Dow Makes Water Purification Plants Possible for Villages in India

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Dow Makes Water Purification Plants Possible for Villages in India

At a Glance: In a collaborative effort, Dow India and Byrraju Foundation are helping rural villages gain access to drinking water. Dow is helping by providing villagers with funding to build local water purification plants. The Byrraju Foundation trains villagers how to operate the plants. Each plant can purify up to 1,000 liters of water an hour and, when operating to capacity, over 2,500 villagers will have access to drinking water.

August 2007

Two young girls collecting water from holes dug in the ground

There is little more satisfying on a hot day than a drink of cool, clear water. For some, quenching their thirst is no more than a walk to the kitchen faucet. For women living in rural Indian villages, it can be a half-day journey to a water source.

Dow India is helping to make drinking water more accessible by providing funding to build local water purification plants. Villagers receive training by the Byrraju Foundation to operate the plants which can purify up to 1,000 liters of water an hour.

Byrraju and Dow India strive to make drinking water accessible for everyone

The Byrraju-Dow collaboration is part of a larger initiative called the SWEET Sujala Project (Safe Water for Everyone using Effective Technology). The SWEET mission is to deliver drinking water to 34 Indian villages in Andhra Pradesh.

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A non-governmental organization (NGO), the Byrraju Foundation is focused on building progressive, self-reliant rural communities. Dow India is helping to address the challenge of accessible drinking water for all people, everywhere as part of the company’s 2015 Sustainability Goals.

“Dow has shown a keen interest in setting up these plants using its leading-edge technology,” said Nandkumar Sanglikar, Dow India’s senior public affairs leader. “This project highlights Dow’s belief of contributing to the society by meeting its unmet needs on a sustainable basis. The project also reinforces Dow’s commitment to development of water purification and transmission technologies.”

Dow India donates funding to make it happen

The Sujala project model requires land and a building to house the purification equipment, both provided by the village. Dow provides the additional funding needed to cover the cost of the plant and the machinery. The first of the five plants is operating successfully, and the start up of the remaining four is slated to begin in 2007.

Each plant is operated by five people: two local youth trained by Byrraju, one plant manager and two helpers. The plants can provide up to 3 liters of drinking water per person per day. The water is stored, and then sold to the villagers at a nominal charge. When Dow India’s five plants are operating to capacity, over 2,500 villagers will have access to drinking water.

This collaboration impacts people’s lives

“These purification plants are expected have a great impact on the daily lives of the people in these villages,” said Nandkumar. “Accessible drinking water is a treasured gift which is expected to go a long way towards reducing the government’s burden of treating water-borne infections.”

Collaborating to provide water to Indian villages is just one way Dow in India is pursuing global sustainability. We are all on this planet together. The more we help one another, the brighter our futures become.