RAISING AWARENESS OF DRINKING WATER SAFETY AFTER FLOODING THROUGH pH EDUCATION AND SELF-TESTING KITS IN TANJUNG GUSTA SUBDISTRICT
Published:
2026-09-07Downloads
Abstract
The massive flooding that struck Medan in November 2025 severely affected the Tanjung Gusta neighborhood in Medan Helvetia subdistrict, prompting the Al-Yahdi Medan Foundation to serve as an evacuation center. It also contaminated residents' clean Water sources, while the public still judges Water safety by visual clarity alone, without understanding pH as a key chemical indicator. This community service activity, under the Pioneer Service Program of the Vocational Faculty, Universitas Sumatera Utara, aimed to enhance the knowledge and skills of teachers, students, and parents at Al-Yahdi Foundation in assessing Water potability after the flood through education on pH parameters and training in portable pH meters, complementing simpler pH indicator (litmus) paper. Conducted at Al-Yahdi Foundation from April to November 2026, the activity comprised coordination, instrument design and validation, outreach, demonstrations, hands-on training, distribution of instruments and manuals, mentoring, and pretest–posttest evaluations. Average comprehension scores rose from 43.8 ('insufficient') to 87.0 ('good'). pH of Water samples from partner communities ranged from 5.9 to 7.2, with some outside the safe range set by Indonesia's Ministry of Health (6.5–8.5). This initiative effectively raised public awareness and fostered self-reliance in testing Water quality before consumption during post-flood recovery, supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 6.
Keywords:
pH portable pH meter post-flood public education water qualityReferences
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