The purpose of this study was to establish acceptable criteria for the design of simple water treatment plant in rural areas. To develop efficient simple water treatment methods for rural areas, water quality in the study areas was investigated and rapid and slow filtrations in pilot-scale were tested under various conditions. The main results of this study are as follows. It was found that the water qualities of the study areas exceed the drinking water standards, which implies that some treatments are required in rural areas. Treatment efficiencies of both rapid sand and dual-media (sand and anthracite) filtration without pre-treatment such as flocculation and sedimentation are very low, which were turned out to be unadequate for the rural areas. Treatment efficiencies of both vertical and horizontal slow filtration without chlorination are very high for consumed $KMnO_4, NH_3-N, NO_3-N$, turbidity, and very low for coliform and bacteria. Treatment efficiencies of both vertical and horizontal slow filtration with chlorination are very high over the most pollutants. A slow filtration with chlorination is efficient for the rural areas. An adequate depth of sand layer is over 60 cm. A horizontal filtration is more economical than a vertical filtration. A horizontal filtration can be operated for a relatively long periods of time without sand washing or replacement because clogging is removed by simple back-washing.