Accelerated Solar Disinfection Project (A-SODIS)

Solar disinfection, or SODIS, is a low-cost, point-of-use technology for treating drinking water. Studies have shown that exposing contaminated water to full sunlight in transparent plastic bottles can destroy pathogens and reduce diarrheal diseases. Work previously conducted by UC Berkeley researchers has demonstrated that low-cost additives (lemon juice and hydrogen peroxide) and special bottles accelerated the inactivation of bacteria and viruses in drinking water. Children appear to be much better at learning and applying SODIS procedures than anticipated, even when their parents have discontinued the practice. Overall, SODIS is a technology that works, but it is not being adopted as broadly as it might be, and it is not working as well as it could.

The Accelerated SODIS Application Project (ASAP) will integrate field work on SODIS additives with implementation approaches designed to increase long-term adoption and use of the solar disinfection process. These approaches include streamlining SODIS promotion activities, the use of permanent SODIS support structures that children can easily reach, and a promotion initiative targeting children in grades K-10. The results of this work will be converted into recommendations to be presented to ASAP's implementation partners. It is these recommendations that will be scaled throughout the Latin America region, with potential applications in other regions as well. The project proposes to reach 500,000 potential SODIS users and 100 schools over 8 years in 6-7 countries throughout Latin America (although the project will be transferred to partners after year 3).

Principal Investigator: Professor Kara Nelson, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Lead Researcher: Mike Fisher, PhD Student, Environmental Engineering, 2008
Field Location: Bolivia; Plans to expand to 6 Latin American countries by 2010
Partners: Fundacion SODIS; Center for Environmental Water and Sanitation (CASA); Universidad Mayor de San Simon