Both sol gel and wet impregnation method are used to create undoped and Cu doped TiO2 in an effort toenhance the photocatalytic activity, evaluated via the photedegradation and inactivation of Escherichiacoli. The results showed that TiO2 doped with 10% CuCl2 prepared by wet-impregnation method resultedin a complete 100% E. coli inactivation within one hour (from 106 to 0 CFU/mL). The results also showedthat pH has a negligible effect on E. coli inactivation. The use of river water confirmed that photocatalyticdisinfection could be quenched by impurities in the water, such as dissolved organic matter.