Addis Ababa University

Institute of Technology
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Investigating the Efficacy of the Indigenous Water Purification

Method Using African Spear Plant
Case: Konso Community
2018 GC

Research Paper in Partial Fulfillment for the Masters of

Science in Water supply and Environmental Engineering
By: Sokate Aylate. GSR/8407/09
 Addis Ababa University
Institute of Technology
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Investigating the Efficacy of the Indigenous Water Purification

Method Using African Spear Plant Case: Konso Community, 2018 GC
By Sokate Aylate Gudeno

The Thesis is Approved by Examining Board Members

Names Signature Date

1. Advisor: Dr. Alemtsehaye Gebremeskel ________ _________

2. Internal Examiner: Dr. Assie Kemal `________ _________
3. External Examiner: Dr Agizew Nigusie ________ _________
4. Chairman: Dr Henok Fikre ________ _________

Declaration
I, the undersigned declare that this is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in
this or any other university and all sources of materials used for this thesis have been
acknowledged.

Name:_______________________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________________________
Date of Submission: ____________________________________________
 Acknowledgment
I acknowledge the almighty God for His care and help. I also extend my gratitude for my

advisor, Dr Alemtsehay Gebremeskel Seyum, for her relentless support and follow-up. She was

encouraging, hope filling and absolutely supportive.

Next I appreciate the contribution of my family, particularly my husband Aschalew Korra and

my children for they understood me and filled the gap created due to my education at home.

Finally, I appreciate for the encouragement and support I got from my friends in the school,

especially Mrs Rekik Hibistu, who was by my side in the journey of study at Addis Ababa

University and in the research process.

Abstract
Water supply and environmental engineering primary concern should be making potable water

available to the community at large. Among the many topics addressed in the discipline, water

purification method is of paramount issue to be addressed. Water purification can be undertaken

in more sophisticated method and traditional way.

An indigenous method used by Konso community to purify water using African spear plant was

investigated in this research. Lab scale study was conducted to assess the efficacy of African

spear plant to purify water in terms of water quality parameters such as PH, Turbidity and

Bacteria presence.

The study has used triangulation approach, means, qualitative and quantitative approach. The

qualitative approach is used for the exploration of the method being used by the society by

interviewing significant people in the community and observation of the practice in the society

and to know the situation in which the community uses this traditional method. The quantitative

method was used for measurement of African Spear plant efficacy in terms of water quality

parameters such as PH, Turbidity and Bactria presence.

The study found that, when the water is stirred with a crashed African Spear plant for about 1

minute and kept for about 10-15 minutes, African Spear plant has the capacity to reduce the

turbidity of water, capacity to reduce the level of bacteria in the water and reduce the PH of the

water but if it is kept for long time in the water, the African Spear plant makes the water media

more favorable for bacteria and the color of the water is changed to the color of the plants. Wet

African spear plant has much effect than dry plant in purifying water.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
AACAEPAL Addis Ababa City Administration Environmental Protection Authority Laboratory

AUWQL Arbaminch University Water Quality Lab

DO Dissolved Oxygen

EC Electrical Conductivity

ES ISO Ethiopia Standard International Standard Organization

ES Ethiopia Standard

MCL Maximum Contamination Level

MDG Millennium Development Goal

NTU Ne photometric Turbidity Unit

PH Power of Hydrogen ion scale

TDS Total Dissolved Solid

UNICEF United Nation International Children’s Emergency Fund

WHO World Health Organization

List of Figures and Tables

1. Figures
Figure 1: House Grown Sanseveria Cylinderica…………………………………………………..3

Figure 2: Field grown Sanseveria Cylinderica…………………………………………………….4

Figure 3: Research Field Sanseveria Cylinderica…………………………………………………4

Figure 4: Konso Sanseveria Cylinderica………………………………………………………………..17

Figure 5: Bottles containing standard solution to Measure Turbidity…………………………...33

Figure 6: Equipment used to measure PH of the water…………………………………….........33

Figure 7: Jar test experiment………………………………………………...…………………...34

Figure 8: Time of data gathering through semi Structured Questionnaire interview……………37

Figure 9: African Spear Plant, from field……….……………………………………………….39

Figure 10: Raw water is taken from Source……………………………………………………...39

Figure 11: The African Spear plant is crushed…………………………………………………..40

Figure 12: The dirty water is stirred with the crushed African Spear plant)…………………….40

Figure 13: The stirred water is left to settle for 10-15 minutes…………..………………...........40

Figure 14: PH and temperature results against time for untreated sample water………………..43

Figure 15: PH and temperature results against time for treated sample water…………………..44

Figure 16: PH and temperature results against time for treated sample water for 12hrs……......46

Figure 17: Turbidity result for untreated sample water against………………………………….47

Figure 18: Change in turbidity with time of treated water sample for six hrs …………………..48

Figure 19: Turbidity removal before and after treatment with African Spear Plant……………..48
Figure 20: The turbidity of the untreated and treated water after 12 hr for five consecutive hrs..50

Figure 21: Turbidity vs Dosage of African Spear plant within 15 Minutes ………………….....54

Figure 22: Turbidity removal, PH versus Dosage after 2hrs…………………………………….55

Figure 23: Result of jar test for optimum PH ............................................................................. ..56

Figure 24: Optimal Dosage of African Spear plant ………………………………………...…....57

Figure 25: Optimum PH of sample with 156 NTU…………………………………………...….58

Figure 26: Optimal dosage of African Spear plant………………………………………………58

Figure 27: Dried African Spear Plant……………………………………………………………59

 2. Tables

Table 1: A brief description of earth’s water…………………………………………………….9

Table 2: WHO Guideline for Drinking water Quality…………………………………………...11

Table 3: Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, 4th Edition; World Health Organization……..12

Table 4: Palatable water quality standard for drinking water…………………………………….13

Table 5: Reduction efficiency of turbidity using in different turbidity ranges…………………...27

Table 6: The result of PH tests before addition of African Spear Plant…………………………..42

Table 7: The result of PH Tests after treating water with African Spear Plant…………………..44

Table 8: The result of PH after treating water with African Spear plant for 12 hours …………..45

Table 9: Turbidity Test Result before Treatment for 6 hours …………………………………....46

Table10: Turbidity Tests Result after addition of African Spear plant for six hours ……………47

Table 11: Turbidity Tests Result before addition of A. Spear plant for twelve hours …………...49

Table 12: Total Coliform and Fecal Coliform Tests Result, at AACAEPA ……………………..52

Table 13 Total Coli form record after 15 Minutes with different dilution level ………………..53

Table 14: Turbidity & PH with different weights of African Spear plant after 15 minutes ……53

Table 15: Turbidity &PH with different weights of African Spear plant after 15 minutes …….54

Table 16: Comparison dried African Spear Plant treated & naturally settlement……………….59
 Table of Contents
Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………………………I

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………...II

Abbreviations and Acronyms……………………………………………………………………III

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………IV

List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………..V

Chapter One .................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Introduction ....................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1. Background Information ................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1. Description of the Study Area ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.2. Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................. 5

1.3. Objective of the Study ...................................................................................................... 7

1.3.1. General Objective ..................................................................................................... 7

1.3.2. Specific Objective ..................................................................................................... 7

1.4. Thesis outline ................................................................................................................... 7

Chapter Two .................................................................................................................................. 8

Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 8

2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8

2.2. World Health Organization Guidelines ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.3. National Water Quality Standard .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.4. Ethiopian Water Quality Condition.....................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.5. Water Quality Analyses ......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

 2.5.1. Physical Parameter of Drinking Water Quality ............Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.5.2. Chemical Aspects of Water Quality .............................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.5.3. Biological Aspects of Drinking water. .........................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.6. Traditional Water Purification Methods .............................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.6.1. Filtration through Winnowing Sieve ............................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.6.2. Filtration through Cloth ................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.6.3. Filtration through Clay Vessels ....................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.6.4. Filtration by using Plant Parts ......................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.6.5. Filtration Using Plant Seeds .........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.7. Appropriate water Treatment Methods ...............................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.7.1. Horizontal Flow Coarse Media Filter .........................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.7.2. Up flow Gravel Filter ...................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.7.3. Two Stage Filter .......................................................................................................... 28

2.8. Household Water Treatment Methods ........................................................................... 29

2.7.1. Straining........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.7.2. Disinfection ..................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.7.3.Sedimentation ................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Chapter Three ............................................................................................................................. 31

3. Materials and Method ............................................................................................................... 31

3.1. Interview and Observation of the Practice ......................................................................... 31

3.2. Preparation of the Plant and Sample water ........................................................................ 31

 3.3. Lab study ............................................................................................................................ 32

3.3.1. Materials Used ............................................................................................................. 32

3.3.2. Methods Used .............................................................................................................. 34

3.4. Study Area ...........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.5. Method of Data Analysis.................................................................................................... 36

Chapter Four ................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4. Result and Discussion ................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.1. Result...................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.1.1. Result Obtained from Interview and Observation ........Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.1.2. Experimental result .......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.1.2.1. PH of the water…………………………………………………………………………….41

4.1.2.2 Turbidity of the Water ............................................................................................... 46

4.1.2.3. Total Coli form and fecal coli form level of the water. ........... Error! Bookmark not
defined.

4.2. Discussion of the Result ......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Chapter Five .................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

5. Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.1. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 68

5.2. Recommendation ................................................................................................................ 70

References ................................................................................................................................................................ 71
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………………………I

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………...II

Abbreviations and Acronyms……………………………………………………………………III

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………IV

List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………..V

Chapter One ................................................................................................................................. 1

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Background Information .................................................................................................. 1

1.1. Description of the Study Area .......................................................................................... 5

1.2. Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................. 5

1.3. Objective of the Study ...................................................................................................... 7

1.3.1. General Objective ..................................................................................................... 7

1.3.2. Specific Objective ..................................................................................................... 7

1.4. Thesis outline ................................................................................................................... 7

Chapter Two ................................................................................................................................ 8

Literature Review .................................................................................................................... 8

2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8

2.2. World Health Organization Guidelines .............................................................................. 10

2.3. National Water Quality Standard ....................................................................................... 12

 2.4. Ethiopian Water Quality Condition.................................................................................... 15

2.5. Water Quality Analyses ..................................................................................................... 19

2.5.1. Physical Parameter of Drinking Water Quality ........................................................... 19

2.5.2. Chemical Aspects of Water Quality ............................................................................ 20

2.5.3. Biological Aspects of Drinking water. ........................................................................ 22

2.6. Traditional Water Purification Methods ............................................................................ 23

2.6.1. Filtration through Winnowing Sieve ........................................................................... 24

2.6.2. Filtration through Cloth ............................................................................................... 25

2.6.3. Filtration through Clay Vessels ................................................................................... 25

2.6.4. Filtration by using Plant Parts ..................................................................................... 25

2.6.5. Filtration Using Plant Seeds ........................................................................................ 25

2.7. Appropriate water Treatment Methods .............................................................................. 28

2.7.1. Horizontal Flow Coarse Media Filter ........................................................................ 28

2.7.2. Up flow Gravel Filter .................................................................................................. 29

2.7.3. Two Stage Filter .......................................................................................................... 28

2.8. Household Water Treatment Methods ........................................................................... 29

2.7.1. Straining....................................................................................................................... 29

2.7.2. Disinfection ................................................................................................................. 30

2.7.3.Sedimentation ............................................................................................................... 31

Chapter Three............................................................................................................................ 31
3. Materials and Method ..................................................................................................... 31

3.1. Interview and Observation of the Practice ......................................................................... 31

3.2. Preparation of the Plant and Sample water ........................................................................ 31

3.3. Lab study ............................................................................................................................ 32

3.3.1. Materials Used ............................................................................................................. 32

3.3.2. Methods Used .............................................................................................................. 34

3.4. Study Area .......................................................................................................................... 37

3.5. Method of Data Analysis.................................................................................................... 36

Chapter Four.............................................................................................................................. 37

4. Result and Discussion ...................................................................................................... 37

4.1. Result.................................................................................................................................. 37

4.1.1. Result Obtained from Interview and Observation ....................................................... 37

4.1.2. Experimental result ...................................................................................................... 41

4.1.2.1. PH of the water…………………………………………………………………………….41

4.1.2.2 Turbidity of the Water ............................................................................................... 46

4.1.2.3. Total Coli form and fecal coli form level of the water. ............................................ 52

4.2. Discussion of the Result ..................................................................................................... 62

Chapter Five .............................................................................................................................. 69

5. Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................. 69

5.1. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 68
 5.2. Recommendation ................................................................................................................ 70

References ........................................................................................................................................................... 71
 Chapter One

Introduction

1.1. Background Information

Water is a very crucial thing for the existence of life on the earth. It is well said that water is the

second most urgent body need after air. The total volume of water on the Earth is about 1.4

billion km3 and 97 percent of it is found in ocean which is salty water. But, for the sake of

human health, salty water is not convenient for human well being.

Water supply and its cleanness is one of the fundamental base for determining development and

health of a society (WHO report, 2003). Approximately 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access

to safe drinking water (International Journal for Serviced learning in Engineering, 2009). In

Ethiopia, 81 million people, according to USAID report, have lowest rates of access to water

supply, sanitation, and hygiene even though it has abundant surface and ground water resources

in Africa. In 2005, 40 percent of the population had access to safe water according to the

government report; however, according to nongovernmental organizations and World Health

Organization (WHO), the ground figure was around to 22 percent (USAID, 2007).

The WHO estimated that only 13 percent of the population had access to sanitation. Ethiopia’s

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for improved water and sanitation access are 70

percent and 56 percent respectively (USAID, 2007).

Water need to be purified before it is supplied for use. There may be several reasons to improve

the quality of the water. The most important is the removal of organisms like germs and parasites

that causes water born, water based and water related diseases. We may also want to remove

suspended particles like dirt which make the water look and taste bad and that might be carrying

germs which make people ill.

Nowadays there are a number of technologies which are used to treat water. To mention some of the

techniques used are physical method of which boiling is the most reliable method when water is boiled

vigorously for 1 minute and allowed to cool to room temperature. Other physical methods include

exposure to sunlight and ultra violate light.

Chemical purifiers such as tincture of iodine, 2% solution of iodine, can also be used, where we

add 5 drops of the iodine to 1 liter of clear water and wait for 30 minutes before we use it. For

very cold or cloudy water, add 10 drops to 1 liter of water and wait for several hours before use.

Other chemical methods include precipitation using alum, soda, ash, and lime (Hong Kong

Special Administrative Region Government, Information Services Department, 2016).

To use most or all of the above mentioned methods to purify water, it would be unaffordable and

expensive for communities like Konso, which is the area of this study. Traditionally, Konso

community applies different methods to treat raw water and use for their daily activities. As it is

known in literature, both surface and sub surface water have impurities and it requires different

level of treatment. Physical impurities are treated through physical mechanism such as screening,

sedimentation, filtration, etc; whereas chemical impurities can be removed by adding different

chemicals.
Konso community has adopted their own traditional methods of water purification. The

indigenous traditional water treatment techniques used by the community can serve the

community as whole or applied at individual level. To mention some of the traditional

techniques, the Konso uses addition of ash to treat raw water, the root of Moringa, fine sand and

African Spear plant to purify water. This research is interested in investigating the technique of

using African spear plant to purify

water.

African spear plant, its scientific name

Sanseveria cylindrical also called snake

plant, rocket, spear Sanseveria or

mother –in-law’s tongue is fiber plant

that Konso people use for production of

fiber to make robe from it. In other

parts of the world, it is kept as a

houseplant. A research done by NASA

on selected plants that are used for air

purification includes Sanseveria

Cylinderica plant. (https://hirts.com/,

Sep, 2018)

Figure 1: House grown Sanseveria Cylinderica, (Source: Hirt’s Gardens, 2018)

The Konso African Spear plant is a round

plant which is used primarily for fiber

production and secondarily for water

purification. This plant can also grow in

worm temperature area in the field. It has

fiber and thorn at its end. This plant is the

focus of this study to purify water.

Figure 2: Field Grown Sanseveria Cylinderica (Source: Plants & Flowers Copyright © 2010-

2017)

Figure.3: Sanseveria Cylinderica from study area (source: Researcher Photo, 2018)
 1.1. Description of the Study Area

The Konso (local pronunciation Xonso) live in the South West Ethiopia in Southern Nations,

Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), in Segen Area Peoples’ Zone. Gumayede (local

pronunciation, Komayte) is the administrative seat of the zone. The Zone has five woreda: Ale,

Amaro, Burji, Dirashe, and Konso. Except Ale woreda, the rest used to be special woredas

before the formation of the Zone in 2011. Karate is the administrative town of Konso woreda and

is about 600 and 360 KM from Addis Ababa and Hawassa respectively (Gelebo, M. 2008).

According to 2007 Census, there were 267,000 people in Konso Woreda including Ale woreda.

Konso people use water from river, unprotected well and protected spring well. Usually, they dig

water well at the base of mountainous area hoping they get water there. The source of water for

drinking water is mainly from unprotected well (Garra,K. 2000). The land has water shortage

and the community devised different techniques to overcome such challenges. Among them they

devised water reservation technique and techniques to purify the water.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Even if there is enough amount of water in our country, it is not readily available to supply for

community without treatment. Naturally available water contains lots of impurities and the

impurities have to be removed before supplying water to the community to avoid negative health

impact. There are many technologies used to treat raw water and make it safe for drinking and

other daily activity. Physical method of purifying water includes boiling and use of ultraviolet

light. Chemical methods include addition of chlorine, tincture iodine, soda, ash, and lime. The

technologies are too expensive to use locally in developing countries. This research will focus on
assessing how the people of Konso use African Spear plant to treat water at home level. The

research also assesses the efficacy of the method. The research question was birthed from the

curiosity of the researcher from what she observed in her area where the people utilize crushed

African Spear plant to purify dirty water. The concern therefore, has been developed over time

since child hood and now when opportunities of research came, it became a topic of study. Based

on the above justifications, the research will try to answer the following research questions

i. What is the existing water supply source of Konso woreda?

ii. What is the difference between dry and wet African Spear plant in water purification?

iii. What is the effect of African Spear plant dosage in water purification?

iv. What is the relation between PH and dosage of the Plant in water purification?

v. How do Konso people apply African spear plant to purify water?

vi. What if Konso community use dried African spear plat to purify water?

vii. What is the difference between natural settlement and use of African Spear plant?

viii. How can time factor affect water purification using African spear plant?

ix. What is the effect of African Spear plant in improving water quality?

x. What is the better way of purifying water using African spear plant?
 1.3. Objective of the Study
1.3.1. General Objective

This research presents an investigation on the efficacy of the indigenous water purification

method using African spear plant among Konso community

1.3.2. Specific Objective

The specific objectives of the thesis are summarized as follow:

i. To assess the existing water supply sources of Konso woreda

ii. To study how Konso people use African Spear plant to purify water

iii. To measure the effect of African Spear plant in improving water quality

iv. To recommend an improved method to purify water using African Spear plant

1.4. Thesis outline

Introduction, description of the study area and objective of the study are presented in chapter

one. Literature review about different traditional water purification methods is presented in

chapter two. Interview and observation of the practice, preparation of the plant and sample water

and laboratory study method are described in chapter three. Results obtained from laboratory

study and interviews and discussion of the results are presented in chapter four. Finally,

conclusion and recommendation for further study are described in chapter five.
 Chapter Two
Literature Review
2.1. Introduction

For water student, “Water is life”, is the common motto which holds truth beyond their field of

study. All living things need water to survive on earth. Both plant and animal bodies are made up

of water in their cells. The average adult male has approximately 60% of his body weight water

and a female adult has in average 50 % of her body weight water (The American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition, 1980).

The planet earth is covered by about 71 % of water surface. Out of the total water coverage on

earth, about 96.5 % water is contained in oceans. Water also exists in the air by the form of

vapor, in rivers, lacks, in the form of icecaps, glaciers, and also in the ground. Even though 71%

of earth is covered by water, about 96% of the total water on earth is saline, which means it is not

fit for drinking. Fresh water fit for drinking is found from rain, in the streams, rivers, lacks and

ground (USGS, 2016).

In most parts of the world, surface water is used to supply drinking water, and to irrigate crops.

However, ground water is also of paramount importance to keep rivers and lakes full. It also

helps as a source of water supply in places where surface water is scarce.

Out of the total water volume of 1.4 billion Km3 on earth, 97% is saline. Out of the total fresh

water, 68% is locked up in ice and glaciers in the polar areas. Another 30 % of the fresh water is
in the ground. The rest sources of fresh water are rivers which constitute about 300mi3 that is

1/10,000th of total earth water (USGS, 2016).

Table 1: A brief description of earth’s water is given in a table below.

Estimate of Global Water Distribution (Percents are rounded, so will not add to 100)

Water source Water volume, Water volume, % of % of

in cubic miles in cubic Kms freshwater total
water

Oceans, Seas, & Bays 321,000,000 1,338,000,000 -- 96.54

Ice caps, Glaciers, & 5,773,000 24,064,000 68.7 1.74

Permanent Snow

Groundwater 5,614,000 23,400,000 -- 1.69

Fresh 2,526,000 10,530,000 30.1 0.76

Saline 3,088,000 12,870,000 -- 0.93

Soil Moisture 3,959 16,500 0.05 0.001

Ground Ice & Permafrost 71,970 300,000 0.86 0.022

Lakes 42,320 176,400 -- 0.013

Fresh 21,830 91,000 0.26 0.007

Saline 20,490 85,400 -- 0.006

Atmosphere 3,095 12,900 0.04 0.001

Swamp Water 2,752 11,470 0.03 0.0008

Rivers 509 2,120 0.006 0.0002

Biological Water 269 1,120 0.003 0.0001

 Estimate of Global Water Distribution (Percents are rounded, so will not add to 100)

Water source Water volume, Water volume, % of % of

in cubic miles in cubic Kms freshwater total
water

Source: Igor Shiklomanov's chapter "World fresh water resources" in Peter H. Gleick (editor), 1993,
Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources (Oxford University Press, New
York).

Fresh water that is found from rain, in river, lakes and in the ground need treatment before

consuming as drinking water. To purify water there are many methods devised, both in scientific

ways and traditional ways. Depending up on the depth of water, ground water is considered to be

free from pathogenic microorganism contamination. Ground water is considered to have better

quality than surface water which is exposed to different sorts of contaminating objects. Chemical

composition of ground water is related to external activities and soluble constituents of soil in the

area.

Water quality can be seen from physical, chemical and biological aspects. All the aspects are

important for human health.

2.2. World Health Organization Guidelines

The World Health Organization, WHO, Guideline for Drinking-water Quality (GDWQ) includes

the following recommended limits on naturally occurring constituents that may have direct

adverse health impact.

Table 2: WHO Guideline for Drinking water Quality

Naturally Occurring Organic Species
Constituents

Arsenic 10μg/l Benzene 10μg/l Carbon tetrachloride 1,2-Dichlorobenzene

4μg/l 1000μg/l
Barium 10μg/l 1,4-Dichlorobenzene 1,2-Dichloroethane 1,2-Dichloroethene
300μg/l 30μg/l 50μg/l
Boron 2400μg/l Dichloromethane Di(2- 1,4-Dioxane 50μg/l
20μg/l ethylhexyl)phthalate
8 μg/l
Chromium 50μg/l Edetic acid 600μg/l Ethylbenzene 300 Hexachlorobutadiene
μg/l 0.6 μg/l
Fluoride 1500μg/l Nitrilotriacetic acid Pentachlorophenol Styrene 20μg/l
200μg/l 9μg/l

Selenium 40μg/l Tetrachloroethene Toluene 700μg/l Trichloroethene 20μg/l

40μg/l
Uranium 30μg/l Xylenes 500μg/l

Source: Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, 4th Edition; World Health Organization; 2011

The following table 3 provides a comparison of a selection of parameters for concentrations

listed by WHO compared with that of the European Union, USA, and Ministry of Environmental

Protection of China.

Table 3: Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, 4th Edition; World Health Organization;
compared with USA and Europe Standards, 2011
Parameter Symbol WHO EU USA China

Antimony Sb Ns 5.0 μg/l 6.0 μg/l “

Arsenic As 10μg/l 10 μg/l 10μg/l 50μg/l

Barium Ba 700μg/l Ns 2 mg/L “

Benzene 10μg/l 1.0 μg/l 5 μg/l “

Boron B 2.4mg/l 1.0 mg/L “ “

Cadmium Cd 3 μg/l 5 μg/l 5 μg/l 5 μg/l

Chromium Cr 50μg/l 50 μg/l 0.1 mg/L 50 μg/l (Cr6)

Fluoride F 1.5 mg/l 1.5 mg/l 4 mg/l 1 mg/l

Mercury Hg 6 μg/l 1 μg/l 2 μg/l 0.05 μg/l

Nitrate N 50 mg/l 50 mg/l 10 mg/L (as N) 10 mg/L (as N)

Selenium Se 40 μg/l 10 μg/l 50 μg/l 10 μg/l

Tetrachloroethene and
40μg/l 10 μg/l “ “
Trichloroethene

Source: Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, 4th Edition; World Health Organization,(2011).

2.3. National Water Quality Standard

Ethiopia has standard for water quality measurement and the values are presented in table 4.
Table 4: Palatable water quality standard for drinking water

Substances or characteristics Maximum permissible level Test method

Total hardness (as caco3) mg/l 300 ES 607

Total dissolved solids mg/l 1000 ES 609

Total iron (as Fe) mg/l 0.3 ES ISO 6332

Manganese (as Mn) mg/l 0.5 ES ISO 6333

Ammonia (NH3+NH4+) mg/l 1.5 ES ISO 7150-2

Residual free chlorine mg/l 0.5 ES ISO 7393

Anionic surfactants mg/l 1 ES ISO 7875-1

Magnesium (as Mg) mg/l 50 ES ISO 7980

Calcium (as Ca) mg/l 75 ES ISO 7980

Copper (as Cu) mg/l 2 ES ISO 8288

Sulfate (as So4) mg/l 250 ES ISO 9280

Chloride (as Cl) mg/l 250 ES ISO 9297

Total alkalinity (as Caco3) 200 ES ISO 9963-1

Potassium (as K) ,mg/l 1.5 ES ISO 9964-2

PH value ,units 6.5 to 8.5 ES ISO 10523

Sources: National Drinking Water Quality monitoring and surveillance strategies, 2011

All over the world, rural community adopted simple treatment techniques that mainly aim at

filtering out the visible impurities from the water collected from local source. These traditional

treatment techniques can remove the impurities which is visible with eyes only. Traditional water

purifying methods do not provide the water quality standard under present day situation.
However, it can be considered that the methods used provide water quality that is acceptable to

that community. In most of the cases with a simple step of disinfection, they could yield water

free from pathogens.

The issue of water adequacy and sanitation is the concern of all disciplines that study water

supply and environmental impact of water related issues. According to United Nations

report,2005, there is enough water for everyone on the globe; the problem is the mismanagement

and misuse of water. Misuse of water includes corruption and lack of investment in human

capacity and physical infrastructure that aid in proper water utilization (United Nations report,

2006)

In developed countries, safe drinking water is piped at household level and the quality is also

monitored at higher level. The reverse is true in developing countries, where there is a problem

of adequacy and safety in terms of sanitation. To overcome such problem people in developing

countries look for sources of water that are not protected and treated.

According to WHO, (2010), 5.9 billion people, that is 87% of the world population are using

water from safer sources. The result however addresses largely the status of developed nations

when compared relatively with developing countries. In sub-Saharan countries, the proportion is

only 60% who have access to safe water, and about 2.6 billion people don’t have access to safe

water and improved sanitation.

The inadequacy and lack of sanitation in the rural area of the developing countries like Africa is

the most serious challenge that the people face. About 3.4 million people die due to water born

diseases, among which the children are the first victims (UN- Habitat, 2003).
The Ethiopian water condition is affected by different factors. Among the many, the country has

great geographic diversity which do have direct and indirect link with water availability and

sanitation. The topography height ranges from high peaks of 4,550m above sea level to a low

depression of 110m below sea level (Ademe and Alemayehu, 2014, 2:2).

In Ethiopia, the highlands usually get relatively stable and more rain falls than the lowlands. This

make the lowlands get surface water and the high lands get more rain. The country has high

potential for both surface and underground water. This potential made the country to be nick

named, the water tower of East Africa (Said, 1993).

2.4. Ethiopian Water Quality Condition

Ethiopia as one of the developing country of the world it has not fully provided access to clean

and enough water in both rural and urban areas of the country. The urban areas of the country

have a better access to clean water compared to the rural areas of the country. Improving the

accessibility of quality water to all citizens is one of the targets of the Millennium Development

Goal that the Ethiopia government strives to fulfill. Access to safe water was considered as one

strategy to alleviate poverty as recommended in previous researches quoted (Water Aid, 2009).

The Konso community lives in southern region of Ethiopia, under Segen around people Zone.

The Konso people as other remote and rural community of the country, they also face problem of

access to safe and adequate water. To overcome the issue of cleanliness, they use different

traditional and ingenious methods to purify water. They use, ash, moringa tree root and African

spear plant which is the focus of this paper (Garra. K, 2000).

2.4.1. Addition of Ash

During the rainy season the water harvested from the top of roof contains some sort of

impurities. And this impurity observed with eye which is physical impurities is removed by

adding ash. Ash is added to the turbid water and let it for few minutes, and then the ashes

collects the suspended dusts present in raw water and settle it down.

2.4.2. Root of Moringa

The root of Moringa can also play an important role in traditional water purification methods.

When the root of Moringa added to the dirty water it collects the impurity from the raw water

toward itself as a magnet attracts the metals. The seed of moringa is reported to have anti

microbial effect in addition to coagulation effect. (Kibreabe, 2004)

2.4.3. African Spear Plant (Sanseveria Cylinderica)

African Spear plant, Sansevieria cylindrica, is a Sanseveria family plant with striped, elongate,

smooth, greenish-gray sub cylindrical leaves. They can grow up to 3 cm diameter and upward

can grow up to 2 m above soil. It grows fan-shaped, with its stiff leaves growing from a basal

rosette.The plant is drought resistant and can survive with less water like getting water once

every other week during the season of its growth, thus it grows much in dry area. The plant got

its name Sanseveria cylinderica from competition in a Dutch national newspaper by Wencesals

Bojer, due to it ornamental feature and easy to culture it. (Lemke, Cal (2002-01-25)
Figure 4: Konso Sanseveria Cylinderica, (Source: Researcher, Konso, 2018)

The plant is used for house plant as ornament; scenery in film and television show, for air

purification, its fiber is used for rope fiber works. In Africa, including Konso, the leaves are

used for fiber production that is used for rope making. In some species, the plant's sap has

antiseptic qualities, and the leaves are used for bandages in traditional first aid. (Philip, D;

Kaleena, PK; Valivittan, K & Girish Kumar, CP, 2011)

Water purification using round African Spear plant has no literature as to the scope of literature

search by this study, but the practice is available among Konso people, and this study will try to

explore its use and application, and also its efficacy in water purification.
2.5. Water Quality Analyses

Water quality analysis is done through representative samples of water. According to WHO

guideline, 2004, 4th edition, the tests first of all need to be done onsite and then taken to

laboratory.

Water quality measurement parameters are grouped in to three types, namely, physical, chemical

and biological parameters. All the three parameters are set from human health perspective. The

parameters are to show us the fitness of water for drinking and its safety for human health

(Gupta, D. & Saharan, J., 2009).

2.5.1. Physical Parameter of Drinking Water Quality

The physical characteristics that are used to measure water quality are its temperature, color,

odor, taste, turbidity.

2.5.1.1. Turbidity of Water

Turbidity of water is its cloudiness and muddiness, which indicates physical sign of water

impurity. It is an indication that the optical property of water is affected to absorb end scatter

light that passes through the water. Turbidity is caused by suspended materials such as clay, silts,

fine organic and inorganic materials, soluble colored materials, plants and microorganisms. The

turbidity of water determines the acceptability of the water by the consumers, the type of

treatment demanded. During disinfection process, lower turbidity is preferred, that is lower than

1 NTU (John C.et al, 2012).

2.5.1.2. Color of Water

Water color is normally colorless, but if water is colored, it means that there are colored

substances in the water that affects its appearance. Color of water can be due to plants, or soluble

minerals in it. We can compare the color of water to the color of distilled water. Colored water is

not acceptable for drinking, both for its aesthetic and health issues. Drinking water has to be

colorless (WHO, 2011, 4th Edition).

2.5.1.3. Odor and Taste

Drinking water has to be odorless; if present it indicates the presence of contamination in the

water. Drinking water has to be tasteless; if present it indicates that there is something foreign in

it and the water is not safe for drinking. The change in odor and taste of water indicates that there

is some problem in the source of the water, on the treatment process or distribution process.

Dissolved minerals and algae in the water can change the odor and taste of water (Olijira, G.,

2005).

2.5.2. Chemical Aspects of Water Quality

2.5.2.1. Residual Chlorine

Chlorine is one of the disinfectants that we use to treat water. Its preference is due to its

cheapness, availability and easy measurement both in the field and laboratory. Another reason

for its prior usage is as it leaves residues in the water that can help prevent water contamination

from source to house hold usage level. The residue is a sustainable disinfection benefit we get

from chlorine usage (Taylor & Francis. G, 2007)

2.5.2.2. PH of Drinking Water

PH of drinking water refers to its level of acidity and alkalinity in respect to hydrogen and

hydroxide ions in a serious of positive numbers between 0-14. Water with a PH value of 7 is

considered to be neutral, the one with PH level below 7 is considered acidic and is toxic and the

one with PH Level above 7 is considered basic, and has bitter taste. Normal drinking water has a

PH value between 6- 8.5. Measurement of PH should be simultaneous with Chlorination for the

effectiveness of Chlorination which is dependent on the PH of the water under treatment (WHO,

2011, 4th edition).

2.5.2.3. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

Water may contain chemical impurities such as dissolved salt of magnesium, sodium, chloride,

sulphates, fluorides, nitrates, phosphates and other toxic metal like copper, chromium, iron,

mercury and manganese. The impurity may come from sources like town and industrial waste

water (Benignos, 2012).The presence of dissolved chemicals in the water helps us classify water

hard or soft water. Hardness of water is primarily due to the presence of calcium, magnesium,

chloride, sulphate, phosphate and the like ions. According to WHO (2012) and national drinking

water quality, the maximum permissible water hardness level is 300mg/L (Olijira, G., 2005).

Water has the capacity to dissolve a Varity of solid organic and inorganic substances such as

different types of salts, such as Potassium, calcium, sodium, bicarbonates chlorides, magnesium,

sulphates and the likes. These dissolved substances can change the taste and color of water. The

sources for the dissolved solids are from different areas like urban sewage and industrial waste

water sewerage system. TDS is used to measure the general quality water, not specific one

(Muhammad et al., 2013).

2.5.2.4. Electric Conductivity (EC)

Electrical conductivity of water is its ability to carry electric currency, which is due to

concentration of ions, mobility of the water, its temperature. If water conducts electricity in

higher rate, it indicates that that water is not clean. Clean water is poor in electric conduction and

best insulation. According to WHO standards, EC value of drinking water quality should not

exceeded 400 μS/cm and the conductivity of potable waters varies generally from 50 to 1500 μ

mhos/cm (WHO, 2011,).

2.5.3. Biological Aspects of Drinking water.

Drinking water need to be safe not only physically and chemically but also biologically.

Biologically we test the water for the presence of bacteria, virus and other disease causing micro

organisms, specially the presence of Escherichia coli bacteria. It would be too complex to test for

all kinds of microorganisms in the drinking water, and in many instances some of the pathogens

may not present in the water or in a very small amount. Therefore we use “indicator bacteria” to

identify whether the water is polluted with fecal material or not. The indicator bacteria are those

bacteria that are excreted in a large amount in the feces of warm blooded animals, whether they

are sick or healthy. The presence of the “indicator bacteria” signals the contamination of the

water with fecal matter.

The convention for “indicator bacteria” is using the presence of fecal coli form bacteria in the

water. Fecal coli form mainly contains Escherichia Coli or E coli, which are the sub group of

total coli form group. Fecal coli form present entirely in the feces.
In contrast, other members of the coli form group can be free living bacteria in nature and their

presence in the water does not necessarily indicate the contamination of the water with fecal

matter.

Escherichia coli are always present in the feces and the majority of them are normal flora in

human bodies, though some strains of them can cause diarrhea.

Differentiation of test result can be made between fecal coli form and total coli form by the

temperature of the tests. Total coli form can be tested at body temperature, 37o C but the fecal

coli forms can be tested at 44oC (WHO, 1993). Pertaining to the sample collection of water for

coli form bacteria test, a properly collected and preserved, if possible with sodium thiosulfate,

sample need to be obtained. Total time of holding the sample is only 30 hours. The sample need

to be kept in refrigerator or in ice, 4 degree Celsius and +/_ 2 degree Celsius. Usually, we test for

their presence or absence in the sample. (Http//www. southjersywatertest.com, accessed January

23, 2018)

The standard for Total coli form bacteria as primary standard is Maximum contamination level

(MCL) of zero colonies/100 ml water. If the result of the test for coli form bacteria in your water

is above the MCL, then water treatment is needed either by boiling or chlorination (WHO, 1993).

2.6. Traditional Water Purification Methods

Traditional water purification methods are many and variety depending on the area and

community that use the method. Public health is mainly dependent on the availability and

accessibility of safe drinking water. In the developed countries, there are different types of

technologies that are used to purify water. The opposite is true in developing countries where

water sanitation is major public health concern. Due to unavailability of the technologies used to
purify water, water born and water related problems are many. The technologies that are

available in developing countries is either expensive or inappropriate to be used the large

proportion of world population that live in developing countries. Because of inappropriateness

and expensiveness, many societies devised low cost traditional methods of water purification.

The methods can be at community level or at household level. Almost all such tradition

techniques are used to remove physically visible impurities such as plant leaves, twigs or other

suspended materials (Vigneswaran, S.and Sundaravadivel, M.,1983).

The methods range from simple and old method of purifying water through cloth to modified

methods that are adopted at community levels. To list some of the common methods used to

purify water in traditional ways: Purifying through sieves or cloth, stones, coarse media filters,

gravels, fibers, and plant parts, ,(Vigneswaran, S.and Sundaravadivel, M.,1983).

The methods are also classified in to three categories, namely: Traditional water treatment

method, appropriate water treatment methods and House hold water treatment methods.

To mention some of the traditional water treatment methods, the following are common among

many: Filtration by winnowing sieve, the method widely used in Mali, filtration by using cloth,

which is widely used in India, Mali and southern part of Nigeria, Filtration through clay vessels

which is commonly used Egypt, clarification using plant material which is used in Tamil Nadu

and Kerala, in India, Jempeng stone filter method commonly used in Bali, Indonesia (Thanh N.

C.1982).

2.6.1. Filtration through Winnowing Sieve

This method is used in water pollution caused by wind born impurities, like dry leaves, stalks

and coarse particles.

This type of filtration is used when the water source is polluted by wind-borne impurities such as

dry leaves, stalks, and coarse particles, where the raw water pass through the sieve and the plant

and coarse particles left behind. This method is widely used in Bamaka village in Mali.

2.6.2. Filtration through Cloth

Filtration through cloth is a common method used by many countries, like India, Nigeria, Mali

and other developing countries, to remove physically observable dust particles, mud, and debris,

suspended and visible martial in water. This type of water purification is not effective to purify

highly turbid method; rather it is suitable to purify well water.

2.6.3. Filtration through Clay Vessels

This method of water purification is mainly used by Egyptians. They use clay vessels with a

suitable pore size to filter highly turbid water

2.6.4. Filtration by using Plant Parts

By using the nuts of locally available plants, people in India filter highly turbid water with fine

suspended particles. This method is followed by cloth filtration. Studies have shown that the nuts

excrete a coagulant chemical that does result in the purification process.

2.6.5. Filtration Using Plant Seeds

2.6.5.1. P. aculeata

In Tanzania, Singida rural district, the community uses local plants that produce seeds

(especially P. aculeata) for water purification. According to study conducted by Nancy et al.

(2007), the use of the plant seeds have show that the seeds of the p. aculeate have a great
potential of enhancing social, economic and ecological development in semi-arid areas by

purifying water.

2.6.5.2. Moringa Olifera Seed

People purify water at household level by using Moringa Olifera seed. One liter of water is

treated by 50-150mg Moring seed depending on the level of clearness of the water. The seed

cake left after extraction of oil from the seed is also used to purify water. The procedure is as

follow: Use the Moringa seed pod well dried on the Moringa tree, collect the seed pod, remove

the seed husks, leave the white kernel, crush the seed kernel to powder, mix the powder with

small quantity of water in a small cup, pour the mixture through tea strainer or sieve in to

another cup, add then the resulting milky juice in to the water you want to purify. Stir the water

and the milky juice quickly for 30 second, and then slowly and regularly for 5 minutes. Cover

the water and not disturb it at least for an hour. Finally, the clean water on the top can be

siphoned or poured in to another material (Trees for life international, 2011).

Study conducted by Kebreabe, A. Ghebremichael (2004), the Moringa Olifera seed has a

coagulant protein that helps to filter and treat water. The result of the study by Gheberemichael

(2004) showed that the coagulant protein in Moringa Olifera possesses a prosperity of

coagulating waste in the water and in addition it has antimicrobial effect. The antimicrobial

effect of the seed protein is found to treat bacteria that are even resistant to antibiotics. Therefore,

the two properties that are, the coagulation and antimicrobial effect of moringa seed make it

suitable to treat waste water.

According to Asrafuzzaman Md.,et al., (2011), there are locally available natural coagulants that

are found in Moringa Olifera, Cicer artienum and Dolichos lablab plants. According to that

research, the coagulants in the seeds of these plants have the capacity to purify turbid water.

Moringa Olifera has the capacity to purify turbid water of 100 NTU to 94.1%, Cicer artienum

reduced the turbidity of 100NTU water to 95.89% and Dolichos lablab reduced 100NTU turbid

water to the extent of 88.9%.

According to their research, significant improvement of turbidity and total coli form was found

by using the locally available natural coagulants. Maximum turbidity reduction was found for

highly turbid water and low turbidity reduction was found for low turbid water. Among the

experiment plants used with natural coagulation capacity, cicer artienum was found to be the

most effective with turbidity reduction capacity of about 95. 89%.

Table 5: Reduction efficiency of turbidity using d/t coagulants in different turbidity ranges.

Coagulants Dose used % of turbidity % of turbidity % of turbidity

(mg/L) reduction (High- reduction (Medium- reduction (Low-
*turbidity water) *turbidity water) *turbidity water)
Moringa 50 86.9 65.62 56
Olifera 60 87.3 66.45 57.2
70 89.4 67.29 58
 80 90 68.54 58.8
90 90.8 68.95 59.2
100 94.1 69.37 60
Cicer 50 93.78 74.28 62.58
arietinum 60 94.63 74.69 64.51
70 95.15 79.18 66.12
80 95.26 81.02 70
90 95.47 81.42 70.96
100 95.89 81.63 71.29
Dolichos 50 84.5 65.10 49.71
lablab 60 86 65.91 51.42
70 86.6 66.73 56.28
80 87.7 67.55 57.14
90 88.4 67.75 59.42
100 88.9 68.16 60.85
Source: Hindawi, International Scholarly Research Notices, ISRN Microbiology, 2011

2.7. Appropriate water treatment methods

Based on the available traditional methods used by different communities of the developing

countries, some improvements have been made and the techniques are used in many parts of the

developing countries (Vigneswaran S., Tam D. M., and Visvanathan C., 1983). These include

Horizontal flow courser media filter, upper flow gravel filter and two stage filter.

2.7.1. Horizontal Flow Coarse Media Filter

This method is used to purify highly turbid water by using coarse gravel or crushed stones as

filter media. When the turbidity of the water is greater than 50 NTU, this method is the preferred

technique to purify water. The method has two aspects, filtration and sedimentation

simultaneously. It also helps to remove pathogens although in a limited manner. A study

conducted by Asian institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand showed that, the technique can

remove 60-70% of turbidity and 80% of coli form (Vigneswaran S. and Visvanathan C. 1995).

2.7.2. Up flow Gravel Filter

This method is when we want to purify water from physically observable suspended material and

biological impurities. The application is used on the pressure side of pump, at the bottom of the

upper most ponds in case of multi pond system. A protection fabric is laid over the pond liner in

same manner of down flow filter. For the purpose of filtration of water from mechanical and

biological impurities, the manifold is covered by layer of 3/4 inch to 1-1/2 inch gravel at least as

twice as thick as the pipe diameter and the larger gravel is covered with 6 to 12 inch of the pea

gravel which is planted with water iris, cattails, and rushes (www.conservation

technology.com/pond filter gravel.html, accessed Feb 27, 2018).

2.7.3. Two Stage Filter

The choice of stages of water filters is dependent on what you want to filter. If you want to filter

water for drinking, then the main goal is to get the water taste palatable, so you would use the

simple method of two stage filter technique (www.aquaticlife.com/blog, 2016).

2.8. Household Water Treatment Methods

2.8.1. Straining

It is the process of poring muddy water or dirty water through a piece of cloth, which is fine, and

clean. If used properly, it aids much in purifying water. It is advisable that the cloth be of cotton

rather than other types. The cloth should be thin, not so thick. Even though straining alone is not
enough to purify water for drinking, it is a house hold method that aids much for water

purification.

2.8.2. Disinfection

Disinfection is the process that aid in removing biological organisms capable of causing diseases

in apparently clean water. Commonly used household disinfection methods include:

Boiling water: Boiling is a commonly used traditional method of treating water. If done properly boiling

can help much in removing pathogens from water. In places where there is no other alternative, it is better

option. Boiling has no residual effect, so improper storage can lead to re-contamination. Boiled water

should be stored safely and used within a few days to be called treated water. The temperature of boiling

water must be high to treat water; otherwise it can be a means of water treatment. For boiling to be

effective, water must be brought to a rolling, bubbling boil.

✓ Low elevation one minute rolling, bubbling boil,

✓ High elevation three minutes rolling, bubbling boil.

Exposure to sun: Solar exposure of water can help in destroying pathogens in the water. Methods

used are exposing water stored in plastic or glass material and put it on sunlight at mid day for

extended period, in tropical countries for about five hours. If the water is cloudy, the time period

need to be extended up to two days. The goal of disinfection is to remove pathogens; therefore, we

may find alteration in taste of water as a side effect in water treatment with disinfectants. Boiling

can leave the water tasteless, sun exposure can make the water hot, and other chemical

disinfection can make the water taste bad (Field manual for Red Cross/Red Crescent

personnel and volunteers, 2008).

2.8.3. Sedimentation

2.8.3.1. Three Pot Method

In a condition of muddy water, putting water in a container for a given time cause the dirt to fall

to the bottom of the water. Purification of water through cloth can make this process efficient.

Water that is purified through sedimentation does not mean that it is clean, free from pathogens

but sedimentation process makes water ready for disinfection. We can use three pot method of

sedimentation. We use three pots, first put water in pot 1 and 2. Then we pour water in pot 2 in

to pot 3 and then wash pot 2. Then we pour water in pot 1 in to pot 2 then we wash pot 1. Then

pour water from the source in to pot 1 by strain it through cloth. You can settle the water for a

day, and repeat the process. You need to use water in pot three for it has settled for 2 days. (ibid)

2.8.3.2. Chemical Method

Water can also be segmented using chemicals. The two most commonly used chemicals to purify

water are the PUR and Water maker. To use PUR, we use one sack in 10 liter of water. Water

marker is available in different forms and we need to follow specific instruction to use it. They

are used in emergency conditions and the chemicals remove dirt and disinfect water

simultaneously. Both chemicals can be used at household levels (Field manual for Red

Cross/Red Crescent personnel and volunteers, 2008

 Chapter Three
3. Materials and Method
3.1. Interview and Observation of the Practice

The study has used triangulation method, means combination of qualitative and quantitative

method. The Qualitative aspect has dealt with the practice of the community in using African

Spear plant to purify water. The qualitative data is gathered by making interviewing with

community members with the experience of using African Spear plant. The semi structured

interview guide was prepared to collect the interview. The members involved in interview are

chosen purposively from the community. The total numbers of informants are 30 persons, (15

female and 15 male). The thesis has also observed the community practicing the purification

process using African Spear plant.

3.2. Preparation of the Plant and Sample water

For the quantitative design, the African Spear plant as well as the sample water for test was taken

from Konso. The African Spear plant is collected from farm land and the sample water was

collected from local pond in Konso located in Dokatu Kebele. The African Spear plant was taken

and then crushed and stirred with turbid water and an experiment was done to check the

purification efficacy of African Spear plant.

3.3. Laboratory study

The water quality parameters that were tested in this study are Turbidity, PH and bacteriological

test. Turbidity was tested with turbidity meter (HACH2100N), PH with PH meter (Janway3505)

and bacteriological presence was tested with membrane filtration method

The experiment for turbidity and PH was conducted at Addis Ababa University, Institute of

Technology, Environmental Engineering lab and Arbaminch University Water Quality Lab. The

bacteriological test was conducted at Addis Ababa City Administration Environmental

Protection Authority, Environmental lab and Arbaminch University Water Quality Lab.

Jar test was test was conducted using six (6) liter of artificially turbid water with turbidity of

70NTU and PH of 6.98@180C at the time of preparation. The beaker with 1000ml was used and

the water volume in the beaker was 500ml. To determine the optimum PH, the PH in each beaker

was adjusted by using HCL and NaOH. Another five (5) liter of synthetic turbid sample with

turbidity of 156NTU was prepared for second round jar test.

3.3.1. Materials

The study used pen to record the significant informants, recorder to record sound of the practice

of the African Spear plant utilization, 1liter of sample water, stone, African Spear plant and Jar

to mix African Spear plant with sample water. Apparatus used in Environmental Engineering
laboratory are turbidity meter (HACH2100N) which is shown in figure 6.

Figure 5: Turbidity meter and bottles contains standard solution for calibration purpose.

Another material used is PH meter (Janway3505) which is used to measure PH of water and the

chemical used is KCL, buffer solution with PH of 4, 7 and 10.

Figure 6: PH meter
Jar test was test was conducted using six (6) liter of artificially turbid water with turbidity of

70NTU and PH of 6.98@180C at the time of preparation. The beaker with 1000ml was used and

the water volume in the beaker was 500ml

Fig 7: Jar test experiment

3.3.2. Methods

3.3.2.1. Turbidity:

Turbidity of water was tested using turbidity meter (HACH2100N). Five bottles which contains

standard solution of 10ml were also used. The first bottle contains a neat solution with turbidity

<0.1NTU, the second one is with standard solution of turbidity 20NTU, the standard solution in

third, fourth and fifth bottles are 200NTU, 1000NTU, 4000NTU respectively. These solutions

are used for calibration purpose. The turbidity was tested before and after treating the water with
African Spear plant. The African Spear plant was crushed and added to the turbid water and the

change was recorded for successive 5 hrs.

3.3.2.2. PH of water:

To determine the PH of the sample, KCl solution was used to prevent the dryness of PH meter

sensor. The sensor was washed carefully with tap water, rinsed with distilled water thoroughly

and then wiped with tissue paper. The model of the instrument used to measure PH was Jenway

(3505) PH meter. The PH meter is calibrated by buffer solution with PH of 4, 7 and 10. The PH

was also tested before and after treating water with African Spear plant.

3.3.2.3. Total Coliform and Fecal Coliform level of the Water

The sample water collected from Konso was first tested for the presence of Total Coliform and

fecal Coliform. The test was performed in the standard laboratory of Addis Ababa City

Administration, Environmental protection laboratory. The test was conducted before and after

treating the water with African Spear plant. The method used to test total coli form and fecal coli

form is membrane filtration. The sample water was delivered to the laboratory first before

treating water with African Spear plant and the test for presence of total coli form and fecal

Coliform was done. The crushed African Spear plant was then put in the water for twelve hours

and then the sample water was again taken to the laboratory for test, and the water was tested for

the total Coliform and fecal Coliform in the laboratory. Membrane filtration method has used to

conduct biological test. At Arbaminch University water quality laboratory another sample was

tested with addition of African Spear plant, stirred for one minute, kept for 15 minutes. The

culture media was prepared from membrane lauryl sulphate of 3.65g and 100ml of water. The
capacity of African Spear plant to remove bacteria was tested at the optimum point. The water

bicker with turbidity of 24NTU was taken and tested again for the bacterial presence.

3.4. Study Area

The collection of the experimental water, the African Spear plant, the interview of the significant

persons and observation of the practice by the community was conducted at Konso woreda, in

SNNPR, Segen people Zone. The Laboratory activities were conducted at three places, Addis

Ababa University Institute of Technology, Environmental Engineering laboratory, Arbaminch

University Water Quality Laboratory and Addis Ababa City Government Environmental

Protection Authority, Environmental laboratory.

3.5. Method of Data Analysis

Microsoft excel was used to analyze experiment data. Data collected from interviewing

experienced persons in utilizing African Spear plant has also been analyzed by narration

Chapter Four
4. Results and Discussions
4.1. Results
4.1.1. Result Obtained from Interview and Observation

This research tried to study the efficacy of African Spear plant in purifying water. Accordingly,

this paper tried to explore qualitatively how the people apply their local method to purify dirty
water using African Spear plant. This aspect was done by interviewing experienced people in

using African Spear plant in the community to share their experience and to demonstrate how

they do it.

Figure 8: Data collected using semi structured interview

The result of the interview showed that the source of drinking water for people living in urban

part of the woreda is groundwater. This water is first collected to tank and treated with chlorine

and wuha agar. The part of the community that lives in rural area of the woreda gets drinking

water from spring water and unprotected well. But those who keep cattle and work at farm land

far from the resident have used water from local pond and rivers. The water collected from the

spring water and unprotected water is consumed by the rural community without any treatment.
Those who use water from local pond and river apply African Spear plant to treat water and use

for their daily activity. Water purification using African Spear plant is preferred by the

community because of its availability, easiness in application and there is no negative side effect

from experience. The time taken to treat water collected from local pond and river is about 10 to

15 minutes. The application of African Spear plant is similar in different villages of the

community. The experience is used mainly by those who keep cattle and have no access to well

or tap water. People who are working in the far fields of the farm also use this method of water

purification as they do not have access to tap or well water.

Those who work on farms near to their villages’ for long time also utilize this method to purify

their turbid water of river water. According to the interview, the African Spear plant is taken

from its root in the field, crushes and stirred and put it in turbid water for about 1 minute.

After approximately 10 to 15minuts, the turbid water turn clear and become apparently safe for

drinking. The person in need of drinking water can then drink it without any fear of dirtiness.

The observation has been made in three occasions when the local experienced people

demonstrated their experience. Figure 9 to 12 demonstrate the procedure used by Konso

community purify dirty water using African Spear plant.

Figure 9: African Spear Plant, from Field Figure 10: Raw water collected from source

(Source: Researcher, Konso, 2018)

 Figure 11: Crushing the African Spear plant Figure 12: Raw water is stirred with

African Spear plant

Figure 13: The stirred water is left to settle

4.1.2. Experimental Results

The Next step taken was the quantitative design to test the efficacy of the African Spear plant in

purifying dirty water. The parameters tested in the experiment were Turbidity, PH, and
Bacteriological presence of total Coliform and fecal Coliform. The first round experiment for

turbidity and PH was done at Addis Ababa University, Institute of Technology, at environmental

engineering lab. The experiment for total Coliform and fecal coli form was done at Addis Ababa

City Administration Environmental Protection Authority laboratory. The experiment was done

before and after the application of crushed African Spear plant.

Second round experiment was conducted at Arbaminch University water quality laboratory for

the three parameters. The results of the lab experiments are presented below.

4.1.2.1. PH of the Water

PH of the water was tested before the addition of African Spear plant and it was found to be 6.93

at 20.7 0C. The testes of PH were done after one hour and the result was recorded. Then tests

were done in six consecutive series and result are presented in Table 6

Table 6: The result of PH tests before addition of African Spear Plant

Time of Test PH @ Temperature Standard PH

Before the test 6.93 at 20.7 0C 6.5 to 8.5

After 1 Hour 6.93@20.70C 6.5 to 8.5

After 2 Hours 6.94@20.60C 6.5 to 8.5

After 3 Hours 6.96@20.10C 6.5 to 8.5

After 4 Hours 6.96@20.50C 6.5 to 8.5

After 5 Hours 6.95@20.60C 6.5 to 8.5

After 6 hours 6.96@20.50C 6.5 to 8.5

 Figure 14: PH and temperature results against time for untreated sample water

The application of African Spear plant was conducted in three different occasions’. First, the

water is treated with African Spear plant and settled up to 6hrs and the change is recorded in one

hr interval.

The result recorded was found to be different at different times as presented below in Table 7.

Table 7: the result of PH Tests after treating water with African Spear Plant
Time of Test PH @ Temperature Standard PH

Before the test 6.93 at 20.7 0C 6.5 to 8.5

After 1 Hour 6.41@22.00C 6.5 to 8.5

After 2 Hours 6.42@20.60C 6.5 to 8.5

After 3 Hours 6.29@20.90C 6.5 to 8.5

After4 Hours 6.22@20.400C 6.5 to 8.5

After 5 Hours 6.34@20.300C 6.5 to 8.5

After 6 Hours 6.35@20.20C 6.5 to 8.5

Figure15: PH and temperature results against time for treated sample water

In this entire situation, the PH of the water was in the range of minimum 6.22 and maximum

6.93. The slight fluctuation of the PH might be related to slight variation of Temperature.
Again, for the second time, another water sample of PH 7.11 has tested after treating the water

with African Spear plant for 12 hrs and the record is displayed below in Table 8

Table 8: The result of PH after treating water with African Spear plant for 12 hours

Time of Test PH @ Temperature Standard PH

Before the test 7.11@19.90C 6.5 to 8.5

After 12 Hour 6.27@19.20C 6.5 to 8.5

After 13 Hours 6.28@19.60C 6.5 to 8.5

After 14 Hours 6.26@19.10C 6.5 to 8.5

After 15 Hours 6.36@19.50C 6.5 to 8.5

After16 Hours 6.25@19.40C 6.5 to 8.5

Figure 16: PH and temperature results against time for treated sample water for 12hrs

4.1.2.2. Turbidity of the Water

Before addition of African Spear plant the turbidity of water has been measured and it was

499NTU. The rate of change in turbidity without African Spear plant was recorded for five

successive hours as presented in Table 9.

Table 9: Turbidity Test Result before without African Spear plant for 5 hours
Time of record Turbidity in NTU Standard Measurement
Before the test 499 <1 NTU
After 1hr 410 <1 NTU
After 2hr 397 <1 NTU
After 3hr 380 <1 NTU
After 4hr 319 <1 NTU
After 5hr 304 <1 NTU
Figure.17: Turbidity result for untreated sample water against

After the addition of African Spear plant, the result after 1,2,3,4 and 5 hrs are 321 NTU, 231

NTU, 214 NTU, 184 NTU and 166 NTU respectively.

Table 10: Turbidity Tests Result after addition of African Spear plant for six hours

Time of record Turbidity in NTU after addition of Standard Measurement

African Spear plant

Before the test 499 <1 NTU

After 1hr 312 <1 NTU

After 2hr 231 <1 NTU

After 3hr 214 <1 NTU

After 4hr 184 <1 NTU

After 5hr 166 <1 NTU

Figure.18: Change in turbidity with time of treated water sample for six hrs

Figure 19: Turbidity removal before and after treatment with African Spear Plant

As clearly presented above in Table 9 and 10, one can understand the continuous reduction in

turbidity in both cases. The only difference between the treated water with African Spear plant

and the untreated one is, the turbidity reduction of treated one is faster than untreated one. The
turbidity of untreated samples has decreased from 499NTU to 304NTU after six hours which

means the turbidity removal efficiency is 39.0%. But the turbidity of that of treated dropped to

166NTU after 5 hours, which is 66.7% turbidity removed.

To know the change in turbidity result after five hours, another sample with turbidity of

1680NTU was taken and treated with African Spear plant for 12 hours; and the change in

turbidity was recorded as presented in Table 11.

Table 11: Turbidity Tests Result before addition of African Spear plant for twelve hours

Time of record Turbidity in NTU Before Turbidity in NTU Standard

Treatment
After Treatment Measurement

Before the test 1680 1680 <1 NTU

After 12hr first hr 55.4 54.8 <1 NTU

After 13hrsecond hr 52.8 45.9 <1 NTU

After 14hr third hr 50 43.4 <1 NTU

After 15hr fourth 48.9 41.4 <1 NTU

After 16hr fifth hr 47 40.3 <1 NTU

Figure 20: The turbidity of the untreated and treated water after 12 hr for five consecutive hrs

Turbidity Removal efficiency after treatment is calculated as

TRE= (Influent-Effluent)/influent*100, = (1680-40.3)/1680*100= 97.6%

TRE for untreated water is 97.2%

After 12hr the turbidity removal efficiency at optimum dosage of African Spear plant for

untreated and treated water are the almost the same, 97.2% and 97.6% respectively.

This implies that, when time of settlement increases, the removal of turbidity is high.
4.1.2.3. Total Coliform and Fecal Coliform level of the water.

The sample water collected form Konso was first tested for the presence of Total Coliform and

fecal Coliform. The test was performed in the standard laboratory of Addis Ababa City

Administration Environmental protection laboratory. Before treatment of the water with African

Spear plant, the number of total coliform and fecal coliform bacteria was 1170 bacteria /100 ml

of water and 520 bacteria /100 ml of water respectively. After treatment of the water with

African Spear plant, the number of the Total Coliform and fecal Coliform bacteria in the water

was found to be 1250 bacteria/100 ml of water and 894 bacteria /100ml of water respectively.

The method used to test total Coliform and fecal Coliform in the water is the sample water was

delivered to the laboratory first before the experiment and the test for presence of total Coliform

and fecal Coliform was done. Then the crushed African Spear plant was put in the water for12

hours and then the sample was again taken to the laboratory for test, and the water was tested for

the total Coliform and fecal Coliform in the laboratory. Then after 24hrs the result was found to

be increment in number of bacteria after the application of the African Spear plant in the sample

water.

The standard for drinking water total coli form and fecal coli form is zero bacteria/ 100 ml of

water.
Table 12: Total Coliform and Fecal Coliform Tests Result, at AACAEPA

Time of Test Total Coli form Fecal Coli Form Standard for Total Coli
and Fecal coli Form
(MCL)

Before the treatment 1170 bacteria/ 100 520 bacteria/ 100 ml 0/100Ml
of the water ml of sample water of water.

24 Hours after the 1250 bacteria/ 100 894 bacteria /100 ml 0/100ml
application of the ml of water of water.
African Spear plant

4.1.2.4. Investigation of the effect of dosage on water quality parameter

To Investigation of the efficacy of dosage on water quality parameters, water sample was

collected from Konso and water quality parameters tests has been conducted at Arbaminch

University. The research tried to know the optimum dosage of African Spear plant required per

litter. At the optimum dosage, the capacity of the African Spear plant to remove bacteria from

the water has been conducted. African Spear plant with six different weights has been crushed

with a grinder and mixed with 1liter water. The weights of African Spear plant are 7.3g, 11.9g,

13.2g, 15.2g, 17.5g, and 18.6g. The total Coliform presence in the sample before and after the

addition of African Spear plant with different dilution levels is presented in the Table13. The

number of total Coliform has measured at optimum dosage and result has presented in Table 13.

Table13: Total Coli form record after 15 Minutes with different dilution level
Dish code Dilution(sample Total coli form before Total coli form after
water/distilled water) treatment treatment

D3 (control) 100 0 0

D46 50/50 249 240

D32 20/80 240 232

D23 10/90 235 223

D26 5/95 210 202

The turbidity and PH of the sample before addition of African Spear plant was 57NTU and

7.97@250C respectively. Then the change has been recorded after mixing these different weights

of African Spear with 1litter of water for 1minuts with 250 rpm. Table 14 presents the change in

turbidity and PH after application of different weight of African Spear plant after 15minuts.

Table 14: Turbidity and PH with different weights of African Spear plant after 15 minutes

Weight of African Spear plant in gram Turbidity in NTU PH

7.29 37 7.73@25oc

11.94 24 7.77@25oc

13.20 44 7.72@25oc

15.18 38 7.71@25oc

17.50 39 7.73@25oc

18.63 50 7.61@25oc
Figure 21: Turbidity vs Dosage of African Spear plant within 15 Minutes

At optimum dosage the turbidity removal efficiency within 15 minutes is 57.9%

From the Table 14 and figure 21 one can see that, the turbidity removal efficiency of optimum
dosage of African Spear plant per 1liter is 57.9% within 15minuts.

After 2hrs the record of change in turbidity and PH has also conducted and presented in table
below.

Table 15: Turbidity and PH with different weights of African Spear plant after 15 minutes

Weight of African Spear plant in g Turbidity in NTU PH

7.29g 39 7.76@25

11.90g 17 7.95@25.3

13.20g 32 7.86@25.2

15.1g 27 7.88@25.3

17.5g 29 7.86@25.1

18.63g 39 7.72@25.5
Figure 22: Turbidity removal, PH versus Dosage after 2hrs

After 2hr the turbidity removal efficiency of African Spear plant at optimum dosage is 70%.

By using jar test technique, the optimal dosage found in moderately turbid water, means water

with turbidity of 70NTU was found to be 18gm/liter and in water relatively highly turbid water

that is water with 156NTU turbidity was found to be 42gm/liter at optimal PH.

Dry African Spear plant has no significant effect on turbidity reduction implies that the element

that aid in water purification might be mainly found in the juice of the plant rather that n in the

fiber of the plant, which needs further study. The result of jar test has brought the optimum PH to

be 6.8.
 Figure 23: Result of jar test for optimum PH

Optimum dose of African Spear Plant

To determine the optimum dosage, the PH was adjusted at optimum PH which is 6.84 and

different dose of fresh African spear Plant was added. The different weight of African Spear

plant were (6, 9, 12, 15, gm). Then the graph of residual turbidity against African Spear Plant has

plotted as shown below.

Figure 24: Optimal Dosage of African Spear plant.

Another test was conducted to determine the amount of dosage needed to purify relatively highly

turbid water. Therefore five (5) liter sample water with turbidity and PH of 156NTU and

6.82@18.20C respectively has been taken and jar test was conducted. For optimum PH, the PH

was adjusted from first beaker to the last one and the values of the PH in the beaker were (6.3,

6.8, 7.3 and 7.8). The dose of African Spear plant was 15g/500ml. The obtained turbidity

decrements were 89NTU, 36NTU, 64NTU and 53NTU from first to fourth jar respectively. The

optimum PH was red from graph of turbidity vs PH.

Figure 25: Optimum PH of sample with 156 NTU

The optimal turbidity reduction was found at 6.9 PH, which was taken as optimal PH.

Based on the above result, to determine optimal dosage, different weight of African spear plant

(15, 18, 21, 24 gm) was added to sample with the PH of 6.9 which is the optimum PH. And the

result was presented

Figure 26: Optimal dosage of African Spear plant

The Effect of Dry African Spear Plant in Altering water Quality
For dry African Spear plant, the method followed was that the plant was first dried up in an oven.

Then by using grinder the dry African Spear plant was crashed and mixed with sample water.

The capacity of dry African Spear plant to remove turbidity was checked by conducting the same

lab procedure. The synthetic turbid water with turbidity of 56NTU, 75NTU and 148NTU was

taken. As community practice the grinded African Spear plant was added to the experiment

water and the change was recorded. Simultaneously, water with similar turbidity with experiment

sample was kept and checked for natural settlement after 15 minutes and the result was also

recorded, then the difference was compared with the water that was treated with dried African

Spear plant.

Fig 27: Dried African Spear Plant

Table 16: Comparison of water treated with dried African Spear Plant and naturally settled.

Dose of % of % of % of % of % of % of
African turbidity turbidity turbidity turbidity turbidity turbidity
Spear reduction reduction reduction reduction reduction for reduction by
plant in for sample by Natural of sample by Natural sample with Natural
gm/l with Settlement with Settlement 148NTU Settlement
56NTU 75NTU

20 2.67 2.67 4.00 3.33 2.70 2.02

30 3.57 2.67 6.00 3.33 2.70 2.02

40 3.57 2.67 6.00 3.33 3.04 2.02

50 5.35 2.67 6.66 3.33 2.37 2.02

As we can read from the table turbidity reduction efficiency using dried African spear plant and

natural settlement are almost similar, the total range of change is between 0% as minimal and

3.3% as maximal percentage, indicating that dried African spear plant has no significance in

water purification compared to wet African Spear plant as used by the community. The small

change in turbidity removal efficiency can be related to presence of fiber in the plant that can

catch and remove macro wastes in the water.

4.2. Discussion of Results

The research has come up with the results of the parameters desired to study in the objective. The

first parameter tested was the PH of the water whether it is affected by the addition of African

Spear plant or not. As presented above, the PH of the water before and after the experiment

varied only very slightly. The result of PH before addition of African Spear plant was 6.93 and

the result of PH after addition of African Spear plant was found to be in the range of 6.93 and

6.22 at temperature of the environment ranging between 20.1.and 20.7 0C. When we compare

the result obtained in the experiment with literature, the impact of African Spear plant in

changing the PH of the water is very slight, and insignificant. The difference in PH Value before

and after addition of African Spear plant is so insignificant and one can see it has almost no

effect on alteration of PH value. According to National Drinking Water Quality monitoring and

surveillance strategies, 2011, the permissible PH value for drinking water is at the range of 6.5 to

8.5. Therefore when we compare the result of the PH value tested in the experiment with the

standard, it is within normal range and the difference before and after the experiment is

insignificant.

According to the test done at Arbaminch University water quality laboratory, the PH of water

was decreasing, means becoming acidic, with increment of dosage and time. Before application

of the African Spear plant, the PH of the water was found to be 7.97@25C0. . After treatment

using minimum dosage to Maximum dosage over 15 minutes, the PH of the water was changed

to 7.74 to 7.62. This implies that, the chemical in the plant juice might be acidic and if dosage

increase can make the water more acidic but need further study.
Within optimal dosage, the change on PH is insignificant, and within WHO standard. The

change may also be due to other factors. It can be discussed here that the issue of PH is not a

problem in using African spear plant to purify water.

When we see the turbidity parameter, the experiment result shows reduction of turbidity of water

over extended period time. As described earlier the water sample was so turbid before the

experiment. Its turbidity unit was about 499 NTU. This implies that the water was so muddy and

highly turbid.

After the application of the African Spear plant, the level of turbidity was reduced. The change

ranges from 499NTU to 304NTU over six hours. The rate of settlement was found to be 89 NTU

on the first hour, 13NTU on second hour, and 17 NTU on third hour. Totally, over six hours the

reduced value of turbidity was found to be 195 NTU.

When we compare the effect of African Spear plant with other plants coagulants that help in

purifying water, we can see that the application of African Spear plant also has positive effect on

turbidity reduction. Since the traditional utilization of African Spear plant by Konso community

is based on neither dose nor juice extraction, the experiment in this research followed the

community experience of application of the African Spear plant. Therefore, before the

experiment, the water was tested for its turbidity level, and follows the community procedure

then the African Spear plant was crushed and put in the sample water. Then after, the test was

made. As mentioned above, the water is highly turbid, 499 NTU.

The turbidity reduction was 19.9%, 20.44% and 23.85% respectively after one, two and three

hours of application of African spear plant. Also the reduction after five and six hours for

untreated water is 36.01%, 39.08% respectively.

According to the research, done by Asrafuzzaman MD, et.al (2011), reduction of turbidity can be

done by using locally available natural coagulants. Among naturally available coagulants, the

researcher used Moringa Olifera, Cicer arietimun, and Dolichos labalab. The result of the

research showed that 50mg/l of Moringa Olifera put in a highly turbid water of 100NTU of

turbidity got the result of turbidity reduction to be 86.9% and of medium turbidity of 48 NTU

was found to result in 65.62% turbidity reduction and of low turbidity water of 25 NTU to 56 %

of turbidity reduction. From that research we can conclude that Moringa Olifera is efficient in

purifying highly turbid water.

Similar to Asrafuzzaman MD, et.al (2011), African Spear plant is efficient in turbidity reduction

of highly turbid water. As it is observed in the result presented in table 10, the turbidity of water

dropped from pretreatment level of 499 NTU to 312 NTU after seven hours of treatment. Then

with each subsequent additional hour, it reduced to 231 NTU, 214 NTU, 184 NTU and 166 NTU

respectively. This indicate that the Turbidity Removal efficiency of treated water for six hours is

66.7% The reduction rate is fast at first hour after six hours treatment and subsequently reduced

slowly.

When we compare the result of treated and untreated water, their turbidity removal efficiency

varies greatly. The Turbidity removal efficiency of untreated water for six hours is 39.1% but the

turbidity removal efficiency of treated water for six hours is 66.7%. This indicates that treatment

of water with African Spear plant has higher turbidity removal efficiency than natural settlement.
When water is settled for 12 hours without treatment with African Spear plant, the turbidity

removal efficiency was found to be 97.2% and turbidity removal efficient of treated water after

12 hours settlement was found to be 97.6% which is similar. This indicates that lone time

application of the plant in the water has insignificant effect on turbidity removal efficient.

When we see turbidity removal of treated water after 15 minutes, the turbidity removal of treated

water was found to be 57.9%. This shows that as the time of treatment increases, turbidity

removal increases but the rate of natural settlement also increases with time. If long time is

needed for water purification, natural settlement will be preferred to avoid the drawbacks of

bacterial multiplication and water color change due to African Spear plant.

We can conclude that high turbidity removal is seen with removal efficiency of 66.7 with treated

water, the When we see the treatment of water with African spear plant for 12 hours, the

turbidity removal is so fast in

Within one hour of African Spear plant application, the amount of turbidity reduced was 89 NTU

but subsequently, the amount of reduced turbidity was found to be only 13 NTU. Over six hours,

the total amount of turbidity units reduced was 195 NTU but within first one hour, the amount of

turbidity units reduced was 89 NTU.

The research done by Asrafuzzaman MD, et.al (2011), presents the percentage of the turbidity

reduction but does not show the time over which this change came. The research under study

also shows how the African Spear reduces turbidity of water over some given time. The research

understudy and the Asrafuzzaman MD, et.al (2011), researches only share that the plants reduce

turbidity of water. In addition to Moringa Olifera, other natural coagulants mentioned above,
namely, Cicer artienum and Dolichos lablab also have turbidity reduction effect on turbid water.

The Asrafuzzaman MD, et.al (2011), research showed that among the three natural coagulants,

Cicer artienum has the greatest purification capacity, reducing the turbidity of the water to

95.89%. Dolichos lablab has the purification capacity of 88.9 % of turbidity reduction.

Since the objective of this research focus only on the capacity of African Spear plant to reduce

the turbidity of water but not to the extent of identifying the final ability and the extent of the

African Spear plant components that are involved in coagulation and purification method, the

discussion will not go the level of type of coagulant in African Spear plant and its final capacity.

When we see the result of jar test, optimal dosage for optimal turbidity reduction was found

around 6.8, which is slightly acidic in both moderately turbid and highly turbid water. Optimal

dosage of the plant for optimal turbidity reduction was found to be about 18 gm/liter for 70NTU

turbid water and 42gm/liter for highly turbid (156NTU) water, which implies that when the

turbidity of water is high, it demands higher dosage of the plant and when the turbidity of water

is less, it demands less dosage of the plant.

When wet African spear plant and dried African Spear plant are compared for their capacity of

water purification, the research found that the wet African spear plant has great effect on

turbidity reduction when compared with dried African spear plant effect on water purification.

Rather dried African spear plant and natural settlement had almost similar effect, the range of

TRE is between 0% to 3.3% for water treated with dried African spear plant when compared to

natural settlement TRE. The slight change might be due to fiber present in the plant that can aid

in catching macro waste material to settle, but the conclusion needs further study. Since the focus
of this research is only on the wet African Spear plant that the community use, no deep study

done on the dry one. The result indicates that drying the plant is not right way to purify water.

The community of Konso does not have habit of using dried African Spear plant to purify their

turbid water; rather they use the wet one as community experience. The research result supported

the community experience of wet spear plant usage.

In general it can be discussed that the African Spear plant has water purification capacity, and is

highly fast and effective in highly turbid water but the capacity and rate decreases when the

turbidity of the water decreases. The dosage demanded to purify water as found in jar test is

dependent on the level of turbidity of water to be treated. The more the water is turbid, the more

dosage it demands, the less the water is turbid, the less dosage the water demands. Since the

dried plant has no effect in water purification, the capacity to purify water mostly supposed to be

found in the juice of the plant but it needs further research.

When we discuss the efficacy of African Spear plant in dirty water to reduce total Coliform and

fecal Coliform, the result was found to be the number of bacteria decreased with optimal dosage1

and short duration of time but increased with higher dosage after the application of the African

Spear plant in the water. In the first test conducted at Addis Ababa City Environmental

protection laboratory, before the test, the total number of coli form in the water was found to be

1170 bacteria/ 100 ml of water and 520 fecal Coliform bacteria /100 ml of the sample water. But

after twelve hours of application of African Spear plant, the test result was found to be 1250 total

Coliform bacteria/ 100 ml of sample water and 894 fecal Coliform bacteria/ 100 ml of sample

water were found. This shows that the presence of African Spear plant in the water made the
1
Optimal Dosage: is the dose at which the experiment found the maximum turbidity reduction in terms of dosage
environment favorable for bacteria and they multiplied over 24 hours. In the second test

conducted at Arbaminch University water quality laboratory, the number of bacteria in the water

before the experiment was found to high but after application of the plant in the water for one

minutes and settlement for 15 minutes, the result was found to be low as presented in the result

table.

This shows that when the plant stay for long time in the water, it become favorable environment

for bacteria but with optimal dosage, about 11.9gm/liter and short time duration 10-15minute,

the number of bacteria decrease. Use of African spear plant at optimal dosage with in shorter

duration has the capacity to decrease bacteria in the water. The practical experience of Konso

people in using African spear plant to purify water is in line with the experiment, that they use

the crushed plant stirred in the water for about 1 minute and settled for about 10-15 minute. This

shows that their experience in utilization of the plant, there is the possibility of decreasing

bacteria from their water.

 Chapter Five
5. Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1. Conclusion

This research investigates the efficacy of African Spear plant to purify water. Water quality

parameters such as PH, Turbidity, and Total Coliform and fecal Coliform were tested. The

research also investigated the existing practice of Konso community in using African Spear plant

to purify water. The research found that purifying water using African Spear plant has

insignificant effect on the PH of the water however the result indicates that there is reduction of

turbidity over time. The efficacy of African Spear plant is significant in reducing turbidity in

highly turbid water. When we see turbidity reduction, in relation to dosage of the plant, a highly

turbid water demands higher dosage but less turbid water demands relatively less dosage.

The jar test has brought some conclusion about the dosage of wet African spear plant required

per liter. Different level of turbidity demands different amount of African spear plant to be

effective in altering water quality at optimum PH. The amount of wet African spear plant

required to purify the sample water with turbidity less than 60NTU is 11.9g/liter, for 70NTU is

18g per liter and for 157NTU is 42g/liter. When a wet African spear plant and dried African

Spear plant are compared, the dried plant has almost no significant effect on water purification

while the wet plant has significant effect on water purification. The level of turbidity reduction

by natural settlement and dried African Spear plant has only slight difference. This suggests that

the element that aid in water purification might be found in the juice of the plant, but needs

further study for the focus of this research is not on the dried plant experience of the community.
The slight change of turbidity reduction when compared to natural settlement can be due to the

presence of fiber in the plant that can aid absorption of macro waste material in the water.

Concerning the bacterial presence, it was observed that there is reduction of bacteria immediately

after application of African Spear plant. However, there is increase of bacteria was observed

when the concentration or dose of the plant is high and when it stays in water for long time. This

indicates that the application of African Spear plant results in reduction of bacteria when the

dosage is optimal and time of application is short. However, the plant creates favorable

environment for total Coliform and fecal Coliform bacteria when dosage is so high and time of

application is long.

Overall, Konso people indigenous art of water purification by using African Spear plant has

positive result in turbidity and bacterial reduction with in optimal dosage but negative effect in

multiplying bacteria in the water. The effect on PH of the water is almost neutral. However

further investigations is needed on its negative effect on multiplication of bacteria for high

dosage and long application time of African Spear plant.

5.2. Recommendation

The indigenous method the Konso community use to purify water using African Spear plant

indicates reduction of turbidity and bacterial presence for optimal time and dosage. However

application of the plant in the water for long time and high dosage shows an increment in

bacterial presence and change in color of the water. Hence, this research recommends that the

community to use additional water treatment approaches such as water boiling and exposure to

sunlight after treatment with African Spear plant.

Also further investigation on the negative impact of the plant with respect to an increase in

bacterial presence is required.

The current research is limited to investigating the efficacy of the African Spear plant only using

three water quality parameters. The capacity of the plant in purifying water should also be

investigated using other water quality parameters.

Further research is also required to study the type of the chemical or substance found in the

African Spear plant that aid in water purification.

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