Department Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development

Access to safe drinking water continues to be a challenge in low- and middle-income countries, especially in rural areas. In the context of the Lake Atitlán region of Guatemala, high rates of diarrheal disease indicate pressing need to improve the quality of the water supplies.

Low-cost in-line chlorination technologies for passive, automatic disinfection have great potential for achieving sustained treatment of small rural drinking water systems with limited technical and managerial capacities. However, little evidence exists on the effectiveness of these novel chlorination technologies when implemented at program-scale, particularly in a rural context.

Eawag is collaborating with Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation Guatemala on the project ETH4D Research Challenge: Chlorination Interventions for Rural Supplies. Using a mix-methods approach, this project aims to systematically evaluate the applicability of a locally constructed in-line chlorination device (A’Jin chlorinator) designed by Helvetas for use in piped systems served by the RU’K’UX YA’ program in the Lake Atitlán region of Guatemala.

Project Timeline: 2020-2023

Project Status

completed

Outcomes and Impacts

Study outcomes include: technical and cost performance of the A’jin chlorinator, system management practices, acceptance and satisfaction of water users, and child health status (diarrheal disease and antibiotic consumption).

Publication

Assessment of a local and low-cost passive in-line chlorination device in rural Guatemala