Application of SARSAC for Arsenic-Polluted Water in Prek Chrey Khnong of Kandal, Cambodia
    1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Food Technology, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Russian Ferderation Blvd., P.O. Box 86, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
    2. Department of Georesources and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Russian Ferderation Blvd., P.O. Box 86, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Received: June 01,2014 / Revised: Accepted: June 08,2014 / Published: June 27,2014

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 Situated in Kandal province of Cambodia with lower Bassac river as a border with Vietnam, a village of Koh Thom district called Prek Chrey Khnong with a population of several hundred families faces lack of drinking water sources especially during dry season due to the existence of elevated arsenic level (3–53 times higher than CDWQS) in pipe well water and the presence of bacteria in surface water. To solve this problem, a sustainable arsenic removal system for affected communities (SARSAC) which has been used to remove arsenic and other trace metals successfully in India was installed in this village to provide safe drinking water from arsenic and bacteria to its residents. After passing through the system, initial levels of arsenic (450 ppb), iron (1,560 ppb), manganese (1,981 ppb), E-coli (7 cfu/100mL), and total coliform (13 cfu/100mL) in the water were reduced to the levels lower than the CDWQS and WHO guidelines. The consecutive mechanisms responsible for this removal are 1). filtratration of bacteria, color and taste in the gravel-sand tank; 2). oxidation of arsenic, iron, manganese via aeration pipe connected to the tank and column; 3). adsorption of arsenic to the surface area of iron oxides impregnated with resin beads in the column; and 4). co-precipitation of arsenic with iron and manganese. With a preferred flow rate of 9–12 L/min, an estimated discharge of safe water of 4,000–5,000 L per 8 operating hours can supply as many as 200–250 families within 3–5 days’ period. It is necessary that the system should be monthly monitored for water quality and for maintenance to gain the residents’ trust and to assure sustainable use of safe water in the village.