A team of volunteers from USA has installed four drinking water chlorinators in Matli and Dilsoar villages while a fifth chlorinator will be installed at Bhatwari block in Uttarkashi district.
This will benefit about 200 families in this disaster affected district. Voluntary organisation, Himalayee Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan (HPSS) hosted six American volunteers, said HPSS chairman Suresh Bhai, while adding, “This project represents a unique opportunity to partner with our global family members and introduce a new water purifying technology to Uttarakhand. We see enormous potential for this in rural India.”
Five of the American volunteers, Tina Ward-Pugh, Joe Jacobi, lynn Smith, Robin Brothers, and Suetta Albin, work with a nonprofit organisation called WaterStep which specialises in installing water chlorinators, training on hand-pump repair, providing disaster relief services, and teaching health and hygiene practices.
Their projects operate in over 25 countries, including India's Bihar, Meghalaya, Manipur, Assam, Odisha, and West Bengal. HPSS and WaterStep were brought together by Margaret Weidner, Fulbright-Nehru Student Researcher, who has spent the last year conducting research on water management in the Garhwal Himalayas. Weidner explains, "This partnership between HPSS and WaterStep embodies the aim of the Fulbright-Nehru scholarship — to promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Through my research, I have the chance to learn from villagers living in Garhwal, and this partnership means that they will have access to a technology that can improve their quality of life."
The water chlorinator M-100 was designed by WaterStep engineer lynn Smith and production was managed by Joe Jacobi, both of whom led the Matli and Dilsoar installations. Jacobi calls the M-100 “technology packaged for non-technical people.” The M-100 is easy to operate, uses local materials, and is highly durable. Using table salt and a 12-volt car battery, people can purify as much water as they require — up to 40,000 liters per day with one machine.