Water treatment solutions for India
The EU-funded project WATER4INDIA (Smart, cost-effective solutions for water treatment and monitoring in small communities in India. Decision support system integration) investigated a series of alternative technological solutions for water treatment at the community level in India. The aim was to find technologies that can be used under local conditions to produce fresh drinking water for the population. Although the project focused mainly on decentralised solutions such as small-scale systems and point-of-use technologies, existing centralised technologies were also considered. The integration of renewable technologies was examined, especially for small-scale treatment, which enabled drinking water production on a completely decentralised basis using advanced microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes. Project partners took into account resource availability, management, treatment solutions, water quality, and economic, environmental and social factors. The main objectives were to identify the most vulnerable areas suffering from water scarcity and the needs of communities with regard to available resources and their quality. WATER4INDIA researchers also determined the worthiness of currently applied solutions. These included membrane technology, decentralised membrane distillation and new adsorbents from locally available materials. Currently applied technologies for producing drinking water at the small scale were assessed, together with the needs of end users. Researchers also assessed and quantified existing technologies for water quality monitoring in order to evaluate the quality of raw and treated water and the composition of wastewater. A decision-support system (DSS) was developed based on previously gathered information and technology research. The DSS helps policymakers make appropriate decisions based on cost, energy consumption, user friendliness, adaptation to the social environment and overall sustainability of the process. Selected technologies were considered in the context of a Water Cycle Safety Plan. In addition, partners demonstrated technologies using different scenarios at test sites and produced best practice guidelines for end users. They also examined the quality of available water using quantitative microbial risk assessment. WATER4INDIA optimised energy requirements and water availability, and monitored biological and chemical contaminants to provide social, economic and environmental benefits for local authorities and small communities and families. A e-learning tool is now accessible through the project’s website and a list of solutions for practitioners and engineers has been drawn up.
Keywords
Water treatment, India, WATER4INDIA, decision support system, drinking water, membrane technology
