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Civilian Populations Caught in Conflict Will Benefit from Installations
October 26, 2022 – Planet Water Foundation, a leading non-profit organization focused on providing access to clean, safe water, is responding to the water crisis in Ukraine by deploying emergency drinking water systems for civilian uses in villages with the greatest need across the Odessa, Kharkiv and eastern border regions this month.
In Ukraine, according to a U.N. report[1], attacks on water infrastructure and the movement of residents fleeing their homes have left as many as 16 million people across the country needing assistance with water, sanitation, and hygiene.
“The conflict in Ukraine has created a catastrophic drinking water situation for the people who remain in harm’s way,” said Mark Steele, Founder and CEO of Planet Water Foundation. “Until the conflict is resolved, and municipal water systems are restored, we are committed to supporting civilians with our AquaBlock emergency response systems. We can deploy eight systems this month through the important financial support from Freudenberg (six systems) and Ingersoll Rand (two systems), and coordination support from Xylem. This builds on our first wave of deployments earlier this year supported by Xylem (four systems).”
In April, the southern city Mykolaiv lost two pipelines that supplied the city’s municipal water system when Russian missiles destroyed pipelines that carried water from the Dnipro river to the city’s pumping stations. Since then, remaining residents, are forced to collect water from tanker trucks or use existing industrial pipelines that source untreated water 40 miles away from an estuary on the Black Sea. Residents refuse to drink the water or even use it to wash clothes or dishes, saying the water is yellow, salty, and has an unpleasant odor. Planet Water Foundation AquaBlock systems mitigate unhealthy and unpleasant drinking water conditions.
The AquaBlock systems are a flexible, efficient and easily managed solution to purify water under nearly any circumstance; using a four-stage water purification process that produces 1,500 liters per hour, with capability to support the daily drinking water requirements of up to 10,000 people. Planet Water Foundation has deployed AquaBlock systems in nine countries across four continents impacted by typhoons, flooding, hurricanes, cyclones, volcanos and other humanitarian crises.
Volunteers from Ukraine will travel to Warsaw, Poland for training on AquaBlock system support and then return with the systems for final deployment. Xylem, the Singapore Red Cross and Fundacja Pomocy Ofiarom Kryzysów of Poland are providing training in Warsaw, Poland and support in mapping the needs and logistics of deployment prior to AquaBlock transportation to villages in Ukraine.
[1]. Ukraine Situation Report | UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
