1. TRADITIONAL WATER PURIFICATION TECHNIQUES

2. Traditional water treatment methods
All over the world rural communities – adopted simple & rudimentary techniques –mainly aims at filtering out the visible impurities
These methods can remove certain types of particles in water

3. Some of the traditional treatment methods are..
Filtration through winnowing sieve
Filtration through cloth
Filtration through clay vessels
Clarification & filtration through plant material
Jempeng stone filter method

4. 1. Filtration through winnowing sieve
Used widely in Mali (Bamaka area)
Used when the water source is polluted by wind borne impurities such as dry leaves, stalks, & coarse particles
The raw water is passed through a winnowing sieve & the impurities are filtered
Sieve cannot filter fine suspended particles in water, hence cannot be used when raw water is turbid or muddy

5. 2. Filtration through cloth
Commonly used in villages in India, Mali, the southern part of Niger & other parts of developing world
Thin white cotton cloth or a discarded garment is used as the filter medium
Can filter impurities like plant debris, insects, dust particles or coarse mud particles
Filtration of suspended particles- limited extended
Not suitable for turbid water
In some Indian villages, wood ash of Sal tree is mixed with water

6. 3. Filtration through clay vessels
Used in Egypt
Clay vessels with a suitable pore size are used
Turbid water is collected in a big clay jar & allowed to settle down
Then water in the jar will trickle down through the porous clay wall of the jar
This trickled water is collected in a vessel by placing it at the bottom of the porous clay jar

7. 4. Clarification & filtration through plant material
Commonly used in Tamil Nadu & Kerala, India
Highly turbid water fine suspended & colloidal particles are first coalesced & settled out using nuts of a locally available plant, which is then filtered using cloth filters
Roots of the rhizomes from ramacham are placed in a clay jar, which has tiny holes in its bottom
Raw water is poured into this jar, & then the water is allowed to filter through this layer of roots
Usually this filtered is vey clear & has a pleasant smell

8. 5. Jempeng stone filter method
Developed in Saringan batu Jempeng Bali, Indonesia
A small artificial pond or a by-pass channel is cut by the side to an irrigation canal, which carries muddy water
Jempeng stone filter units are placed in the artificial ponds
The filter unit is carved out of a porous material called cadas
Average height of 60 cm & diameter of 50 cm & a wall with a thickness of cm
Muddy water filters through the porous wall & gets collected inside