Review on Slow Sand Filtration in Removing Microbial Contamination and Particles from Drinking Water

Abstract The improvement of water quality is closely associated with man-environment relationships. There should be a dialogue between all actors and the community when undertaking water and sanitation activities. For positive results and better sustainability, the community should be involved and participate at all stages of water development and environmental sanitation schemes. A combination of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene practices like hand washing is a pre-requisite for morbidity and mortality rate reduction, especially among under five years old children in developing countries. To reduce the incidence and prevalence of diarrhoeal diseases, improvements in the availability, quantity, and quality of water, improved sanitation, and general personal and environmental hygiene are required. The majority of people in developing countries do not have access to piped drinking water and must carry; transport and store water within their homes and in the process the quality of water may deteriorate. Therefore, slow sand filtration has been recognized as an appropriate technology for drinking water treatment in rural areas, and is recognized as a suitable filtration technology for removing water borne pathogens and reducing turbidity. It is capable of improving the physical, chemical, and microbiological quality of water in a single treatment process without the addition of chemicals, and can produce an effluent low in turbidity and free of bacteria, parasites and viruses