APPROPRIATE WATER TREATMENT FOR THE NYANZA PROVINCE OF KENYA by Pragnya Y. Alekal B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering University of California at Los Angeles Submitted to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ENGINEERING IN CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY JUNE 2005 © 2005 Pragnya Alekal. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole and in part. Signature of the Author_____________________________________________________ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering May 13, 2005 Certified by______________________________________________________________ E. Eric Adams Senior Research Associate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Thesis Supervisor Accepted by_____________________________________________________________ Andrew J. Whittle Chairman, Departmental Committee on Graduate Studies APPROPRIATE WATER TREATMENT FOR THE NYANZA PROVINCE OF KENYA by Pragnya Alekal Submitted to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering on May 13, 2005 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering ABSTRACT In 2000 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in conjunction with CARE International began working with several local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Nyanza Province of Kenya to reduce the rate of waterborne diseases. In 2002, CDC partnered up with the Society for Women and AIDS in Kenya (SWAK), a local NGO, to implement safe water treatment in SWAK-affiliated communities. SWAK is seeking ways to improve and expand sales of safe water treatment products in all of its communities. The water treatment sales expansion study has two components: • A technical component that addresses the most appropriate treatment • A business component that addresses marketing and sales of the products. This study focuses on the technical component. Its purpose is to evaluate the most appropriate water treatment in SWAK communities in the Nyanza Province. Three water treatment products were assessed – WaterGuard®, PuR®, and an alternative naturally occurring coagulant made of seeds from the Moringa tree. WaterGuard® is a chlorine- based disinfectant; PuR® is a coagulant and chlorine-based disinfectant. Both are already being marketed by SWAK. Moringa trees are indigenous to the region. Research was conducted in the United States and Kenya from October to April 2005. Field evaluation in Nyanza during January consisted of surveys that addressed water treatment practices, and water quality tests, specifically turbidity which interferes with the effectiveness of chlorine-based disinfection. Research revealed that rainwater is the best water source, and WaterGuard® is the best water treatment. PuR® was hardly used, and Moringa needs to be studied further for cost-efficiency and availability. A set of recommendations were drawn up and presented to SWAK communities, based on the results. These include promotion of rainwater treatment, retreatment of water every 24-48 hours, and health education programs. Thesis Supervisor: Dr E. Eric Adams Title: Senior Research Associate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Acknowledgements I would like to dedicate this thesis to all the forces that have made me possible and continually inspire me to be better. You are the reason that I am. Special thanks to everyone who allowed me to be a part of their lives this year. Dr Eric Adams, Susan Murcott, Daniele Lantagne, Dr Richard Locke, Dr Pete Shanahan, the M.Eng Class of 2005, the G-Lab group, the Course 1 staff, Anne Graham, the Government of Kenya, Alie, SWAK, PSI, CDC, St Anna’s Guesthouse, and many more. You have made this year so special. I will take you with me wherever I go. Thanks to the reader who makes the time to ingest this, you have chosen wisely! 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Background............................................................................................................... 8 1.2 The Technical Component........................................................................................ 9 1.3 Thesis Outline ......................................................................................................... 10 2 WATER ISSUES IN KENYA AND NYANZA .......................................................... 11 2.1 Kenya: Geography, Rainfall and Water Resources ................................................ 11 2.2 Nyanza: Water Issues and Resources ..................................................................... 12 2.3 SWAK..................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Point-Of-Use (POU) Water Treatment ................................................................... 15 2.4.1 Disinfection and Chlorination.......................................................................... 16 2.4.2 WaterGuard® and the SWS............................................................................. 19 2.4.3 PuR®................................................................................................................ 21 2.4.4 Moringa............................................................................................................ 24 3 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................... 26 3.1 Preliminary Phase ................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Field Tools .............................................................................................................. 28 3.4 Data Analysis.......................................................................................................... 29 3.5 Challenges............................................................................................................... 29 4 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 30 4.1 Summary of Communities ...................................................................................... 30 4.2 Turbidity levels in Correspondence to Sources ...................................................... 30 4.3 Rainwater Usage:.................................................................................................... 31 4.4 User Preferences: .................................................................................................... 32 4.5 Safety Factor ........................................................................................................... 33 4.6 Field Observations .................................................................................................. 33 4.7 Challenges............................................................................................................... 35 5 RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSIONS............................................................. 36 5.1 Recommendations................................................................................................... 36 5.1.1 Treatment Recommendation............................................................................ 36 5.1.2 Other Technical Recommendations................................................................. 38 5.1.3 Other Recommendations.................................................................................. 38 5.2 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................... 40 6 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 41 Appendix 1: History, Economy and Culture in Kenya and Nyanza................................. 45 A1.1 Kenya: Profile ...................................................................................................... 45 A1.1.1 Kenya: Brief History..................................................................................... 45 A1.1.2 Kenya: Economy........................................................................................... 45 A1.1.3 Kenya: Society & Culture............................................................................. 47 A1.1.4 Kenya: Health Profile.................................................................................... 47 A1.2 Nyanza: Health and Socio-economic Profile....................................................... 48 Appendix 2: Turbidity Data.............................................................................................. 50 Appendix 3: Rainfall Data ................................................................................................ 56 Appendix 4: PuR® Test Results....................................................................................... 57 4 Appendix 5: Household Field Survey............................................................................... 58 Appendix 6: Survey Results.............................................................................................. 60 Appendix 7: Business Research Team Paper...................................................................