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KWR tests water treatment technologies for WHO

First test round completed

Since the end of 2013, KWR has functioned as a test lab for the World Health Organization (WHO) for the testing of Household Water Treatment (HWT) technologies. By certifying these systems, WHO wants to reduce diarrhoea-related infant mortality in developing countries. The first test round involved ten systems.

Eight systems receive Performance Classification certification

KWR tested a variety of systems (chlorine, silver and solar) for the degree to which they removed or inactivated microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and protozoa). A total of ten systems were tested by KWR and NSF. Five of the ten provided a (limited degree of) protection. Four of the ten were retested, because the degree of removal or inactivation did not match the suppliers’ expectations. These suppliers made small modifications to their products or manuals and then resubmitted them to the Verification Scheme, as WHO calls it. Ultimately, eight technologies received the Performance Classification certificate, and two did not meet the minimum criteria set by WHO for microbial removal.

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