Exploring an innovative automatic disinfection system for drinking water production from harvested rainwater

![CDATA[The safe water sources for dwellers in remote and underprivileged locations are limited. Therefore, harvested rainwater becomes one of the critical clean water sources in these isolated locations. However, the lack of facilities for water treatment and electricity supply for small communities compels people to drink harvested rainwater without any formal treatment. Researchers have found microbiological contaminants in this rainwater, which are detrimental to human health. Although chlorination is a popular method to disinfect water in large volumes, it is still not widely applied on small scales. This study presents an innovative disinfection method that can treat harvested rainwater for small communities and run on batteries. The proposed treatment system has two functions: filtration and disinfection. Pool chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) is used as the disinfectant. Both processes are controlled by a programmable logic controller, solenoid valves, and non-contact liquid-level sensors. In addition, the operation is visible through a human-machine interface display. The successful development of such a system could significantly change the water supply of underprivileged rural/regional communities.]]