AUTHOR
Andersson, Hanna; Johansson, Jenny

DATE
2002-08-29

DEPARTMENT
-

SUMMARY
Groundwater is presently the major source of rural domestic water supplies in Uganda. This water has excessive iron content and people use unprotected surface water instead. It is therefore important to find a user-friendly and sustainable method for removing iron from groundwater boreholes.

The water quality in ten different boreholes in Rakai District was monitored focusing on iron. With earlier experiences from Uganda and other developing countries in mind, a prototype for iron removal was constructed and tested at the borehole in the village Ddwaniro. The water in this borehole had a ferrous iron content of about 10 mg/L. WHO recommends an iron content of 0.3 mg/L. Results showed that a retention time in the filter of about 60 minutes could improve the removal of iron down to levels of about 1 mg/L.

Based on the test results from the prototype a durable construction that may solve the problem with high iron content in boreholes was suggested. The suggestion for construction included an aeration step and a gravity flow sand filter. Finally a discussion concerning the institutional arrangements for the implementation of the suggested treatment unit was made.

ISSN 1402-1617 / ISRN LTU-EX--02/292--SE / NR 2002:292