Water For Life Report
WATER FOR LIFE
The Water For Life project, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Boulder Flatirons, set out to improve the health and well-being of people living in impoverished situations in remote areas of the Amazon. In February of 2020, the grant funds provided safe drinking water through the distribution of water filtration systems. Systems were delivered where larger infrastructures are absent, and were provided in hands-on training workshops to users. In September, 2020, the efficacy was tested with bacterial tests, and families were interviewed.
Benefit
767 people are receiving approximately 660,280 liters of clean drinking water annually.
135 filter units were delivered through educational workshops that gathered community leaders and families in six remote villages along the Amazon and Napo Rivers in Loreto, Peru. These clarified the importance of filtering water to remove harmful bacteria.
The need for water filtration was further clarified by learning through interviews that 83% of families used sources of water containing sediment, such as river or creeks, rather than rainwater.
One filter was given to each family, serving a total population of 767 people living in 6 communities, 102 of whom are 5 years of age or younger. Upon surveying, we learned that 2015 liters of water were being filtered daily or 660,280 liters annually.
Durability
97% of 135 filters to be perfectly or sufficiently functioning after 10 months of use.
After ten months of use, 74% of the filters delivered were reported to be in perfect working order, and 23% were reported to be in sufficient working order.
Impact
100% of users have informed us that drinking filtered water has entirely removed all incidences of stomach pains and diarrhea.
The families interviewed by our Peruvian partner organization, CONAPAC, reported a 100% reduction in stomach pains and diarrhea following drinking water. Before drinking filtered water, there averaged 15 days per year per person of stomach pains, and 14 days per year per person of diarrhea. These entirely disappeared after introducing water filters.
