A Path to Clean Water

Abstract

"Having sufficient quantities of water is fundamental to life. Water is an engine of health, industry, energy, and agriculture. Use too much, and supplies dwindle. But quality dictates use as well. When contamination makes water undrinkable, unable to support aquatic life, and useless for agriculture and industry, qualitynot quantitydrives sustainability. There are two things that can be done to address chemical and microbial contamination (the two scourges of water quality): prevent the contamination in the first place or remove the contaminants through some method of treatment. What happens in communities, large and small, is somewhere in the middle. The management of human excreta is a powerful indicator of a communitys commitment to clean water."