Wed, 03/22/2017 - 08:54

LONDON (March 22, 2017)—Pentair announced, in honor of World Water Day 2017, its next Project Safewater initiative with Water Mission to deliver clean, safe drinking water and sanitation to 150,000 people in Central America, according to a statement from the company. The project expands upon the two organizations’ first collaborative effort, which saw the successful implementation of scalable, sustainable safe water and sanitation projects in the Department of Colón, Honduras, Pentair said. “At Pentair, we believe that safe water is a fundamental human right, and one of the foundations of freedom and economic development,” said Randall J. Hogan, chairman and chief executive officer of Pentair. “The world’s safe drinking water crisis is solvable, as demonstrated by the sustainable and cost-effective solution that we implemented as part of our first Project Safewater initiative with Water Mission in Colón, Honduras. Systems and technologies developed from that project are now being deployed around the world, and we are pleased to expand this effort to additional regions in Honduras.” Pentair said the Project Safewater Colón represents the largest scientifically documented water and sanitation project in Central America. The initial health impact study demonstrated reductions in illness resulting from waterborne diseases by 80 percent, and visits to the local health clinics for diarrheal diseases decreased by more than 50 percent, according to Pentair. In addition, a follow-up study conducted in 2014 found that Colón’s infant mortality rate fell twice as much as the national average, which translates to saving the lives of 40 children each year. The new Project Safewater initiative will focus on Lempira and Intibucá, two departments in the western region of Honduras. Lempira and Intibucá have some of the highest percentages of people living in extreme poverty in Honduras, and while access to water and sanitation is relatively high, it is generally not considered to be safely managed. Pentair, Water Mission and local Honduran government organizations will work to deliver improvements in water quality, sanitation infrastructure and Water and Sanitation for Health (WASH) behaviors. Additionally, the organizations will measure the economic and educational improvements related to water and sanitation interventions.