Improving the quality of drinking water in colonias in the in Ciudad Juárez-El Paso area

The lack of access to potable water, a problem in many low-income neighborhoods along the U.S.-Mexican border, contributes to the spread of illness related to water contamination. Many children die every year from diarrhea, a disease primarily caused by fecal contamination of drinking water. Researchers from the University of Texas at El Paso developed an education model to serve as a short-term approach to this grave problem. Volunteers from six communities in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez area were trained to teach families within their neighborhoods about hygiene and water sanitation. As a result of the intervention, levels of knowledge about disinfecting water and disease transmission rose significantly among participants, and water quality in households improved. The incidence of diarrhea also decreased among participants, a clear indication that this model could save lives if implemented on a wider scale