Quality of Drinking Water in Benin (West Africa): Analysis of the Potential Use of the “Songhaï” Ceramic Filter

Abstract

The public health problems in Benin come from various angles. Domestic water has a fundamental role in households, but these sources are exposed to contamination by biological and physico-chemical pollutants. As a solution, household water purification devices such as ceramic filters can be used. “Filtre Songhaï” is a ceramic filter, simple and easy to use, marketed in Benin. This study’s object is to analyze the use of the “Filtre Songhaï” in the treatment of water for domestic use in a peri-urban area in Porto-Novo (Benin). Collective well and a pond from in the 5th district of Porto-Novo served as a source of sample collection. The physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters were measured before and after filtration. The results showed that the use of filters has allowed for a reduction of 97.5% for total coliform in the well water and 99.05% for water from the lagoon. The reduction is 100% for Escherichia coli and fecal streptococci in both cases. Considering the reliability and accessibility due to the lifetime use of “filtre Songhai”, this device can be proposed to households for drinking water, particularly for children below five years old the most vulnerable to water-borne diseases. At the end of this study, it arises that the use of the “Filtre Songhaï” allows a significant improvement of the mi-crobiological properties of water. Later research is needed to improve the speed of filtration of the “Filtre Song-haï”. Research is still necessary to refine the filtration time of this device.