MSR Developing Groundbreaking Technology for Household Water Treatment

Diarrheal disease is a leading cause of childhood death globally, but a new purifier by MSR could help provide the safe water that’s critical to saving hundreds of thousands of lives around the world.

As the second leading cause of death in children under five, diarrheal disease takes the lives of more than half a million children around the world each year. Despite its impact, diarrheal disease can actually be prevented and treated with improved access to safe drinking water. Unfortunately, the reality is that access to safe drinking water continues to be limited.

THE SINGLE WATER TREATMENT SOLUTION CHALLENGE

The creation of a single water treatment solution that meets the needs of varied environments has proven to be quite challenging. Existing options are often too expensive for the developing world. In other cases, they are not suitable for all environments, don’t treat an adequate capacity of water, or are not effective against all pathogens.

Tackling the issue head-on, the MSR Global Health (MSR) team is developing a next-generation household drinking water treatment system for the developing world that addresses these issues. As an innovator and manufacturer of products that improve access to basic needs for people in low-resource countries, MSR’s R&D team is uniquely positioned to advance household water treatment worldwide.

HOW MSR TAKES ON THE CHALLENGE

MSR’s new design would provide a household drinking water treatment system that’s intuitive and simple—making it easy to learn and easy to use. Its technology will combat all microbiological agents that lead to diarrheal disease, thus providing safe water from a wide spectrum of water source types. And its targeted 10,000L capacity will also reduce burdens on both end users and humanitarian agencies. In addition, the design includes a universal interface that makes it an open source platform for other parties with appropriate purification technologies. In a forthcoming blog, we’ll dive deeper into how it delivers all these benefits.

MSR’s work toward this household water treatment innovation began in 1988, when its R&D team first applied extruded ceramics as a water treatment option. The resulting ceramic filter was recognised as one of the top innovations in ceramics in the past century. In the decades that followed, MSR continued to advance water treatment technology. Much of our efforts were supported through world-class partnerships, such as with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH, the United States Military, humanitarian organisations, and others. With a shared commitment to the improvement of global health, MSR and its partners continue to develop superior solutions to new and existing challenges.

KEEPING USERS IN MIND

As MSR’s scientists and engineers work on household water treatment technologies, the team keeps a focal point on needs of the families who will ultimately use these tools. By studying daily habits and routines, community and family structures, and awareness and education levels of end users, the MSR team can work to ensure a higher acceptance level of their new household water treatment system.

The system is currently in the beta prototype stage and we’re excited to see it progress to field trials and eventually become a groundbreaking innovation that could save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.