Easy access to drinking water

2001/04/02 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Osasuna
• Ingurumena

In many places on the planet they do not have enough water to drink, not only because of the shortage of taps, but because the water they contain is not potable. In fact, the diseases contaminated with dirty water are the ones that cause the most deaths in these countries, such as malaria.

The most effective and economical way to avoid these diseases is the chlorination of water, but in many places it is still a dream because there is not enough infrastructure and it takes years to reach that level of development.

The World Health Organization has proposed a small scale system that allows individual and collective use and is very cheap. It consists of solar water disinfection. All you need is the sun, the clear plastic water bottle and a dark surface.

The bottle is filled with water and placed lying on a dark surface for five hours. Ultraviolet solar radiations kill pathogenic microorganisms that pollute water and in countries that have been tested (Bolivia, Burkina Faso, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand and Togo) good results have been obtained.

In addition, it is very important to become aware of the importance of cleanliness and hygiene, since sometimes they may be enough to avoid changes in habits and some soap diarrhea. For example, after a campaign based on soap distribution in Burkina Faso and hygiene education, diarrheas decreased by 35%.

However, it is necessary to continue working so that everyone has safe and clean water, as it is the first condition for good health and fundamental human right.