Microbiological Testing of Potable Water in Northwestern Haïti

In commune Anse Rouge situated in north western Haïti there are many natural water sources but the availability of clean water is still a problem in most villages if not all. Since 2004 there are ongoing efforts to prevent contamination of the many natural open sources by capping and to promote the use of household biosand filters. Whether capping natural sources or disseminating bio sand filters, monitoring the water quality is important to identify the order of priority where project resource should be allocated and to evaluate the result of an activity.

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate a method for monitoring “on- field”. The study showed that it is possible to analyse the level of bacterial contamination by membrane water filtration and preloaded growth plates, with a very good repeatability, despite very basic lab conditions.

The tests give a good picture of the amount of contamination on a semi quantitative level (good, bad, acceptable).