Global drinking water issues and solutions

CHED 39

Eugene Thiers, ethiers@sylvansource.com, Sylvan Source, 285 N. Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94085
The world situation in drinking water is deteriorating. Industrialized nations, with an aging infrastructure face increasing problems, aggravated by increasing levels of industrial pollutants. Developing nations, in their efforts to industrialize, have not invested in water treatment and distribution conmesurate with population growth, and drinking water quality, at times, reach levels that threaten widespread health. A two-pronged approach is recommended. For the industrialized world, advanced distillation systems that can remove more contaminants than other current technologies, regardless of variations in tap water quality. For the developing world, a sraged approach that relies on advanced filtration techniques, suplemented with dealination programs that are energy efficient and require minimal maintenance.