Wednesday, June 20, 2018

A Few Important Notes Regarding Municipal Water Treatment In Kenya

By Betty Murray


Safety needs to be a priority for everyone when handling water for drinking. Other activities in the home that require safety include taking a shower, washing clothes and utensils. Treating prevents one from reacting to certain harmful minerals and chemicals. It also makes washing easier because foam is readily formed with this kind of water. Needless to say, municipal water treatment in Kenya is crucial in promoting environmental cleanliness.

The process involves various steps including chlorination, aeration, filtration and sedimentation. The method of choice depends on what harmful substance is being eliminated. Aeration and chlorination remove dissolved manganese and iron. Filtration and sedimentation are ideal for large particles. In addition to getting rid of elements, chlorination also helps in doing away with algae. Other types of microbes are dealt with through disinfection.

Industries need to treat their water as well to minimize environmental pollution and harm to humans. Dirty effluent tends to stagnate in pipe systems causing obstruction to flow. Apart from blockage, stagnation can also provide good ground for bacteria to multiply. Scale formation in pipes and industrial water tanks is also a bother because heating water takes longer than expected. Treatment at an industrial scale entails adjusting the acidity and oxygen levels in order to minimize corrosion.

Poor sanitation in municipal areas has resulted in high mortality due to diseases. This can be counteracted through the use of small scale treatment. Households need to invest in solar systems. Solar rays help to directly kill any unwanted microorganisms. Programs can be started at community level to find sustainable ways of carrying out the process.

Management of effluent utilizes electricity for effectiveness in a large scale setting. Running electricity is expensive in the long run and thus may not be affordable for the low social economic class. For this reason, the government and its citizens should be creative enough to come up with an alternative cheaper source of energy.

Electricity is the main source of energy for running treatment plants. When it is to be done on a large scale, it becomes quite expensive for the companies involved. Renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind energy should be embraced whenever possible to lower these costs. In Kenya, geothermal power is available in plenty and all that is needed is more investment and it will prove to be a cheaper alternative to hydro-power.

In using sand, filtration is made possible by the presence of a biological film on the surface of the sand. The sand only acts as a substrate. The system is composed of a depth, width and length if it is created in a rectangular manner. The cylindrical cross section is another option. The advantage of using such biological methods is that they reduce the expense of energy as occurs when using electricity. However, slow sand filters may not be sustainable for large scale treatment.

In a nutshell, safety in utilization of water is of utmost importance. It not only keeps communities from acquiring various diseases but also serves to keep the environment clean. Bearing mind that every method available for has its own advantages and disadvantages. Use of electricity suffers the disadvantage of being expensive and therefore not affordable to developing nations. Biological techniques are better because they are cheaper and easy to use. These, however, may not be sustainable when treating large volumes.




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