Drinking Water Quality Monitoring and Community Outreach Activities in Majuro, Marshall Islands

This project was conducted on Majuro, the capital island of the Marshall Islands. The islands have a warm and humid climate making rainwater catchment systems particularly vulnerable to bacterial contamination. Rain water is the primary drinking water supply for most of the islanders who cannot afford bottled drinking water. During the month of September, safe drinking water workshops were conducted to test participants' water samples and to educate the community about drinking water quality including construction and maintenance of wells, rainwater catchments, and water tanks. Prior to the workshops, over 100 sterile bottles were distributed to workshop participants including students from the College of the Marshall Islands and staff from the US Embassy. Water samples were tested for Total coliform, E. coli, pH, Hardness, Total Dissolved Solids, Ammonia-Nitrogen, Ammonium, Iron, Zinc (+Copper), and Salinity. Of 100 water samples tested, 88 water samples were positive for Total coliform and 55 samples were positive for both Total coliform and E. coli. Most other parameters met standards suggested by the EPA except for 5 samples with higher total dissolved solids (> 500 mg/L), 54 samples with pH below 6.5, and 1 sample with pH above 8.5. The main problem noticed in many rainwater catchment systems was the lack of adequate screening leading into the water tank and a high level of contaminants in the first few minutes of rain collection. Based on these findings, fact sheets were developed to demonstrate how to update rainwater catchment systems with screens and first-flush diverters. We also installed first-flush diverters at homes on either end of the island to allow other residents to examine the systems. The CMI Land Grant Program funded video demonstrations of these diverters, translated in Marshallese, for island residents.