Safe and readily available drinking water is key for public health. Globally, over one billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with fecal matter. Although sand filters are an inexpensive way of treating water in developing communities, their reliability is low, and the effluent water often does not meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water. In this project we attempted to enhanced sand filtration system for removing pathogenic contamination from drinking water. Fine copper mesh was tested for E. coli disinfection capability using Kinetic, Batch and Column experiments. E. coli concentrations in the range of 102-105 cfu/100ml were tested with varying mass of copper. Based on the results from batch and kinetic experiments, the mass of copper and contact time required to achieve a 99.9% removal was be determined. Using column experiments, various combinations of sand, copper mesh, and biochar was tested. A pilot scale sand filter will be constructed and tested based on these results. The result of kinetic and batch experiments indicates a threshold of 0.5g of copper and a minimum of 45 minutes was required for 99.9% removal of E. coli. Release of copper ions seems to be controlling factor. In this paper, we present the detailed results and analysis of the results.

Improved Sand Filter for Point of Use Drinking Water Treatment

Created in 1999, the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) is the recognized leader within ASCE for the integration of technical expertise and public policy in the planning, design, construction, and operation of environmentally sound and sustainable infrastructure impacting air, land and water resources.

Paper Proceedings: https://ascelibrary.org/doi/book/10.1061/9780784483466