Monitoring and evaluation of household water treatment and safe storage technologies : the sustained use of the KOSIM ceramic water filter in northern region Ghana | Sustained use of the KOSIM ceramic water filter in northern region Ghana

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2009.

Today, approximately 884 million people lack access to an improved drinking water (WHO and UNICEF, 2008). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), contaminated water and poor sanitation cause 30,000 deaths worldwide each day (WHO and UNICEF, 2008). Household drinking water and safe storage (HWTS), is a new health intervention that enables people to treat water in their own homes. Today, hundreds of non-profit organizations, for-profit business, social enterprises, academic institutions, faith-based organizations and governments are working around the world to promote HWTS technologies, especially to those people most in need. This thesis uses Pure Home Water (PHW), a small non-profit in Northern Region Ghana, as a case study to evaluate the use of a widespread HWTS technology, the ceramic pot filter. During the months of January, June and July 2008, I surveyed 309 of Pure Home Water's rural customers who had purchased a KOSIM filter between 2005 and 2008 to determine both the sustained use of the KOSIM ceramic pot filter and the factors that contribute to sustained use or disuse. I also conducted water quality analysis using the Colilert® and the 3MTM PetrifilmTM tests to evaluate the performance of the KOSIM filter in the field. Forty-six percent of PHW's rural customers were still using the KOSIM ceramic pot filter at the time of the interview. The survey results indicated that household income, reported water source, and the price paid for the filter are each associated with sustained use or disuse of the KOSIM filter.

(cont.) The average total coliform (TC) and E.coli counts for KOSIM-filtered water using the lower test detection limit of the 3MTMPetrifilmTM/Colilert® test combination were 323 CFU/100 mL and 7 CFU/100 mL respectively, which corresponds to a "low" risk level (WHO, 1997). The average TC and E.coli counts for KOSIM-filtered water using the upper test detection limits increased to 1,097 CFU/100 mL and 37 CFU/mL respectively. These results correspond to an "intermediate" risk level (WHO, 1997). On average, the KOSIM water filter removes 96.2% of TC (1.42 log reduction) and 89.2% (0.99 log reduction) of E.coli using the lower test detection limit. The average TC and E.coli reductions using the upper test detection limits are 88.8% (0.95 log reduction) and 82% (0.75 log reduction) respectively. Key Words: monitoring and evaluation, household water treatment and safe storage, household surveys, ceramic filter, sustained use, Millennium Development Goals, Ghana, Pure Home Water