Jeepers, this is quite a worrying thread as I've been using 'solar water' on my whole family for the last five years. I based this on information I discovered to do with something that's added to tap water (which I now can't even recall what it was) back then and have been doing it faithfully since.
Five years is a long time and a hell of a lot of water used.
UV-A rays from the sun, (Ultraviolet-A, longwave, 315-400 nm), will terminate harmful bacteria, parasites, and viruses in water, given enough sun exposure.
A clear plastic bottle filled with water, exposed to the sun for 6 hours will make the water safe to drink (see the caveat list). In fact, the effectiveness of terminating harmful bacteria is an amazing 5-Nines, that is, 99.999 percent!
modernsurvivalblog.com/health/how-to-pur...water-with-sunlight/
Solar water disinfection is a type of portable water purification that uses solar energy, in one or more ways, to make contaminated water safe to drink by ridding it of infectious disease-causing biological agents such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa and worms. However, disinfection may not make all kinds of water safe to drink due to non-biological agents such as toxic chemicals or heavy metals. Consequently, additional steps beyond disinfection may be necessary to make water clean to drink.
There are three primary subsets of solar water disinfection:
Electric. Solar disinfection using the effects of electricity generated by photovoltaic panels (solar PV).
Heat. Solar thermal water disinfection.
UV. Solar ultraviolet water disinfection.
Solar disinfection using the effects of electricity generated by photovoltaics typically uses an electrical current to deliver electrolytic processes which disinfect water, for example by generating oxidative free radicals which kill pathogens by damaging their chemical structure. A second approach uses stored solar electricity from a battery, and operates at night or at low light levels to power an ultraviolet lamp to perform secondary solar ultraviolet water disinfection.
Solar thermal water disinfection uses heat from the sun to heat water to 70C-100C for a short period of time. A number of approaches exist here. Solar heat collectors can have lenses in front of them, or use reflectors. They may also use varying levels of insulation or glazing. In addition, some solar thermal water disinfection processes are batch-based, while others (through-flow solar thermal disinfection) operate almost continuously while the sun shines. Water heated to temperatures below 100C is generally referred to as pasteurized water.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_disinfection