A Comparative Review of the Traditional and Modern Methods of Water Treatment

Abstract

Artificial pollution of groundwater may arise from either point or diffuse sources. Several different means to improve the microbial quality of water and reduce waterborne diseases have been documented around the world. Traditional methods of water treatment include Filtration through winnowing sieve (used widely in Mali), Filtration through cloth (commonly used in villages in India, Mali and the southern part of Niger), Filtration through clay vessels (used in Egypt), filtration through plant material (commonly used in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India) and Jempeng stone filter method (used in Bali, Indonesia). Modern methods of water treatment include Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS), LifeStraw, Nanofilter, Ceramic water filter, Bio-sand filter and Kanchan Arsenic filter. Comparatively, traditional methods of water treatment employ crude methods which have proved to be effective in relation to filtration but the modern methods make use of newer research technologies in the elimination of pathogens and toxic chemicals to make drinking water more potable and safe.