively, and would not necessarily require changing the water source.  Although these decisions can be driven as much by economics and social issues as by the technical requirements of water treatment, the technical questions must be answered first.

Because of these complexities, initial testing and consultation with the potential customers is vital to developing a successful drinking water source.  In some cases, bench scale testing may be needed to fully understand treatment requirements.  This presentation will expand on these issues and present our steps in developing a drinking water source.