UV Meter for Testing Quality of Water treated by a Solar Water Disinfection System

Access to sustainably managed treated water is a basic human right. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have set targets for improving both water quality and access to clean water. Meeting these targets have become a priority for hundreds of international NGOs, as well as bilateral and multilateral development agencies. Consumption of untreated or mismanaged water can lead to negative health outcomes including parasites, diarrhea, chronic malnutrition, and gastrointestinal disease. These effects are multiplied among vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and the disabled. This paper describes the development of a prototype device that looks to improve user confidence in the use of Solar Disinfection (SODIS) for water treatment. The system, SoCo for SODIS (Solar Confidence for Solar Disinfection) seeks to address the issue of treated water access, by providing a solution that requires very minimal maintenance (once installed), minimal need for trained operators, and aims to minimize supply chain issues. Because there is little effort required of the user, there is a decreased chance that users will prefer to consume untreated water as an alternative. The technology is currently in the prototype phase and the authors are looking to perform field tests to validate the performance, weatherize and improve ruggedness, as well as receive and implement feedback from end-users.