More than one billion people around the world, most of them in developing nations, lack access to safe water. The result is that preventable waterborne diseases continue to be a leading cause of illness and death globally. Every day, approximately 25,000 people, mainly children in developing countries, die from preventable waterborne diseases, according to the World Health Organization. Pentair has been in search of a solution that not only brings safe water to communities in need, but also ensures that the solution is sustainable at the community level, taking into consideration the complex economic, cultural and geographical constraints that need to be addressed. The solution also needs to have validating methods and standard practices that can be replicated around the world. To accomplish this, the Pentair Foundation funded a multi-year research program in remote Colón, Honduras. The results of the five year program and the impact on the lives of the people in Colón have been profound. The results demonstrated that sustainable access to safe water and adequate sanitation can be provided cost-effectively, and that the health and welfare of the recipients can be significantly improved. Additionally, to ensure that safe treated water continues to be available beyond Pentair’s initial funding period, a microenterprise business model was established, where the local community owns the water treatment systems and users pay their communities a nominal fee for potable water. The individual user fee is established by the local community to cover the ongoing operation and maintenance of their system. Once installed, the system costs pennies per person per day to operate. Leveraging this success, Pentair is partnering around the world by putting its grants, technology and talent to work for communities in need of clean drinking water. By engaging community partners and equipping them with our extensive product portfolio and technical water distribution systems expertise, we are measurably improving water safety and sanitation worldwide. Understanding that everyone’s efforts add up to more effective answers, Pentair is leading through partnership to find a sustainable solution to the global water crisis. Pentair invites others to join in working toward a world where everyone has access to quality water supply. We are making our findings and models publicly available to other organizations and municipalities interested in replicating these cost-effective methods. By turning industry insights into collaborative proactive plans and on-the-ground tools, we are confident that even the most challenging issues can be solved when we unite around smart ideas. Reference: Pentair.com
Tag: Water Quality
FilterPure- Filtered Water for your Pet!
Pets and filtered water…we know silly, right? Well, pets can still be harmed by the contaminants in the unfiltered water just as humans can! Tap water can especially pose risks if it is high in iron, magnesium, or nitrates and these contaminants can cause health issues for your furry companion, which any pet owner knows can get extremely expensive! Our “safe” water should be shared with our pets in order to ensure the removal of potentially sickness-causing organisms or metal from being ingested by their sensitive tummies.
Don’t think of feeding your pet’s filtered water as them getting spoiled. Think of it as you making the smart and health-conscious choice to safeguard your pet’s wellbeing. They will notice the difference too! Eliminating the bad taste and odor from your animal’s water will help to promote their drinking more, yet another health benefit. Providing them fresh, filtered, oxygen-rich, cool water will give you peace of mind and will leave them feeling better both physically and mentally.
Show your pet some love by giving them filtered drinking water. It may feel funny at first, but we know how much you love your pet and they’ll be better for it! After all, don’t we all deserve a little pampering? Shop at FilterPure today to treat your pet to better and more delicious tasting water! Our variety of brands, sizes and fittings leaves you plenty of options in deciding how you want to filter your water. Have questions about filters and filtration processes for you or your pet? We are happy to help! Call 1-800-942-7873 and get your questions answered.
What Your Unfiltered Water Contains…
Think about where your water comes from….and we don’t just mean the sink! Expand your mind and remember that water comes from unclean, natural resources like rivers and lakes, which contain pollution and contaminants that are unfit for consumption. To be clean, the water should undergo a number of treatments necessary to make it drinkable.
Specifically in tap water is:
- Toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury, copper, cadmium and aluminum
- Volatile organic chemicals, such as pesticides and herbicides
- Pharmaceuticals
- Chemicals from irresponsible manufacturers
- Personal care chemicals
- Household cleaning products
- Water treatment additives such as chlorine, fluoride, and other toxic chemicals
- Bacteria and viruses such as giardia, cryptosporidium, coliform and E-coli
- Toxic Heavy Metals
Water purifiers are specifically designed to eliminate or reduce these certain pollutants that are in our drinking water. They also improve the quality and taste of the water by eliminating its chlorine content. It is virtually impossible to know what is in tap water at any given time because municipal water quality as well as private well water varies from place to place, season to season, and house to house. Even if all of the toxic metals could be completely filtered at the local water treatment facility, they could still end up in your drinking water because rust and sediment build up in the water pipes within our homes. Even this minimal exposure can cause symptoms similar to the flu, such as headaches, diarrhea, cramps, nausea or vomiting. The only way we can have any control over the quality of water we drink is by having a personal water filter system. Filtered drinking water is the most reliable and least expensive way to get healthy water!
Revolutionary Personal Water Filtration
Over 1.2 billion people around the globe don’t have access to potable water. Many of them live in the continent of Africa. So it should come as no surprise that a solution to this problem might come from an inventor who lives there. Meet Dr. Eugene Cloete. A microbiologist by training, Cloete is currently the Dean of Natural Sciences at the University of Stellenbosch, just outside Cape Town, South Africa. In addition to his teaching ability, Dr. Cloete apparently has a knack for invention. With nine patents to his name, the first of which he earned at the age of 23, Eugene has adopted a way of thinking different than that of most peoples’. “[creativity is] like reading and writing,” said Cloete, “the more you use it, the better you get.” With much of South Africa’s tap water riddled with disease-causing bacteria, heavy metals, and pesticide residue, something needed to be done. In short, Dr. Cloete has invented a disposable filter, which looks very similar to a tea bag, to filter water as it is poured from a bottle. Each filter is capable of ridding bacteria, heavy metals, and harmful chemicals from about 15 liters of water before it needs to be thrown away. Cloete, an expert on inhibiting growth of bacterial slime, says he came up with the idea while on a faculty tour of his current department. He happened to notice a tea bag sitting on the break room counter when he started to explore the idea. It wasn’t until he watched a presentation at the university during which a student demonstrated how to spin nanofibers – filaments finer than human hair – that he figured out how to do it. He combined this technology with both that of the anti-bacterial membranes he had already been working on, and the traditional water filtration component activated carbon to yield the filter. Since announcing the invention in July, Dr. Cloete and his team of two post-doctoral colleges have received hundreds of inquiries from excited philanthropists, aid organizations, and retailers. This little tea bag is sure to save lives.
What’s Really In Your Drinking Water?
Many of us take the quality and purity of our water for granted. While the public water supply is generally safe for most people, it is not always as harmless as we’d like to believe. In addition to additives like chorine and fluoride, tap water may contain various minerals, microorganisms, and chemicals. Regulating Water Quality The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) closely monitors the quality of public drinking water. Monitoring must adhere to the Safe Drinking Water Act, which specifies the method for choosing which contaminants are monitored and determining what contaminant levels are acceptable. Sometimes, the acceptable level is set at zero, but water treatment plants cannot always achieve this level of purity. This disparity is especially common for contaminants that pose a particular hazard for children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems. Currently the EPA monitors approximately 90 different substances. However, over 260 different substances have been found in U.S. tap water. Some of these may simply be a nuisance, while others can pose a health risk. Meanwhile certain contaminants, such as lead, may be introduced through plumbing in individual households. Common Tap Water Contaminants Continue reading What’s Really In Your Drinking Water?