Many people in poor countries can only access water from a lake, river, shallow well, or marsh where the water is muddy or cloudy. Often, livestock also use these water sources, further contaminating them with feces and wastes. In areas with a rainy season, water that is usually clear during the dry season can become cloudy during the rainy season. In some locations, water is contaminated with arsenic, a poisonous chemical that sometimes can be found in untreated groundwater.

Procter & Gamble wanted to increase access to safe, clear water in these areas, and thus, in cooperation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, developed PUR Purifier of Water, a powdered household water disinfectant that comes in small, affordable, and easy-to-use sachets. PUR has the potential to revolutionize household water treatment in the developing world.

Like safe water solution and other chlorine disinfectants, PUR inactivates viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. In addition, PUR removes arsenic and turbidity (dirt) from water, leaving the water clear and safe to drink. PUR costs around ten cents to treat the drinking water for a family of five for one day, and reduces the incidence of diarrhea in young children by around 50%.

PUR-treated water meets World Health Organization standards for potable water.

Using the same ingredients used in municipal water systems, PUR is engineered to effectively be a mini-water treatment plant in a sachet. When mixed with water, PUR removes pathogens and causes dirt and particles to settle to the bottom of the mixing container, giving a visible signal that water is clean and ready to drink.

PUR is very effective in removing bacteria (99.99999% removal), viruses (99.99%) and parasitic cysts like giardia and cryptosporidium (99.9%). PUR also removes arsenic and DDT. Because of its efficacy in removing dirt and parasites from water, PUR is often targeted to people living with HIV/AIDS and to those drinking muddy water.

With PUR clean water campaigns in orphanages in Uganda, PUR school programs in Kenya, clinic programs, and a PSI/PUR emergency relief response network for Latin America, PSI offers creative and effective PUR campaigns in each country where PSI and its partners make the product available.

Read more about our PUR programs!

Uganda
Dominican Republic
Kenya
Ethiopia
Pakistan