FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Washington, DC – December 3, 2008 – Some 400,000 residents of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, now have access to clean water for the first time thanks in part to 100 neighborhood chlorinators designed and manufactured by NORWECO Inc. of Norwalk, Ohio, and specially designed dry chlorine tablets from Arch Chemicals Inc. of Norwalk, Connecticut.
Since May of 2006, Washington, D.C. based International Action has installed 100 water chlorinators in 23 of the poorest neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, providing the communities with clean water for the very first time.
The special Norweco tablet chlorinators require no electricity, but operate on the gravity flow of water from city or village water sources. They are simple to install, easy to operate and trouble-free to maintain. They are very effective in developing countries like Haiti where there is no community plumbing, but people must use buckets to retrieve their water from one main source each day.
The Arch Chemicals chlorine tablets used are comprised of calcium hypochlorite, which is widely used in disinfecting drinking water worldwide. They are also very reasonable in cost. In Haiti, for example, International Action’s chlorine costs are less than $50 each month to protect the water for $50,000 residents. Contributors to International Action are always surprised at how such few dollars can end up protecting so many residents.
The tablet chlorinators provide a steady, pre-set level of chlorination which persists in the water for many days. This provides dependable protection against the disease-causing bacteria common in the buckets, home storage tanks, and local piping in developing countries.
About International Action
International Action is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on creating a healthy Haiti by providing clean water and other life-saving programs. Since 2006, International Action has worked with Haitian communities to provide training, education, and create sustainable water systems. International Action currently protects over 600,000 Haitians from waterborne diseases and improves their quality of life.
Contact
Youngmin Chang
ychang@haitiwater.org
International Action
819 L Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 488-0735
https://haitiwater.org/