Plastic Bottles Offer Simple Solution to Safe Water

World Health Organization (WHO) statistics reveal that 3.4 million people die each year from water borne diseases. The lack of clean water is directly responsible for the death of 4,000 children every 24 hours. In some African nations, half the population suffers from water borne diseases. All this can be cured with a discarded clear plastic bottle left outside in the sun for a few hours.

The solution to contaminated, bacteria-infected drinking water is so simple that all of the chemical engineering, well-drilling, purification and filtration systems that aid organizations struggle to install and maintain wane by comparison. This is a simple, cost-free process that allows the sun’s ultraviolet light to purify the water. The only impediment is a lack of education.

The impediment is being solved by a nonprofit organization appropriately called The Water School. Its formal launch in New York was held recently at the University Club. Its actual launch has been undertaken through fieldwork by several remarkable people over the last several years. The vision and caring was provoked in these men on a trip to Africa.

Fraser Edwards was on a visit to East Africa. Standing outside his hotel he noticed people carrying a stretcher. He inquired and was told it was a child that had been suffering diarrhea for several days, was very dehydrated and was being taken to hospital.

“The child died. This is not right,” Edwards chided himself at the time. “It should not happen again. I met a man that was very successful for 40 years in water systems. That man is Bob Dell.” The collaboration resulted in Bob Dell accompanying Fraser Edwards to Uganda.

Bob is from London, Ontario, Canada. “I spent my life up to retirement as a water and wastewater treatment scientist. Getting clean water for people that have the cleanest water in the world. I retired from my business and spent the last six years trying to get clean water for children in Africa,” Bob said.

His trip to Uganda and Kenya was an eye opener for this water treatment scientist. “I saw children drinking cattle pee. They pushed the cattle out of this scum-covered pond and drew out their drinking water. My decision was to go back and find them clean water to drink. Fraser was working for Compassion International in Canada. Everyone said I needed to talk to Fraser. He took me to a village where people were drinking this contaminated water. Twenty percent of the children die before their fifth birthday from water borne diseases. That’s the group that takes the greatest hit. I came back home, sold my business, had a little chat with my wife about our retirement plans.” Bob explained the genesis of The Water School.

“We started to look for simple ways to change the water. How do I get filters and equipment to people that make $1 a day. Filters are sold to nongovernment organizations that give them to people. That creates dependency. Chlorine is dangerous to carry and difficult to get to remote areas.” Bob’s philosophy was to find a solution that was not only sustainable but one that did not put people on the dole, the beginning of a never-ending cycle of dependence.

“Plastic bottles are everywhere in the world. Ten million of them are produced every day. There is a plant in Nairobi that produces a quarter-million plastic bottles every day. They are found everywhere in the world. They become litter. If you put water in them and put them out in the sun for six hours the ultraviolet light destroys bacteria.”

The method was not new. EAWAG in Switzerland had studied it to the point where the WHO treated water using the technique. “What had not been done was the fieldwork.” Bob and Fraser set off to Africa with their plan. “Within a short period of time the kids were not sick any more. We expanded it. We didn’t form Water School until four years ago. We’ve taken it to 400,000 people in Uganda and Kenya,” Bob said. His enthusiasm never waned.

The best area for sunlight penetration and high levels of ultraviolet rays occurs within 35 degrees of the equator. The purification process works best in this band around the world. As it turns out this belt is the area of the highest incidence of contaminated water.

“We have the problem of contaminated water in Haiti. A cholera outbreak occurred. We started in April and already made an impact,” Bob said.

“What better gift can you give children but clean water for life,” Fraser added.

“Put this bottle on a hard surface in the sun for six hours and the pathogens are gone,” Bob Dell said. A tree was made up of clear plastic bottles, sticking on branches. Hardly what the House Committee of the stately University Club would countenance, yet an effective way to draw attention to the simplicity of the project.

“I went with the kids in a long line to get water in Uganda. We walked an hour and a half to a contaminated pond where cattle were drinking and doing other things. After 40 years in the water business I knew what they were drinking. I tried to carry a water container for a little girl that was struggling with it. That lasted a hundred yards then I gave it back to her. They explained that the pond scum was God’s water filter. Terrible…” Bob shook his head, dismayed and still troubled by this experience.

The Water School’s solution was not drilling wells, chlorinating, giving away filters that cost $80 to $100 each and are usually improperly used. Bob tested the water in the pond. Put it in clear plastic bottles in the sun for six hours and tested it again. The petri plate culture was clear after the ultraviolet light purified the water in the plastic bottle. A pilot project was started with 24 families. The children got better. Their teacher said the kids were teachable again.

“The incredible thing about it is that it is inexpensive water treatment. We teach hand washing, sanitation and for $10 we can get a child clean water for life.” Bob was adamant, a scientist that made simple science work for the betterment of humanity.

Simon Mills, an Australian native living in the United States, is the ambassador for The Water School. “All the money goes straight to the people because Gregg McNair pays all administrative costs. He put $1 million into it,” Simon said.

This introduction was prelude to Gregg McNair’s declaration that “half the money that goes into a charity gets eaten up by administration. I decided to look for myself. I met with Fraser, organized a group of 15 people and we went to Uganda. Things I saw on that trip convinced me. You get a bang for your buck. I’ve been to Africa three times now and confirmed the value of Water School. We continue to provide 100 percent of administration costs. What people need is water, air, and food. I challenge you to get in there and make a difference,” he said.

Fraser Edwards is a humble man. The son of an engineer and inventor from Alberta, Canada, he began a tool company that used a mechanical invention to kill weeds. Unsatisfied, Fraser and his wife went to Paupa New Guinea from 1972 to 1988 doing humanitarian work. When he came back to Canada he divested himself from his company entirely and went to work for Compassion Canada. Out of that he started The Water School.

When asked what he does for fun, Fraser smiled. “I read, played golf. Two years ago I had triple bypass surgery. I cleaned up my body. Now saving lives is what is fun for me. Leaving this legacy to younger generations. We’ll pass the torch to all our young people in Africa. They have the energy; they are trainable, [and] teachable. There is no founder’s mentality in this organization. I want to see kids in school out of clinics.”

Doug Lawson, Ph.D., has been closely involved getting the programs known in the United States. A Newport News, Virginia, native and Duke University graduate, he has raised funds for many charitable organizations. With Gregg McNair, Doug understands business. “There is no commercial interest. No chemicals to be added. Every second person asks me what pill do you add to the water in the bottle? No pills. It is ultraviolet ray sterilization,” Doug smiled.

It is so simple and so important that it has been overlooked until this intrepid group of scientists and humanitarians brought known technology to work in the poorest countries of the world. As a result the lives of children have been saved. Saved by a plastic bottle, the bane of modern society.

To find out more about the Water School,visit www.waterschool.com or contact Simon Mills directly at 1-888-800-4722 or smills@waterschool.com.

Dr. John Christopher Fine is the author of 24 books on a variety of subjects. served as a medical missionary in war-ravaged Congo and hisarticles and photography appear in major magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and Europe.