Effectiveness of drinking water treatment with Moringa oleifera oilcakes by coagulation and sand filtration in rural households in Burkina Faso

Résumé

Wells water treatment by coagulation-flocculation with Moringa oleifera oilcakes associated to sand filtration was implemented in 64 households in three villages in Burkina Faso.

Depending on raw water turbidity, 12-16 g of Moringa oleifera oilcakes powder were used to treat 20 liters of water in household. The duration of treatment was 20-30 min depending on raw water type. To assess the effectiveness of this treatment, data on physicochemical (turbidity and pH) and microbiological parameters (fecal coliforms, E. coli and fecal streptococci) of household drinking water were collected monthly. Water analyses were carry out before and after treatment during six months.

In all villages, the results showed that 85.93% of drinking water were potable regarding to the physicochemical parameters versus 57.8% according to the microbiological standards. In Dian, 70.8% of drinking water were potable versus 65% and 38% in Da and Zinzin respectively. Considering contaminated treated water, the content of fecal bacteria were significantly lower than in untreated water (p<0.0001). In these treated water, the mean of fecal bacteria were between 01-35 CFU/100 ml versus 495-8570 CFU/100 ml.

It appears that, coagulation-flocculation of wells water with Moringa oleifera oilcakes associated to sand filtration can provide safe drinking water to rural populations. This treatment is easy and use local materials, available and accessible to rural populations. However, the implementation of this process need a capacity building of populations to elaborate the filtration device and with special emphasis on materials hygiene to avoid treated water recontamination.