Design and installation of a decentralized drinking water system based on ultrafiltration in Mozambique

Access to drinking water is a human right that has turned into an international aim included in the Millennium Development Goals. However, at present, more than I billion people live with no access to drinking water, especially in developing countries. Particularly, in Mozambique, where this work has been performed, 43% of the population can only access to improved water sources and 32% of the population live with access to improved sanitation. Main reasons that explain lack of drinking water in developing countries are: absence of proper infrastructures and chemicals, deteriorated distribution network or interrupted service that encourages stagnancy of water and growth of pathogens. The AQUAPOT project was developed in Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), and it is intended for the installation of decentralized drinking water systems based on membrane technologies as an alternative of the current water management in developing areas. At present, this project is being satisfactorily applied in rural areas of Ecuador (South America) and Mozambique (Africa). This work describes the evaluation of drinking water system, main characteristics of the UF-purification plant placed at Ressano Garcia (Mozambique), and assesses the main results obtained since the plant is working from the point of view of membrane performance and drinking water quality. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.