Clean water 4 life: A clean water solution to reduce water-borne diseases

Abstract

Background: Access to safe water, adequate sanitation, and proper hygiene are critical to health, survival, and development. Yet, there are still billions of people that lack access to these services every day in many areas of the world. Growing cities often struggle to build infrastructure meets the demands of its growing population and can encounter water shortages. Slums and other overcrowded urban neighborhoods can become a nexus for water and sanitation-related infectious disease transmission. For those communities near a lake, stream, or shallow well where water may be present, the water supply may be contaminated and unsafe for drinking and hand washing leaving people at risk for water, sanitation, and hygiene-related diseases. Case description: To help address these challenges and expand countries’ water and sanitation infrastructure, Clean water 4 life provides clean water to developing areas of the world through robust water purification systems that do not require electrical power and maintenance intensive chemical feed systems. The systems can either be large or small, depending on the number of gallons of water required for purification and if a central pressurized water system is needed. Clean water 4 life is human powered, easy to transport, and scalable. Discussion: Executed in five countries including Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Peru, Haiti, and Guatemala, Clean water 4 life has proven to be a successful, scalable technological approach to providing safe and affordable water. Conclusion: This case study seeks to not only highlight how water purification technology can improve global access to health and safe water, adequate sanitation, and improved hygiene but also reduce preventable illnesses caused by contaminated water.