‘Swacch jal’ by SODIS a social awareness project

Palash Kanwar | Pankhuri Kanwar | Khushbu Singh | Satvik Jha | Anmol Chabra | Sufal Kumar Chabra

Under the technical guidance of CCDU (Community and Capacity Development Unit), Govt. of Chhattisgarh

Aim: To purify contaminated water in the slum of Raipur with the help of

SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection)

Site of project: Parvati nagar slum, Raipur, India

Duration: 1 month 15th June – 15th July, 2014

Abstract A low-income group of 50 families in a crowded settlement with inadequate means of drinking water and poor means of sanitation was selected for the project. Drinking water sample lab reports stated the presence of E. coli, confirming fecal contamination of water. This was affirmed by periodic incidents of water-borne diseases. ‘Swacch Jal’, by SODIS method was a social awareness project. SODIS is an initiative of Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology. The project involved teaching and interacting with the dwellers about SODIS, a cheap and effective way to disinfect drinking water. The method required transparent PET bottles filled with water to be placed in full sunlight for at least 6 hours, which resulted in water disinfection by UV solar radiation. CCDU (Communication and Capacity Development Unit), Govt. of Chhattisgarh, India provided the technical guidance during the interactions which were both educational (practical demonstration and a talk by a doctor) and entertaining (skit and a magic show). The repeated follow-ups and the post project survey showed drastic reduction in water-borne diseases. Swacch Jal by SODIS was a success that brought social awareness in the society and a feeling of fulfillment to the team.

Urban slums as defined by NSSO (National

Sample Survey Organization) are any crowded

settlement with poor sanitation, water

problems, inadequate electricity and comprising

of an average of 263 households. Just fewer

than nine million households, or roughly one-

eighth of India’s urban population lives in a

slum, according to data from the National

Sample Survey Organization.

As per Alchemy’s survey, 2010 there are 282

slums in Raipur. Parvati nagar slum in Raipur is a

low-income group crowded settlements of

nearly 350 families. The settlement has three

bore wells as their source of drinking water. The

municipal corporation water with limited supply

is used for other household purposes. The

families use open field for defecation next to the

railway line resulting in contamination of ground

water. There is an open drain running along the

length of the settlement, which overflows

during rains and is another source of water

contamination. The survey covered a cohort of

50 families as a sample project.

Water quality in Parvati nagar

According to WHO guidelines, testing of drinking

water for E. coli (Escherichia coli) is an important

parameter. E. coli provides conclusive evidence of

recent fecal pollution and should

Measures taken for water disinfection

The inhabitants used boiling and chlorination for

disinfection. The measures taken for disinfection

had limitations - boiling was expensive, whereas

chlorination was done irregularly. It was found

that the incidence of water-borne diseases like

diarrhea, typhoid and jaundice were high.

not be present in drinking water.

A laboratory test was done on all three-bore

wells, the only source of drinking water supply

to the slum. All the samples were contaminated

by E coli. The samples showed presence of E. coli thereby confirming

fecal contamination in

the water. This was

further affirmed by a

high incidence of water

borne diseases in the

inhabitants.

After applying SODIS

method, none of the

water samples showed

a culture growth of E.

coli establishing the

fact that SODIS can

disinfect water.

Swacch Jal (a hindi terminology for pure water) by SODIS (Solar Water Disinfection)

SODIS is a simple procedure to disinfect drinking

water. Water can be disinfected by using the

rays of the sun. SODIS – thus offers a solution

for preventing diarrhea, one of the most

common causes of death among people in

developing countries.

SODIS is an initiative of Eawag, the Swiss Federal

Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology. For

more than 10 years, it has been their mission to

provide people in developing countries with

access to clean drinking water. The project is

spread across 24 countries over the globe. The

World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, and

the Red Cross recommend the SODIS method as

a way to treat drinking water in developing

countries.

How it works ?

Exposure to sunlight has been shown to

deactivate diarrhea-causing organisms in

polluted drinking water. EAWAG/SANDEC (2002)

describes the three effects of solar radiation

which are believed to contribute to the

inactivation of pathogenic organisms:

1 Ultraviolet-A (UV-A) radiation causes

damage to DNA and kills living cells.

2 UV-A (wavelength 320-400nm) reacts with

oxygen dissolved in the water and produces

highly reactive forms of oxygen (oxygen free

radicals and hydrogen peroxides) that are

believed to also damage pathogens.

3 Infrared radiation heats the water and

causes pasteurization when the temperature

is raised to 70-75 degrees Celsius. If the

water temperatures rises above 50°C, the

disinfection process is three times faster.

Many pathogens are not able to resist increased

temperatures, nor do they have any protection

mechanisms against UV radiation

(EAWAG/SANDEC, 2002).

More pathogens are destroyed when they are

exposed to both high temperature and UV-A

light at the same time. A synergy of these two

effects occurs for water temperatures above 50

degrees Celsius (Wegelin et al, 1994).

• Aging of plastic bottles: SODIS

efficiency depends on the physical

condition of the plastic bottles, with

scratches and other signs of wear and tear

reducing the efficiency of SODIS. Heavily

scratched or old, blind bottles should be

replaced.

• Shape of Containers: the intensity

of the UV radiation decreases rapidly with

increasing water depth. Bottles used for

SODIS should not exceed 10 cm in water

depth. 1-2 litre volume PET bottles do not

exceed this depth when they are

horizontally placed in the sunlight

(EAWAG/SANDEC, 2002). PET soft drink

bottles are often easily available and thus

most practical for the SODIS application.

• Oxygen: Sunlight produces highly

reactive forms of oxygen (oxygen free

radicals and hydrogen peroxides) in the

water. These reactive molecules contribute

in the destruction process of the

microorganisms. Under normal conditions

water contains sufficient oxygen (more

than 3 mg oxygen per litre) and does not

have to be aerated before the application

of SODIS.

• Turbidity: If levels greater than 30 NTU,

the water should first be filtered through a

cloth or sedimented.

Clean drinking water in 6 hours

Suitable Conditions Basically the SODIS is suitable for batches of 1-2

litres per bottle. The system is not useful for

treating large volumes of water, several bottles

are needed for a large family.

.

The following issues should be considered for

SODIS operation:

• Bottle material: Some glass or PVC

materials may prevent ultraviolet light

from reaching the water. Commercially

available bottles made of PET

(Polyethylene terephthalate), such as the

plastic bottles in which soft drink

beverages are sold, are recommended.

The handling is much more convenient in

the case of PET bottles. Polycarbonate

blocks all UVA and UVB rays, and therefore

should not be used. Glass also blocks UV

rays and therefore would be ineffective.

The SODIS method is very easy to

apply: A transparent PET bottle is

cleaned with soap. Then the bottle

is filled with water and placed in

full sunlight for at least 6 hours.

The water has then been

disinfected and can be drunk.

The Chhattisgarh CCDU is a unit of State Water

Sanitation mission (Govt. of Chhattisgarh). It is

supported by the Govt. of India and UNICEF.

Swacch Jal, a social awareness project was

undertaken by a group of six students (natives

of Raipur) from different schools across the

country. CCDU provided the technical guidance

to implement SODIS as a pilot project, for the

first time in Chhattisgarh.

A preliminary survey was carried out of the

sample population (50 families). The survey

revealed that there had been 20 cases of

diarrhea, one case of typhoid and one case of

jaundice in the past five months (January 2014 –

May,2014). Out of 20 cases of diarrhea – 7 were

adults, 4 were between 5-18 years of age, and 9

were children below five years. The average

expenditure incurred by each family was

approximately Rs. 300 for domiciliary treatment.

The first step taken by the team was to

perform a skit where the audience was made to

understand the hazards of drinking

contaminated water. It was followed by an

interactive session to educate the slum dwellers

about SODIS as a cheap and effective method of

water disinfection. Pictorial pamphlets were

distributed that displayed the steps involved in

SODIS method. One corrugated aluminum

sheet, five PET bottles and a bottle cleaning

brush was distributed per family free of cost.

Practical demonstration of SODIS was given. The technical consultants of CCDU were

present and guided the team as well as the

inhabitants to understand the concept of SODIS

explicitly. After two days, Dr. Neeta Kanwar, gave

a health awareness talk that emphasized on the

importance of SODIS in preventing water-borne

diseases.

A follow up was done daily by the team. There

were few who were reluctant while majority

accepted the concept of SODIS readily.

Persistent talks and demonstrations helped the

team to succeed in motivating everyone.

As per the survey, a major percentage of the

affected were children below the age of five

years. In order to involve them thoroughly, a

magic show was performed. The magician did a

number of magic tricks with water and

emphasized on the idea of SODIS. The show was

an enormous success. Children enjoyed and

learnt about SODIS in a playful manner. Number

of children carrying drinking water in SODIS

treated PET bottles to school was encouraging.

Project description

Role of CCDU in

‘Swacch Jal’ – SODIS

CCDU (Communication and Capacity

Development Unit) is a state nodal agency in

Chhattisgarh, India for the water and sanitation

reforms of Public Health Engineering

Department (PHED).

Skit performance by the team members Pamphlet distribution

Practical demonstration through pamphlet Material distribution

Talk by Dr. Neeta Kanwar on health issues

Magic show for children involvement Response of children to SODIS

SODIS being used practically

Social appreciation – including newspaper clipping

Voices of Parvati Nagar

Leading

newspapers like

The Times of India,

The Pioneer and

Patrika published

the project with

words of

appreciation. It

helped create an

awareness about

SODIS in the city.

SODIS is a very god project. We as slum dwellers

are prone to so many diseases, where our

children end up suffering. I am grateful to the

Swacch Jal team members for having taught us

about this simple project. I will continue this

project and will try and spread this knowledge

across as many people as possible. – Kalpana

Das, 23years

I love the team and the magic show that they

arranged for us. I use SODIS treated bottle

everyday and take it to school also. Thank you

for teaching me and now I teach my friends in

the school- Arun Sona, 10 years

Acknowledgment This project could not have been possible without the following people:

Ms Yasmin Singh, Director CCDU, Chhattisgarh

Mr. Rupesh Rathore, RC CCDU at Unicef

Dr. Neeta Kanwar (M.B.B.S. & M.S. gynaec), Kanwar Nursing Home, Raipur

Dr. Prashant Kedia, pediatrician Bal Gopal Hospital, Raipur

Seema Chabbra, Project guide

Bibliography The Hindu, New Delhi December 25, 2013 02:15 IST

http://www.who.ict/water_sanitation_health/dwq/GDW2rev1and2.pdf http://www.sodis.ch/index_EN

http://akvopedia.org/wiki/UV_treatment_/_Solar_disinfection_(SODIS)

Conclusion The post project survey after one month revealed that there were only 2 cases of diarrhea

reported during that period. One case gave a history of irregular use of SODIS while the reason for the other case could not be deciphered. Swacch Jal by SODIS as a simple and sustainable method

was a huge success. It created awareness in the people and motivated the team to do social awareness projects in the future.

Project Initiator: Palash Kanwar, The Doon school, Dehradun

Documentation by: Pankhuri Kanwar, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore

Project volunteers: Anmol Chhabra, Rungta college of Engineering, Raipur

Khushbu Singh, Delhi Public School, Raipur

Sufal Kumar Chhabra, Krishna Public School, Raipur

Satvik Jha,