Hi Dany, There are a variety ...

Hi Dany, There are a variety of methods that are proven to be effective at improving water quality at the point of use. There are dozens, if not hundreds, more solutions offered by private companies, but many of these have only been tested in the laboratory, not in the field with the communities and the households where safe drinking-water will have the greatest health impact. Therefore it is important to pick a product that is known to be accepted by the community you are working with. As you have considered, simple is often better, but it needs to be effective! The water quality in the community where you are working with will determine the choice of technology/method. Some of the considerations are the level of turbidity, the type of pathogen present in the water (virus, bacteria or protozoa), and whether there are any non-microbial contaminants, such as nitrates, arsenic, or fluoride. Once you've determined what the risks are, you can choose the method. Table A2.4 in the WHO document "Evaluating HWT options" published in 2011 provides a list of some of the generic categories of HWT options and the types of microbial pathogens against which they are effective. You can download it here: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2011/household_water/en/index.html. Annex A of the WHO & UNICEF toolkit mentioned by Nathalie Board above includes a similar such list. The above resources were developed with extensive input from members of the International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage. I would like to invite you to get involved (its free), if not to contribute, at least to be kept updated on developments in the sector. You can learn more about the Network's activities here: Official WHO site: http://www.who.int/household_water/en/index.html Official communications site by the Water Institute at UNC: http://waterinstitute.unc.edu/hwts Please do not hesitate to let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Best regards, Ryan --- Ryan Rowe Household Water Specialist The Water Institute University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill email: ryanrowe@unc.edu | skype: ryanrowe | twitter: @ryanrowe International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage | Combating waterborne disease at the household level Over 150 member organizations globally | Co-hosted by WHO and UNICEF | Communications by UNC On the web: http://www.who.int/household_water/en or http://waterinstitute.unc.edu/hwts Follow us on Twitter: @household_water