Performance of Home-Made Activated Carbon Ceramic Filter on Quality of Surface and Underground Water from Msambweni, Kwale County, Kenya

About 17 million Kenyans lack access to clean water, causing fears of water-borne diseases. This is a consequence of contaminants introduced through human acts, including agricultural activities, industrialization, poor waste disposal, and poor drainage. In Msambweni, Kwale County, the scenario is not any different. The removal of contaminants in water to reach the World Health Organization and Kenya Bureau of Standards permissible qualities of clean water for human consumption is generally expensive. This is a challenge for residents of Msambweni, who 74.9 % live below the poverty line. This research aimed at fabricating an activated carbon-ceramic (ACC) filter using locally available finely crushed clay and sawdust and test its efficiency, i.e. removal of Escherichia coli and total coliform, the effect on temperature, turbidity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved ions of Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , HCO 3 - , Cl - and SO 4 2- . The test was carried on three selected water sources of deep underground, hand pump, and surface water before and after filtration using the ACC filter. The physicochemical parameters were measured using an aqua read meter while the aqua genx test kit was employed for the bacteriological analysis. Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , HCO 3 - , Cl - and SO 4 2- were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and calorimetry. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software version 21. The turbidity and DO were beyond the WHO recommended limits at (30.00±1.00 NTU) and DO (4.21±0.96 mg/L) from the specimen drawn from hand pumps before filtration. The Mean±SE ranged from 22.72±1.15-23.24±1.22°C (Temperature); 4.99±0.01-30.00±1.00 NTU (Turbidity), 51.12±31.85-68.62±66.93 mg/L (TDS), 4.21±0.96-7.48±0.33 mg/L (DO), 3.85±0.78-5.17±0.56 mg/L (salinity), 7.37±0.15-7.46±0.02 (pH) and 0.18±0.01-0.87±0.03 mg/L (EC). These levels decreased significantly after filtration of the water samples using the fabricated ACC Filter, subsequently falling within admissible limitation in line with the WHO excellence levels. Amounts of Faecal E. Coli (CFU/100 ml) and Faecal Coliforms (MPN/100 ml) before filtration ranged between 1.00±0.00 - 5.00±0.00 and 12.00±00 - 25.00±0.00 respectively, being higher than the WHO standards. However, the levels decreased significantly after filtration falling within permissible levels. The levels of dissolved ions (mg/L) were within WHO standards before filtration (BF). Notably, Mg 2+ ranged from 1.04±0.01 in underground water and HCO 3 - ranged 225.67+0.58 in the surface water samples. These levels decreased to 0.35±0.01 for Mg 2+ and 30.50+0.10 for HCO 3 - in underground and surface water samples, respectively, after filtration. The fabricated ACC Filter was found to remove Faecal E. Coli effectively and Faecal Coliforms in all water samples, improving turbidity but with minimal effect on dissolved ions in water hence recommended for use. Keywords: Activated carbon, Ceramic filter, Surface water, Underground water, Water sampling DOI: 10.7176/JEES/12-1-04 Publication date: January 31 st 2022