'Dried water' to drink

Housewives in the flood border area of Hong Ngu district (Dong Thap province) now have a simple water solution: simply fill the bottle with water and let it dry for at least six hours to drink. .

Ms. Dao Thi Chieu, Tan Hoi commune, Hong Ngu district, to drink water - Photo: DTH

However, to obtain clean water bottles to comply with the technical requirements. Ms Tuyet Hoa, vice president of the Women's Union of Tan Hoi commune (Hong Ngu), instructs her children: ' Bottle must be a white plastic bottle (Pet), 1.5 liters. Water must be alkaline, not turbid or contaminated with chemicals. When pouring water into the bottle must be full of spills, not 'seed' (with space) will be the place where bacteria to hide hiding the 'tracking' of ultraviolet. When exposed to iron roof or aluminum tray, the distance between the bottles is at least 50cm to easily absorb solar energy. The exposure time should be at least six hours, continuous between sun and not ui ui '.

' Drinking Sunshine ' is the general slogan of the SODIS project (promoting and disseminating techniques for the sterilization of microorganisms in water by the sun) coordinated by the Dong Thap Women's Union Water for living and environmental sanitation, Preventive Medicine Center of the province. Under the effect of infrared and ultraviolet rays in the sun, pathogenic bacteria in water will be destroyed.

Because of its simple and low cost application, SODIS has been formally recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the most promising and promising technologies. for household disinfection. This technique has been successfully implemented in many countries in the world such as China, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Togo, Bolivia, Colombia ...

Nguyen Thi Nghiem, chairman of Dong Thap Women's Union, said that the technique has been applied to 1,945 households in remote areas lacking fresh water in Tam Nong, Hong Ngu and Chau Thanh districts. By the end of 2006, SODIS will be disseminated to 100% of hamlets in the province without clean water.

DUONG THE HUNG