THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POINT-SOURCE CHLORINATION IN IMPROVING WATER QUALITY IN INTERNALLY DISPLACED COMMUNITIES IN ANGOLA

Demographic displacement throughout Angola has created a large number of informal peri-urban communities, many of which depend upon groundwater sources for their primary water supply. These ground-water sources are at increased risk of pollution due to limited access to safe faecal disposal. This paper describes a study which was undertaken in Angola during the period 1999–2001 to assess the effectiveness of different types of hand-dug well protection. The study demonstrates that (a) point-source disinfection of traditional wells improves water quality to within universally accepted minimum standards for humanitarian assistance (SPHERE), and (b) chlorination can be a cost-effective method of groundwater-source protection.