Testing the Waters: From Moringa Seeds to Fruit Peels, Researchers Are Seeking Out New Ways to Clean Up the World?s Drinking Water

Water on Earth-in our oceans, rivers, lakes, and wetlands-might seem plentiful, but water that is clean and safe enough to drink actually isn't so abundant. Nearly one in ten people still lacks access to safe water worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. In some of the world's most remote and impoverished communities, people live with no taps, showers, flushing toilets, or nearby springs, making it difficult to keep water supplies safe from bacteria, chemicals, and particulates. Moreover, access to clean drinking water isn't just a problem in the developing world; groundwater in developed countries is typically used far more quickly than it is being replenished. As the world population rises, growing numbers of thirsty people could exacerbate already-scant resources. In response to these challenges, scientists, researchers, and companies are working on ways of delivering clean and safe water to more people-ranging from large-scale and sophisticated reverse osmosis machines that can produce great quantities of water in places where water supplies are low but the ocean is nearby (see “Reverse Osmosis for Fresh Water”) to lower-tech options that allow individual households to eliminate from their water bacteria related to diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. Technologies using easily accessible, low-cost, natural materials have been the focus for many companies seeking to solve the world's water problem.