Providing drinkable potable water from saline or heavily polluted water using renewable energy is further explored. Solar desalination is an eco-friendly, accessible and affordable technology. We show that there is a direct relationship between and huge dependency on solar still daily distillate yield in the solar radiation intensity and the temperature difference between the condensing inner glass cover and the water. Hence, we hope to have drinkable water for all using solar power technology.

This review paper aims to give an overview of the global trends on water reclamation with a focus on industrial use and to derive lessons for implementation of water reclamation projects in sub-Saharan Africa. It shows that consolidated experience exists about technology and management practices that allows successful implementation of water reclamation projects in the region and contributes to enhancing the understanding of the use of reclaimed water in industry.

Low-income countries lack the capacity to remove chemical contaminants like nitrates. Hence, an economical water filtration technology was explored, which is bio-sand filtration. In order to enhance the removal of nitrates through denitrification, a modified bio-sand filter with ethanol as an external carbon source at C / N ratios of 1.1 and 1.8 was investigated. The results of the research showed a removal rate of 53 % at a C / N ratio of 1.8.

Here we investigate the suitability of a specific low-cost water filter for drinking water treatment in households of rural South Africa. Distributed in the field, none of 51 individually tested water filters produced water without distinct contamination, and more than one-third even deteriorated hygienic water quality. We therefore recommend frequent monitoring of the filter performance at the point of use and identify dip slides as an efficient tool to assess critical contamination.

Household Water Treatment and safe Storage (HWTS) systems aim to provide safe drinking water in an affordable manner. The effectiveness of these systems to remove pathogens is crucial for the health of its users. Different researches report wide ranges of effectiveness for each of the three selected systems: SODIS, ceramic and biosand filters. The resources available for the prices of HWTS also report wide ranges. In the data available no relation was observed between price and effectiveness.