A recent survey showed that 41 percent of people living along the banks of Bishnumati River in Kathmandu do not treat their water for contamination because of the costs involved. The solution could be a new campaign from the Environment and Public Health Organisation (ENPHO) and Clean Energy Nepal (CEN) that makes clean water accessible to the poor through a simple technology called solar water disinfection (SODIS). Experiments show that exposing water in one or two-litre pet bottles (old mineral water or soft drink bottles work well) to sunlight for 6-7 hours removes over 95 percent of bacterial contamination. ENPHO and CEN say the technology not only saves lives but also lowers monetary and energy costs.

They hope to spread the practice to at least 5,000 households in the Valley, Nawalparasi and Rupendehi. More than 200 households in Nawalparasi and Rupendehi are already practising the technology, says Mingma Sherpa of ENPHO. Anyone interested in donating their bottles can deliver them to the ENPHO or CEN offices, or call for a pick up if there are more than 50 bottles. CEN: 4242381, ENPHO: 4491052.