The Network will strive to empower people without access to improved water sources, plus those with improved but unsafe sources, to take charge of their own drinking water safety by working with communities to implement effective, affordable and sustainable HWTS interventions.
The WHO produced the following statement:
"Studies have shown that improving the microbiological quality of household water by on-site or point-of-use treatment and safe storage in improved vessels reduces diarrheal and other waterborne diseases in communities and households of developing as well as developed countries. The extent to which improving drinking water quality at the household level reduces diarrheal disease probably depends on a variety of technology-related as well as site-specific environmental and demographic factors that require further investigation, characterization and analyses. Reductions in household diarrheal diseases of 6-90% have been observed, depending on the technology and the exposed population and local conditions.
The most promising and accessible of the technologies for household water treatment are filtration with ceramic filters, chlorination with storage in an improved vessel, solar disinfection in clear bottles by the combined action of UV radiation and heat, thermal disinfection (pasteurization) in opaque vessels with sunlight from solar cookers or reflectors and combination systems employing chemical coagulation-flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and chlorination. All of these systems have been shown to dramatically improve the microbiological quality of water.
Further development, refinement, implementation, evaluation and comparison of household water treatment and safe storage technologies is both justified and encouraged."
Red Button Design look forward to being able to contribute to the Network beginning with a series of field trials in the Mewat region of India this summer.
HWTS Information Leaflet
