Occurrence and removal of Giardia and Cryptosporidium at the Goreangab reclamation plant

Abstract

This paper deals with the occurrence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in the water sources available for the Goreangab Reclamation Plant (GRP) and the subsequent removal during treatment at the reclamation plant. Giardia is detected more often than Cryptosporidium. 60% of the time it is detected in the samples from the dam and in 55% of the samples from the maturation pond effluent. During the investigation, Giardia was detected in the final water 5% of the time and Cryptosporidium 2% of the time. The maximum Giardia cysts detected in a sample was 30, the 99% percentile was 20 and the 97% percentile 10 cysts. A maximum of 20 Cryptosporidium oocysts was detected in a sample. The 99% percentile counted 6.2 oocysts and the 97% percentile 0 oocysts. From the data presented it is clear that the polluted dam water has the same risk level of Giardia and Cryptosporidium pollution as treated wastewater effluent. This emphasises the fact that the sources should be monitored continuously for these parasites. The sporadic high counts of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in the raw water sources indicate that a multiple-barrier approach must be followed to ensure the safe operation of even conventional treatment plants using polluted source water. No correlation could be found between cyst and oocyst removal and other water quality parameters. The advocating of a final water turbidity of 0.1 NTU and the use of particle counters can only be supported by these findings, as it is possible to achieve a turbidity of less than 0.1 NTU at the sand filter outlet, even in a developing country like Namibia. The challenge lies with the maintenance of equipment and vigilance of the operators.