Salting as an intervention to improve water quality

Abstract

The effectiveness of salting as an intervention to make well water safe was assessed. Water from a covered, ringed well was collected into coloured tap-fitted buckets with lid and salt-NaCl (1% w/v) was added. The pH and bacteriological qualities (total bacterial and coliform counts) of the water samples were monitored under indoor and outdoor storage. Atmospheric conditions: Aerosol optical depths (AOD), relative humidity (RH), sky condition (SC) and total radiation (TR) were also monitored. The pH values ranged between 6.1 and 9.3; it increased during storage. The population of heterotrophic bacteria reduced by 77.53%; while coliform count reduced by 74.74%. Among the eight bacterial species initially isolated only E. coli,
Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomnas aeruginosa survived through the 15 days. The bacteriological quality of the water improved but still fell short of the WHO standard for drinking water. The study showed that salting of well water was not an effective point of use intervention to make water safe. Catchment protection, observance of the minimum safe distance (MSD) and regular
surveillance would be useful in guarantying safety of well water.