Challenges and solutions to water problems in Africa

Africa is the second driest continent after Australia with fast-growing population and urban centers. Water scarcity is acute in the east, south, north, and large parts of Central Africa. Cities and towns are growing fast and most of them do not have sufficient piped water to their urban dwellers. Climate change has altered the rainfall pattern and quantity. Future water supply for agriculture, household consumption, and recreation are either insufficient or contaminated with pollutants. Water conservation alone will not provide future water without implementation of major waterworks and desalination processes. Methods of improvement of water quality for domestic consumption are presented in this chapter. The chapter reports work on clay ceramics made locally by women pottery workers and frustum made in the laboratory combining Moringa oleifera wood to make pores in both clay works. Second, two nanoparticle composite catalysts of TiO2-NO3 and TiO3-WO3 were synthesized and studied and previously reported for the efficiency in Escherichia coli disinfection, dyes discoloration, and pesticides mineralization. A new synthesis of TiO2-WO3 composite is reported and its characterization is discussed. The effectiveness of the clay ceramics and nanoparticle composite catalysts is reviewed.