Water Chlorinator

The CTI Water Chlorinator is an inexpensive, non-electrical water disinfectant system that was designed for communities with gravity supply water systems.

For less than $150 dollars, chlorinators can be made with simple PVC piping and installed by villagers, and in just hours, an entire community can have safe water. 

The Water Chlorinator attaches to a gravity-fed water tank, delivering a controlled dosage of chlorine to a community’s water tank for just pennies per day. The chlorine kills most disease-causing pathogens, making the water safe to drink. 

Chlorine-based water treatment

Chlorine has been hailed by the World Health Organization for being an extremely effective method of providing potable water in a village setting. In a 2010 report, the World Health Organization noted, “Disinfection of water supplies for human consumption is an important factor in the fight against waterborne diseases...Chlorine has many advantages: It is cheap, effective, easy to measure and persists in residual form, preventing recontamination."

Nicaragua

CTI's water chlorinator is well suited for treating water with fecal or microbiological contamination, an extremely common cause of waterborne illness present in most rural water systems in Nicaragua. CTI, with our partners at nonprofit EOS International, has installed water chlorinators in over one hundred rural communities, providing safe water to more than 150,000 villagers. Community water groups maintain the appropriate chlorine levels and pool their resources to pay for chlorine tablets. Involving village groups fosters local ownership of the equipment, an important part of ensuring the program’s sustainability.

We recently surveyed the Nicaraguan communities that are using our water chlorination technology. Here are some of the key things we learned:

• The community water committees are maintaining their systems,
  with 81% reporting at least monthly cleaning and 90% reporting monthly visual inspection.
• 
  The CTI Water Chlorinator is affordable.
  93% of respondents "definitely agree" the price paid for the Water Chlorinators (about $100 USD) was worth the value created.
• 
  Villages are healthier.
  60% of respondents report 'significant' reductions in gastrointestinal illness, with another 24% reporting some reduction. The remaining 16% did not see beneficial reductions; some of which may be related to overall poor health practices.
• 
  The villagers are happier.
  82% would recommend the chlorinator 'without reservation' and 100% declare the system should be installed in every water system in Nicaragua.