An interventional study of In-line Chlorination (ILC) with Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) in Diarrhea, Water Quality and Adoption, sponsored by University of California, Berkeley. Not yet recruiting at 2 sites in Nigeria. Open to participants aged 15 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-22.
Sponsored by University of California, Berkeley · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
This study evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of in-line chlorination (ILC) for improving drinking water quality in rural Nigeria. Unsafe drinking water remains a major contributor to diarrheal disease, particularly among children under five. Inline chlorination is a passive water treatment approach that automatically doses chlorine at community water systems without requiring electricity or daily user action. Two cluster randomized controlled trials will be conducted in Kano State (North-West Nigeria) and Cross River State (South-South Nigeria). Communities will be randomized to either receive in-line chlorination installed at eligible communal water systems or serve as controls with no chlorination. The unit of randomization is a community or a cluster of communities that share water system for drinking water. The primary objective is to estimate the causal impact of in-line chlorination on household drinking water quality. Outcomes include the prevalence of Escherichia coli contamination in tap water and stored household water as well as the presence of free chlorine residual. Secondary objectives assess water source usage and adoption of chlorinated sources, as well as reduction in diarrheal disease. Implementation fidelity and operational performance of chlorination devices will also be monitored.
877 studies on the registry are indexed under Diarrhea; 76 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 2,655 is above the median of 137 across 738 interventional studies indexed under Diarrhea.
Browse Diarrhea studies →University of California, Berkeley is the lead sponsor of 111 studies on the registry; 20 are open to participants now.
Of its 6 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 1 (17%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Communities randomized to this arm will receive inline chlorination installed at eligible communal drinking water systems, such as boreholes or handpumps, and behavioral change communication.
Device: In-line Chlorination (ILC) with Behavioral Change Communication (BCC)
Communities randomized to this arm will not receive inline chlorination during the study period and will continue their usual water collection and treatment practices.
In-line chlorination devices will be installed on all compatible communal water systems within treatment communities. Devices automatically dose chlorine proportional to water flow without requiring electricity or daily user input. Technologies will include TuriTap liquid dosers installed at handpumps and CTI-8 tablet dosers installed at tanks or piped systems. Devices will be calibrated and routinely monitored to maintain chlorine residual within recommended ranges. In addition to device installation, communities will participate in behavior change communication (BCC) activities designed to support understanding and acceptance of chlorinated water. BCC activities will include community sensitization meetings conducted by the implementing partner. Meetings will provide information on the purpose of chlorination through the in-line chlorination devices, expected benefits and limitations, safe water handling practices, and guidance for addressing taste or odor concerns.
Proportion of water source samples with detectable free chlorine residual.
Measured as \>0.1 ppm.
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Proportion of household stored drinking water samples with detectable free chlorine residual.
Measured as \>0.1 ppm.
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Proportion of household stored drinking water samples positive for Escherichia coli.
Measured as \>1 MPN/100 mL of water by culture-based assay
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Proportion of water source samples with detectable total chlorine residual.
Measured as \>0.1 ppm.
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Concentration of E. coli in water source samples
Concentration of E. coli (in log10 MPN/100ml) in water source samples by culture-based assay
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Concentration of E. coli in household stored water samples
Concentration of E. coli (in log10 MPN/100ml) in household stored water samples by culture-based assay
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Concentration of total coliform bacteria in water source samples
Concentration of total coliform bacteria (MPN/100mL) in water source samples
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Concentration of total coliform bacteria in household stored water samples
Concentration of total coliform bacteria (MPN/100mL) in household stored water samples
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Prevalence of caregiver-reported diarrhea among children under five years of age
Measured as the proportion of children under five reported by caregivers to have experienced diarrhea, defined as three or more loose or watery stools within a 24-hour period, during the 7 days preceding the survey.
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Prevalence of caregiver-reported diarrhea among household members, any age
Measured as the proportion of individuals surveyed in the household that have experienced diarrhea, defined as three or more loose or watery stools within a 24-hour period, during the 7 days preceding the survey. Measured for subset of available respondents.
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Prevalence of diarrhea among female caregivers
Measured as the proportion of respondents that have experienced diarrhea, defined as three or more loose or watery stools within a 24-hour period, during the 7 days preceding the survey.
Time frame: Time frame - About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Proportion of households reporting an ILC-compatible water source as their primary drinking water source
Measured as the percentage of surveyed households identifying an ILC-compatible water system as their source of drinking water. ILC-compatible water systems (boreholes, piped systems, or handpumps have chlorinated water in treatment)
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Proportion of households switching away from ILC-treated water sources
Measured as the percentage of households that discontinue use of a chlorinated water system for drinking water compared to baseline.
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Proportion of households reporting any household-level water treatment
Measured as the percentage of households reporting treatment of drinking water prior to consumption (e.g., boiling, filtration, manual chlorination).
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Time spent on household-level water treatment
Time (minutes) reported by households per day on making water safer to drink (gender stratified)
Time frame: About 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow ups after device installations
Plan to share: No
Start is estimated for May 2026; primary completion for Dec 2027, 19 months later.
Of 129 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Diarrhea, half reached primary completion within 17 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 6 and three quarters within 36. This study's planned 19 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 164 studies reached it within 14 months; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 35.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in May 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
University of California, Berkeley →