Adaptable community participatory design to provide water that is Estético, Seguro, y Saludable (pleasant, safe, and healthy) in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Abstract

A pedagogical framework was developed for water that is aesthetically pleasant, microbiologically safe, and healthy from a chemical perspective for consumption by vulnerable individuals and over lifetimes. This “pleasant, safe, and healthy” framework was used to facilitate discussion of drinking water source selection and design of treatment approaches with Ecuadorian Amazonian communities affected by petrochemical and agrichemical pollution and partially or totally lacking in centralized water infrastructure. Iterative participatory discussion identified biological slow sand filtration and biochar adsorption as unit processes for addressing microbiological and chemical water contaminants with which communities had some prior familiarity. However, significant shortcomings and knowledge gaps were discovered in extant approaches that led to poor treatment performance and disuse of previous water interventions. A workshop was conducted to bring communities’ and local implementers’ understanding and abilities in line with current best-practices for sustainable provision of pleasant, safe, and healthy drinking water using local materials.