Taking on Third World water

Glenn Austin ripped open a credit-card-sized packet and dumped its contents into a flask of muddy water. As he swirled the concoction, dirt and debris began to clump and settle to the bottom. Within a few minutes, the water was clear.

He poured it through a paper filter and drank deeply.

The water-purification powder costs 8 cents and can treat almost 3 gallons of water, said Austin, leader of product development for PATH. It's the type of technology the Ballard nonprofit hopes to bring to millions of people in the developing world, where drinking water is often dirtier and more dangerous than the sample Austin collected from a puddle in his North Seattle neighborhood.

Already renowned for its ability to find low-cost, practical solutions to the health problems of the world's poor, PATH is now taking on water quality with a $17 million, five-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

But unlike past programs, where aid organizations simply distributed purifiers or subsidized their production, PATH is taking a more commercial approach. The goal is to help companies develop a range of low-cost filters, gadgets and other water-treatment products suited to different environments and the preferences of people in those areas, Austin explained.

A chunk of the grant money will go to marketing, to give the products consumer appeal and boost demand. If the program succeeds, the end result will be a thriving trade that doesn't require any outside money to sustain it.

"We want the bottom line served," Austin said. "It really is planting a seed that will grow on its own."

Worldwide, diarrhea caused by contaminated water kills about 2 million people a year, mostly young children. Even in urban areas with treatment and distribution systems, dirty pipes and improper handling often mean water is tainted by the time it reaches households, said Yancy Seamans, a technology specialist for PATH.

Water purifiers that combine charcoal filters and chlorine to kill microbes and remove other contaminants are widely used in middle-class Indian households. But the $35 price tag is beyond the reach of poorer families.

The PATH program will work with manufacturers to come up with simplified versions that cost less but perform as well.

The water-treatment powder Austin used in his demonstration already is relatively cheap, but it is not widely available. So the program will explore ways to boost production and distribution of such products, which also contain chlorine.

Throughout, people in the developing world will be consulted to find out what's important to them and what will work in remote villages and crowded cities.

For example, surveys show that people everywhere are less likely to use water-purification systems that don't keep water cool, or that cause a bad taste.

"You can have something that makes the water very safe, but if it tastes like a swimming pool, that's not going to be acceptable," Austin said.

The program will be primarily focused in one area, probably India, which encompasses both urban and rural populations. But it also will include research in Africa and Asia to see how household water-purification systems could be tailored for people in those areas, Austin said.

Sylvia Matthews, president of the Gates Foundation's global-development programs, praised PATH's approach, saying it "could ensure sustainable access to safe and affordable drinking water for the poor."

The foray into water quality is unusual for the world's largest philanthropy. The Seattle-based organization focuses most of its global-health work on vaccines, drugs and other medical approaches to the diseases of the poor.

The newly formed global-development arm has so far devoted most of its efforts to agricultural research and programs that provide small loans to poor people.

But the foundation is funding a handful of projects, including the one at PATH, to learn more about water quality and sanitation and see if it makes sense to expand spending in the future.

Sandi Doughton: 206-464-2491 or sdoughton@seattletimes.com