Evaluation of simple methods of arsenic removal from domestic water supplies in rural communities E. Awuah a  , R.T. Morris a , P. A. Owusu a , R. Sundell b , J. Lindstrom b a Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana email: esiawuahrt@yahoo.com b Division for Engineering Sciences, Physics and Mathematics, Karlstads University, Sweden Received 31 January 2008; revised accepted 15 May 2008 Abstract This study looked at two arsenic removal technologies, method Bucket Treatment Unit and removal using citrus lime, lemon and filter. The method Bucket Treatment Unit used zero-valent iron and removal using citrus lime, lemon and filter used photo- chemical oxidation of arsenic. The citrus lime, lemon and filter setup was found to be ineffective with its current design. The results reviewed that the method Bucket Treatment Unit was more effective and appropriate, but with clogging problems. The method Bucket Treatment Unit had between 68% and 100% arsenic removal efficiency with a 36 L/day flow rate of filtrate. The removal using photochemical oxidation of arsenic only had 8% removal efficiency. The study also reviewed that groundwater resources in the Ashanti Region of Ghana were contaminated with arsenic above the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Keywords: Drinking water treatment; Indigenous technology; Ghana 1. Introduction 1.1. Background Recently, high levels of arsenic (As) have been reported in the groundwater and streams of some vil- lages in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The geochem- ical nature of arsenic contamination is of serious threat to the health of people because groundwater and stream water are the primary sources of drinking water. Hyperkeratosis on the palms and feet is the common symptoms of arsenic poisoning. Long-term exposure to low concentrations of arsenic has been reported to cause cancer of bladder, skin and other internal organs [1]. Also, arsenic in its various ionic forms is known to be very toxic to most micro organisms [2]. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the maxi- mum contamination level of arsenic in drinking water is 50 mg/L (or ppb: part-per-billion) and 10 mg/L as a provisional guideline value. Total arsenic measure- ment shows that more than 60% of water from shallow and deep tube wells (wells with a metal casing) has above 10 ppb guideline value (International Confer- ence, 1998). For the purpose of this report, effective- ness is defined as the measure of the ability of a  Corresponding author. Presented at the Water and Sanitation in International Development and Disaster Relief (WSIDDR) International Workshop Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, 28–30 May 2008. Desalination 248 (2009) 42–47 0011-9164/09/$– See front matter # 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.desal.2008.05.036