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New Technology to Tackle the Drinking Water Crisis in Developing Countries

By Karen Berger | Posted January 28 2011

What if, to get a glass of water, you had to go to a tap outside your house? What if the tap was at a communal well down the block? What if there was no tap – only a spring? Or, not even a spring, but a stream in which children played and people washed their clothes? What if it was a river with animals wallowing in waste from upstream villages? What if it was five miles away?

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Nearly one billion people – one in six – do not have access to clean drinking water. The results infiltrate all aspects life in developing countries: According to Water.org:

*A child dies every 20 seconds from a water-related illness

*More people in the world have cell phones than access to clean water

*Globally, women spend more than 200 million hours every day collecting water for their families’ basic needs

*More than 80 percent of the sewage in developing countries is discharged, untreated, into rivers, lakes, and coastal areas

According to Dr. Peter Hotez, President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and a founder of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, “Most of the intestinal helminths (parasitic worms that live in humans), and certainly schistosomiasis and trachoma, are from lack of clean water: Globally, there are 600-800 million helminth infections, 440 million cases of schistosomiasis), and 40 million cases of trachoma.”

But there is hope. Around the world, small-scale innovative projects are using new technologies that make sense in the context of the local problems, culture, and environments. The Blum Center for Developing Economies, a consortium of California universities and research centers, focuses on improving the lives of the three billion people who live on less than two dollars a day. Here are some of the projects currently being implemented:

*The UV Tube is a low-cost ultraviolet water disinfection system that uses only 15 – 20 watts of electricity per day. It is being piloted in communities in Baja California in Mexico, in Tsunami-affected Sri Lanka, and in Haiti

*In Bangladesh, 40- 70 million Bangladeshis are exposed to dangerously high levels of naturally-occurring arsenic which contaminates shallow wells. A substance called bottom ask (residue from combustion, usually coal) can be used to remove arsenic from drinking water. The annual cost for the raw materials needed to produce enough bottom ash for one person is about 8 U.S. cents.

*Exposing contaminated water to full sunlight in transparent plastic bottles destroys pathogens that cause diarrheal diseases. Using specially designed bottles and simple additives such as lemon juice and hydrogen peroxide accelerates the process. A program to educate local people about this solar technology aims to reach 500,000 people in Latin America within the next eight years.

*The Health in Your Hands Program is partnering with three organizations in Mexico to reduce disease associated with poor hand hygiene by educating people about its importance and by solving practical problems such as the availability of only harsh dish and laundry soaps.

The problem of drinking water also affects travelers to developing nations. Check back on Monday for information on how travelers can protect themselves from water-borne illnesses.

CONNECT THE DOTS

In July 2010, the United Nations recognized access to safe drinking water as a fundamental human right. See the Stockholm International Water Institute for policy recommendations to meet the UN’s mandate of providing “safe, clean, accessible and affordable water and sanitation for all.”

  • Lisa Collier Cool

    For more information about a low tech way to bring clean water to developing countries (and help combat disease), read our blog post, “A Simple Solution to Help Combat Cholera in Haiti.”

    http://www.healthymagination.com/blog/a-simple-solution-to-help-combat-cholera-in-haiti/

  • David A. Todd

    The American Waterworks Association’s (AWWA) Water for the People program is doing good work in this area, though more needs to be done. Unfortunately, with population continuing to grow in most countries, and fastest in the devloping world, this will only get worse unless a significant increase in resources is applied. Good article; thanks for calling attention to this. BTW, the UV technology only handles the disinfection part of water treatment. It’s good, but there’s a lot more bad stuff in most waters.

  • Carol Finch

    The points you raise from Water.org really bring home the severity of the problems so many face. It’s encouraging that these initiatives can give practical help and training for such a low cost.

  • Tricia

    This is an eye-opening accounting of a heart-wrenching reality. Perhaps if we all tried living on less than $2 a day for awhile, empathy would turn to solution that much faster.

    Great article.

  • Dr James Pendleton

    Interesting and informative! Great subject!

  • Connie Woloschuk

    Good to hear about feasible solutions at the local level where they’re needed for this unspeakable situation that affects so many.

  • Laure

    Informative article – it’s time we all start thinking about our water footprints.

  • Mike DeHaan

    I agree this is hugely important. But why are governments not addressing these problems on behalf of their own people? For example, why does Canada not do a better job for OUR own First Nations communities?

  • Victoria Nicks

    Great article! It’s easy to forget how lucky we are to have clean safe water available at a moment’s notice.

  • Donald Reinhardt

    We need to replace 1 to 2 quarts of water loss in our adult bodies each day. Imagine if you had no clean water as 1 in 6 do not. It is good to know there is simple hope. Good info here.

  • Linette

    Great article Karen.

  • C

    What can people do to help support this?

  • SYLVIA CRUZ

    Informative article on the need for clean water in yet to be developed countries. Great insights. Perhaps when big investments on water are made by large corporations and individual investors there won’t be a lack of clean usable water.

  • Christiane Marshall

    Last winter we experienced a severe ice storm that left many of us without heat, electricity or water for several days. What an eye-opening experience! We don’t realize how much we depend on water until we have to buy it in gallon jugs, carry it home, and use it sparingly.

  • M Miller

    It is good to know that money is put into researching solutions for clean drinking water! Kudos to the universities and researchers that support the Blum Center for Developing Economies. It’s tought to get people to care about things that don’t directly affect them. Great article.

  • Janice May

    This winter, the cold weather in Northern Ireland left tens of thousands of people there without water for almost a week. Only then did they discover how precious their water supply was! They had to stand in long lines to fill bottles from lorries; and when interviewed, they left no-one in any doubt that they considered it a “fundamental human right”. It’s impossible for us to imagine a life without access to clean, safe water. It’s heartening to know that people are developing new technology to tackle the issue, but funding – and making the funding a priority – is the eternal problem.

  • Earthship Biotecture

    http://www.earthship.com/haiti
    Michael Reynolds describes the contained sewage treatment system and the roof insulation made out of garbage harvested from the streets of Port-au-Prince. This can solve the cholera issue in Haiti and around the world. This contained sewage treatment system alone can spread very quickly, like a virus.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFP4Q0UDZpU

  • tom

    I set up a cl;ean water filtration system in South America for 300. The yield is tow gallons a minute and lasts for 18 months. No doubt as others know of simple water treatment methods; they will jack up the price. FOr example… I used a ceramic filter. The corporations want replacements instead of cleanable filters. A real shame that so many work in the name of greed; they shall have problems on judgement day. Really dislike others whom screen comments.
    Regards, Tom

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