The Potatech+ kit enables a critical step forward in water quality testing; combining digital measurements and microbiological testing to deliver a portable testing kit favoured by WASH Professionals.
The Potatech+ is ideal for water monitoring across several locations and for water quality programmes.
The latest version of the kit originally known as the JMP kit, the kit was designed for use by the Joint Monitoring Programme. A project run by UNICEF and WHO in conjunction with local partners, the programme monitors development indicators including water quality for under-served populations. Since 2016 the JMP has been tasked with monitoring progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6, which includes the target of achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030.
Featuring a complete set of digital instruments the Potatech+ gives the advantage of increased accuracy and precision of results and allows access to a wider range of testing parameters.
The biological quality of the water is often the most important to establish. Exposure to microbial pathogens, such as cholera, can have rapid adverse effects on health.
The Wagtech™ Incubator has been specifically designed for field use, enabling microbiological testing to be performed in the most challenging environments. With a high sample capacity, suitable for thermotolerant/faecal coliforms and total coliforms, up to 20 samples can be incubated simultaneously. The digital incubator is battery-powered and can test five full cycles between charges.
The kit includes a Photometer 7100 which uses the same reagent-based method as visual colour comparison methods but analyses the colour of the sample digitally – this approach corrects some problems inherent in colour comparison. The optical system used in the Photometer 7100 can detect smaller colour increments than the human eye and delivers more precise results.
Turbidity is a crucial parameter for determining drinking water quality. Monitoring turbidity of water is used to measure the processing efficiency. Turbidity changes in drinking water can indicate a range of problems including ineffective disinfection and problems with the filters.
The Potatech+ is one of the only kits to offer digital testing for turbidity, ensuring accuracy and reliability. The human eye can only detect turbidity to around 5 NTU, whereas the Turbimeter Plus has detection limits of 0.01 NTU.
The pH of water must be known because it can directly affect the performance of the treatment and disinfection process. Chlorine is sensitive to pH levels; it is much less effective at a high pH. The pH Pocket Sensor provides quick and easy field testing of pH. It is a compact handheld meter which has purposefully been designed for field use.