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Would it be possible to make contaminated water safe to drink using something as universal and inexpensive as the sun's ultraviolet rays and simple plastic bottles? This was the question I asked myself when I read an article in the Standard Times about the Haitians' problems with their drinking water after Hurricane Jeanne devastated the island.
 Kendra taking a water sample from the Concho River If there is water, there is life—no water, no life. It's as simple as that, so it is very important to have a supply of clean water. And yet many countries still struggle to have clean water. In the Haitians' case, many different circumstances made clean, safe drinking water scarce. So, was there a way for the people of Haiti to make their own safe drinking water, or at least make it safer? Yes, by UV. Specifically, by the sun's ultraviolet rays. It's free and it's everywhere. I knew that water-treatment plants used UV lights as part of the water-purification process. It is used along with other purifying treatments like reverse osmosis and carbon filtering. But could UV light alone be used to kill deadly bacteria? With this question in mind, I started my research. |
 Testing water samples for coliform bacteria I found a company, Micrology Laboratory, which sells a bacteria-growing nutrient called Coliscan Easygel. The nutrient contains special enzymes that cause coliform bacteria to turn pink and E. coli to turn purple. It was a great find because E. coli is a type of coliform bacteria found specifically in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. These two bacteria became my indicators for possible pathogens in the water.  Kendra adding Coliscan Easygel to her control sample. |
 
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