WHO approves 23 household water treatment systems

Household water treatment systems are important for public health in a number of countries, where the quality of the drinking water provision and sanitation are inadequate. KWR has collaborated in the WHO evaluation of the microbial effectiveness of 30 systems, 23 of which met the WHO criteria.

Since 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) has evaluated the microbial effectiveness of household water treatment systems, to ensure that the right technologies are used to protect public health and, for instance, to lessen infant mortality due to diarrhoea. Household water treatment systems are important for public health in a number of countries, where the quality of the drinking water provision (and sanitation) are inadequate. KWR and the American NSF are the two test laboratories that evaluate household water treatment systems for WHO.

The second round of testing was recently completed. Over a period of two years, tests were run on 20 systems that use a range of treatment methods, including chemical, solar and UV disinfection, or ceramic and membrane filtration. The first round involved the evaluation of 10 such systems. Of the total  30 systems, 23 satisfied the WHO requirements. The systems that fell short of the requirements frequently showed large effectiveness disparities between different production batches: a clear indication that manufacturing quality needs to be strengthened. WHO collaborates with governments on improving regulations for household water treatment systems, and ensuring that the best available technologies are used.

The results of the research can be read in the WHO reports.