Clean water is something that a majority of the modern world takes for granted. When the tap is opened, clean water flows. We use our water for drinking, cooking, washing, and much more without worry that it will run out or no longer be safe for consumption. Ultimately, we don’t live every day considering how access to clean water makes our lives possible. But for many individuals, families, and communities, this is not the case. Clean water is often a problem passing through generations and creates significant barriers in improving quality of life in all aspects. While there are many factors involved in achieving sustained access to clean water, the ability to treat water is one of the most crucial. For those on both sides of the spectrum, water treatment processes are often left in the hands of a small few. The general population never gives much thought as to why clean water is or is not always available. This short blog post will provide an informal introduction into one of the most common water treatment methods – chlorine disinfection – and how 33 Buckets creates opportunity through improving this process.

The use of chlorine disinfection as a water treatment process is rumored to have been used starting in the 1800’s to address water-related epidemics and outbreaks of illness1. As the 20th century was ushered in, the commercial use of chlorine became more common as demand for bleach and other products increased during the World War I era. In 1908, Jersey City, New Jersey began using chlorine as a disinfectant in water, marking a major turning point in its application in the United States. Throughout the 1900s, chlorine disinfection would become increasingly popular. Today, it’s more than likely that your local water treatment facility uses chlorine disinfection when treating its water.

On a basic level, chlorine disinfection works first by eliminating microorganisms and then by providing a residual that ensures that the water isn’t recontaminated during distribution. This process has the ability to eliminate a wide-range of pathogens – disease-causing organisms – that may be present in a given community’s water source. This treatment method enables growing communities to treat large volumes of water at a community-wide level. And thanks to residual chlorine, water managers are able to quickly and effectively ensure clean water is reaching the mouths of their fellow community members. Chlorine is a widely available and relatively affordable disinfectant; moreover, chlorine disinfection can be facilitated with solid, liquid, or gas. There are countless variations of chlorine disinfection systems that are often determined by the needs (size of community, extent of contamination, etc.) and capacity (available electricity, personnel, training, etc.) of the community. For those with unlimited resources, and those with none, chlorine disinfection is an attractive option for effectively treating water.

When properly utilized, chlorine disinfection is a highly effective solution in preventing the consumption of dirty water. However, there are a variety of challenges that often prevent effective water treatment, despite the existence of a chlorination system. For example, water that is visibly dirty with sediment can prevent effective treatment; therefore, a pre-filter should be used prior to chlorination. Once filtered, water often still contains very small pathogens invisible to the naked eye. These are the primary contaminants that chlorine disinfection will address. The challenge now is determining whether or not the water is now safe for consumption. For this reason, residual chlorine testing is an essential component of the disinfection process. However, many communities lack the resources and/or training to test this important water quality parameter. Unfortunately, this results in insufficient chlorination (allowing dirty water to reach the community) and over-chlorination (creating taste, smell, and toxicity in extreme cases). When this happens, communities may understandably resist this treatment process, regardless of water quality. These are just a few of many, many more challenges that underserved communities face. Quality systems, well-supported water managers, and effective education are fundamental to achieve and maintain access to clean water.

Since 2016, 33 Buckets has worked in the Cusco region of the Peruvian Andes. In nearly all of our partner communities, chlorine disinfection is the primary (and often only) defense against contaminated water. Volunteer water management groups, known as JASS (Junto Administradora de Saneamiento y Servicios), are elected by the community to manage their water treatment system. Many JASS groups have little to no formal training, limited access to water quality testing, and work with treatment systems in need of improvements. 33 Buckets works directly with these groups to transfer essential skills, knowledge, and resources to JASS groups. In collaboration with our local partners, we host training seminars in Spanish and Quechua, provide chlorine testing devices and record logs, and support improvements to the system like adding a prefilter or replacing a valve. In conjunction with this work, we also collaborate with local schools to host WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) seminars to educate school children. In these seminars, we introduce chlorine disinfection and its importance in the community. The kids always get excited to see the pinkish/red color in our testing devices that indicates that the water has been treated!

These mentioned programs have come about after years of learning, talking, and working with communities in this region. We recognize the value in empowering communities to better utilize water treatment solutions already available to them. By ensuring access to the fundamental knowledge and resources for chlorine disinfection, we remove the obstacles that prevent many communities from achieving long-term access to clean water. Through our youth education programs, we hope to ensure that communities understand and prioritize water treatment! This is just a glimpse into how 33 Buckets improves lives through clean water. With continued support, we’ll be growing our ability to create value like this to communities in Peru and beyond. You can support these efforts and more by becoming a 33 Buckets supporter today. Thanks for reading!

Sources

Freese, S D, and D J Noziac. “Chlorine Based Disinfectants: How Do They Compare? .” Water Institute of SA. 

“Water Disinfection with Chlorine and Chloramine.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 17 Nov. 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/public/water_disinfection.html#:~:text=Chlorine%20was%20first%20used%20in,chlorine%20to%20disinfect%20their%20water.