Is Chlorination The Right Solution For Household Water Disinfection In Indonesia? A Critical Review
Auteurs : Ihsan Taufiq .
Résumé
Chlorination is one of the household water treatment methods widely advocated in Indonesia. Challenges to effectiveness and efficiency, however, persist. This study reviews literature related to chlorination practices, with emphasis on the factors affecting successful practice and potential points at which improvements may be initiated. We discuss how water quality can affect chlorine effectiveness, the need for dosing strategies that correspond with the source water quality, and possible disinfection by-products. This review also explores alternative disinfection methods, such as filtration, UV irradiation, and boiling, comparing their advantages and disadvantages. User compliance is necessary but, in most cases, compromised by lack of motivation, misconceptions regarding chlorine safety, and perceived inconvenience. Specifically, this review identifies several key research gaps, including the need for further investigation into the long-term impacts of household chlorination on user behavior and the effectiveness of various communication strategies in promoting sustained adoption. We examine barriers and drivers to successful implementation in an Indonesian context considering all the factors influencing awareness, access, affordability, cultural practices, and government policies. We realize that these guidelines may not be enough to satisfactorily adopt chlorination, hence a call to focus our effort on the local environment with continued support toward behavior change. Based on our review, we include recommendations to further enhance efficiency, compliance, and sustainability in Indonesia's household chlorination programs and thus reduce disparity in access to safe drinking water as a means to improve the public health conditions.
Mots clés
Chlorination, Household Water Treatment (HWT), Drinking water, Water quality, Public health, Indonesia
