Estimation of Water Quality Indexes to Customize the Design of a Water Purifier System

Abstract

Water is the most basic important substance on earth. Many people from developing countries are struggling daily to have access to potable water to sustain their lives. Poor people from rural areas are walking long distances and spend money on water transportation just to have access to potable water. People who can’t walk long distances and can’t afford to pay for transportation of water, have to share river water, dams, or ponds with animals. In rural areas, most communities are using the river water for different reasons such as bathing, swimming and washing their livestock, while others use the same river water for drinking without purification. Consumption of this water causes the outbreak of waterborne disease. Illness from water-related diseases and bacteria is a common problem in developing countries and it accounts for approximately 2.2 million deaths per year globally. In this work, raw water samples were collected from one of the rural villages (Dumezulu village). Water analysis was performed in the laboratory to determine how much contaminants are present in raw water. Reverse Osmosis (RO) method has been adopted to reduce the high concentration of contaminants and comply with South African National Standards.