Foreword Free

Water is aptly called ‘the elixir of life’ and its role in the sustenance of life on earth cannot be over emphasized. High quality drinking water plays a huge role in the survival and health of mankind. Clean and safe drinking water can be assured if the source water is relatively free of physical, chemical and biological contaminants. Therefore, effective treatment strategies that will render water safe for potable use are in great demand. This is a challenge faced by most countries worldwide, but the impact is pronounced in developing nations due to socio-economic constraints on the people living there.

In continuation of the earlier book written by the same authors titled Drinking Water Disinfection Techniques, this book has tried to address similar issues, especially in the context of developing countries, since the challenges faced by such countries in translating the known water disinfection techniques to their situation are unique. The book addresses many traditional techniques, which have been practiced for years by the local communities, depending on the available local resources and affordability. The same techniques now appear in the form of engineered knowledge rather than driven by the artisan skill set.

It was nice to see the reference to the book titled Water Catchers, which has qualitatively described many such attempts of water harvesting based on need and employing frugal engineering techniques, which appear to be the motivation for this book. Needless to say that the treatment methods must be simple, easy to implement and most importantly, cost effective.

In fact, more precisely, for assured success, the methods must meet the ASSURED criteria created by me recently, which stand for

A (affordable), S (scalable), S (sustainable), U (user friendly), R (rapid), E (excellent) and D (distinctive).

Due to a significant reduction in the ground water level, as a result of excessive draw and a general decline in the quality and quantity of surface-water sources, it is important to look at non-conventional water sources such as sewage water, industrial effluent and harvested rain water as an alternative water source. The authors have addressed this issue quantitatively in terms of an engineered solution, keeping in mind the matrix of “ASSURED” as explained above.

The topics covered by Pandit and Jyoti include the now well-established and well-practiced (though on an individual and small community level) technique of Solar water disinfection (‘SoDis’) and its hybrid variants, the use of traditional herbal techniques, newer innovative techniques such as the water purifying bicycle, disinfecting hand pump etc. This makes the book an interesting read. The quantitative description of these techniques along with the cost comparison depending on the scale of operation, allows the readers, researchers and practitioners to make a judicious choice.

The quantitative interpretation of various case studies validates earlier recommendations. More importantly, it should help the researchers to modify/improve and innovate even further in this area of water management.

I hope the thought and action leadership shown in the book will help society at large on this vital global challenge of ‘quality water for all’.

R. A. Mashelkar FRS

National Research Professor

Former President, Global Research Alliance