The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated August as National Water Quality Month.¹ Thankfully, tap water in the United States is safe to drink because water utilities are required to meet the standards set by the EPA. Many people in developing countries, however, do not have access to safe drinking water or sanitation services. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 801,000 children younger than 5 years of age perish from diarrhea each year.²

Clean water and sanitation is a goal for Matt Damon, actor and screenwriter.  He, together with Gary White, founded an organization called Water.org. Water.org is providing loans for families to connect to a water utility or build a latrine for their house.³ Unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrheal diseases.⁴

Microbiologics supports water and environmental testing laboratories by providing microbial reference materials for quality control testing. We offer a wide range of user-friendly products that help laboratories meet regulations and standards for ensuring their test methods, materials, equipment, and processes are producing accurate results. For a list of recommended water quality testing strains, check out our Water Quality Control Microorganism Strain Guide.

References:

1. American Water Works Association. DrinkTap. http://www.drinktap.org/blog/articleid/385/understand-your-tap-water-during-national-water-quality-month.aspx
2. Centers for Disease Control. Global Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/wash_statistics.html
3. National Geographic. Goldberg, S. Talking Toilets with Matt Damon. August 2017. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/08/from-the-editor-matt-damon-sanitation/
4. Centers for Disease Control. Global Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/diarrhea-burden.html