Attention has been rising towards natural water purifying agents as therneffect on human health and the environment of synthetic chemicalsrnbecame evident. Maerua sucordata has been used as a natural coagulantrntraditionally by rural communities living around Omo River. This studyrnfocused on the coagulation properties of Maerua subcordata powder andrnits effect on bacteriological properties of water. The powder was preparedrnby cutting the root into pieces, drying on sunlight, crushing byrntraditional mortar and pestle, and finally ground by traditional mill andrnsieved.rnThe optimum dose was determined by jar test using turbidities 500, 370rnand 240 FTU. The workable turbidity was 370 FTU; with which furtherrntests were made. The powder was used to treat water with knownrnturbidity as a primary coagulant and also with alum. Its efficiency wasrncompared with alum and Moringa. The powder, when used alonerndecreased the turbidity of water from 370 FTU to 8 FTU upon 1 Â½ hrrnsettling, while Moringa achieved 9 FTU. This was much lesser comparedrnwith alum. When used in combination with alum, 1:1 mixture reducedrnthe same turbidity to 6 FTU and 2:1 ratio of alum to Maerua produced 8rnFTU with the same settling time. Maerua powder can give best results,rni.e. in the WHO guideline range, upon longer settling time. On therncontrary, turbidity of the water treated with Moringa powder hadrnregained upon longer settling times. Maerua powder was effective atrnmoderate turbidity.rnThe effect of Maerua subcordata powder on bacteriology of the water wasrninsignificant. Only 66.7 % reduction in fecal coliform count wasrnobserved.rnKey words- Maerua subcordata, jar test, residual turbidity, turbidity,rnbacteriological quality, total coliform, fecal coliform.