An estimated 2.2 billion people throughout the world still lack access to safely managed drinking water, according to the United Nations. In the remote Peruvian village of San Roque, parasite-contaminated water from the Amazon rainforest’s Cumbaza River—the village’s main source of drinking water—was causing residents of the village to get sick.
Thanks to a collaboration between Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (CPChem), Water Mission and other Water Mission partners, the village now has access to clean drinking water. CPChem’s Performance Pipe division donated 3.7 miles of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe along with HDPE pipe fittings to create a new solar-powered system that supplies filtered, chlorinated drinking water to San Roque.
The new water system has also provided a host of additional benefits to village residents and people in the surrounding areas. It allows women and girls in the village to focus more on their work and education, as opposed to spending hours each day retrieving river water. And, as word has spread about the clean drinking water in San Roque, more families are moving to the village to access the safe water, according to the project partners.
This project highlights the importance of plastic products like HDPE pipe. In addition to helping to deliver clean drinking water, HDPE pipe is also used in a variety of non-potable water applications, including raw water, process water, sewer, and industrial applications.
As people around the world need access to clean water and sanitation, and the scarcity of potable freshwater is a global issue, CPChem has stated it will continue to promote water stewardship and seek to implement systems and initiatives that utilize water in a more sustainable manner, particularly in high water-stressed regions.
