Improve Water Quality

Worldwide, more than one billion people lack access to potable water, and more than two billion do not have adequate sanitation. As a result, over 3 billion people (mostly children under age 5) suffer from waterborne diseases that can be fatal. According to WHO, every year more than 1.8 million people die of diseases such as cholera. In the United States the problem is concentrated along the U.S.-Mexico border, where incidences of Hepatitis A and Shigellosis are three times higher than anywhere else in the country.

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, the United States government committed to improving human health by expanding access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Having developed extensive expertise through its domestic programs, EPA is now equipped to help solve these problems abroad.

Specifically, EPA is drawing on its expertise to focus on programs that provide clean drinking water and improved sanitation around the world. To this end, EPA has collaborated with PAHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and over a dozen other countries to establish sustainable microfinance cooperatives. In addition, the agency has cooperated with a variety of partners in the development of model wastewater regulations. Currently, EPA is working with WHO to demonstrate the use of Water Safety Plans, which can be used to assess and rehabilitate water systems and to improve drinking water quality surveillance.

	Collaboration - Training
Approach	Training: In partnership with PAHO and the CDC, EPA will conduct demonstration projects in India, Latin America, and the Caribbean to teach the skills necessary for an adequate assessment of water delivery systems to better target improvements.
Result	Improved drinking water, better health, and empowered communities capable of making cost-effective changes to their water systems.

Improve Water Quality

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Collaboration - Training

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