SDWF is urgently in need of donors. Every penny and every drop counts!
Unfortunately, all of the funding for Operation Water Drop and Operation Water Pollution kits through the Green Street website has been used. Many teachers are on the waiting list for sponsored Operation Water Drop and Operation Water Pollution kits. If you would like to use the Operation Water Drop and/or Operation Water Pollution program in your classroom and need a sponsored kit please e-mail the following information to info@safewater.org: your school's name, complete mailing address, what type(s) of kits and how many of each type of kit you would like. We will add your school to the growing waiting list.
Canadian Teachers are Waiting for Over 1300 Sponsored Kits to be Sent to their Schools
Canadian teachers are currently waiting for over 1300 sponsored Operation Water Drop and Operation Water Pollution kits to be sent to their schools. Individuals and companies can sponsor kits for schools. If you/your company sponsors kits, you/your company will be acknowledged in the letter that accompanies the kit. You can even decide in which geographic area your kits will be dispersed. Please e-mail info@safewater.org if you would like to sponsor Operation Water Drop and/or Operation Water Pollution kits or if you would like more information.
View Previous Webinars!
To view the recordings of previous webinars please click here. For more information about our webinars and/or to register for webinars click here.
Thanks to our sponsors!
SM Blair Foundation
A big thank you to all of our anonymous donors as well.
SDWF is a registered charitable organization. Its primary purpose is to find treatment and preventative solutions to make surface and ground water safe for human consumption in rural areas of the world. Most efforts in the drinking water field have been dedicated to large systems serving towns and cities, with few resources placed on small systems, despite the fact that these systems dominate rural areas around the world.
SDWF is independent from municipal, provincial and federal governments and led by a board of international scientists with the following mission:
Promote safe drinking water through supporting innovative research and development;
Increase awareness of health concerns from consumption of poor quality water;
Act as a catalyst to ensure that appropriate action is taken to enable the provision of safe drinking water to rural residents.
SDWF emphasizes sound solutions to poor quality water. There are six voluntary positions on the Board of Directors. The scientific advisors (founding Board of Directors) have published more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific articles in the water quality field.
Agencies, foundations and corporations can donate in-kind support, monetary support or facility support to SDWF.
The Need for Safe Drinking Water Foundation
Most source waters used for drinking water purposes in the world are not safe to drink without treatment. All too frequently, this water is consumed without treatment or with inadequate treatment. This results in human illness, which is a major concern in most rural areas in both developed and developing countries. The World Health Organization estimates that 5 million people die annually from water-borne diseases. The people that are most vulnerable to water-borne disease are the very young, pregnant mothers, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
People may think that unsafe drinking water is a problem only in developing countries and not in developed countries such as Canada. However, one need only venture outside the limits of major urban centres to find water treatment practices and source waters that have more in common with developing countries than with developed countries. Most people also believe that municipal, provincial and federal government agencies will provide safe drinking water. Unfortunately, the problems encountered by individual users and small rural communities in trying to make poor source waters safe for consumption are often too large, resulting in water that is not safe to drink.
Unsafe drinking water is a much greater problem than we think. Some diseases that are attributed to other causes are actually due to the drinking water. The presence of pathogenic microbes in drinking water supplies has prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consider regulation of viruses, bacteria and protozoa in addition to several already covered by the Safe Drinking Water Treatment Rule. New microorganisms for regulatory consideration include, for example, the hepatitis A virus. SDWF has targeted the "uniquely poor" source waters of the Canadian Prairie as the major recipient of SDWF activities.
AAWTT is a team of volunteer participants dedicated to the advancement of water treatment processes on aboriginal reservations in Canada. Team members will help each other resolve water treatment problems when using advanced water treatment processes. The team is supported by one groundwater laboratory located at Gordon’s FN, Saskatchewan (almost completed), and one surface water laboratory (paid for by band funds) located at Saddle Lake Cree Nation, Alberta. At these two locations R&D into advanced water treatment processes is carried out on a daily basis. Both laboratories are integrated with the regular operation of advanced water treatment processes. Each plant will also become part of the bigger picture where improvements are being documented and shared with other participants.
Operation Water Drop:
Operation Water Drop (OWD) is the Safe Drinking Water Foundation’s longest standing education program! Elementary kits allow teachers to demonstrate to students how to test their community drinking water for 8 parameters included in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. High school kits allow students to conduct hands-on tests for 13 different parameters and compare their results to other urban and rural treated drinking water supplies, a raw source water sample and Canadian guidelines vs. U.S. and EU regulations. OWD is also available in French. The DVD “Downstream” is included in every OWD kit!
Operation Water Pollution:
Operation Water Pollution (OWP) can be taught in science and social studies, OWP kits educate students about the various forms of water pollution, how water pollution affects the world, how it is cleaned up, and what they can do to help. Digital TDS and pH meters are included in the kit and students learn why they are important factors to be monitored and why they should be kept at appropriate levels. OWP is also available in French. The DVD “Crapshoot” is included in every OWP kit!
Operation Water Flow:
Operation Water Flow (OWF) gives students a greater understanding of economic, social and environmental concerns surrounding water issues in Canada. Operation Water Flow can be taught in math, biology, chemistry, science and social studies. Each of the lessons lead naturally into the many other programs now available from the Safe Drinking Water Foundation. OWF is also available in French.
Operation Water Spirit:
Operation Water Spirit (OWS) supports and encourages a greater understanding of Aboriginal culture and beliefs related to water issues. A teacher resource has been added to encourage and support teachers in introducing Aboriginal culture into their classrooms and a session on Aboriginal identity which is very compelling has also been added. There are many stories included for each grade level and the stories are now available in Cree in both written and audio versions.
Operation Water Health:
Operation Water Health (OWH) provides an opportunity to investigate health issues such as waterborne illnesses and contaminated water, and encourages students to do their part to “make a difference”. OWH is also available in French.
COMING SOON!
Operation Water Biology:
Operation Water Biology (OWB) includes hands-on experiments and activities that demonstrate many of the principles of the water treatment process to students. It begins with the way that different chemicals are used and dealt with by conventional treatment facilities and proceeds to show new and interesting ways that natural biological processes can be used to produce exceptionally pure water while minimizing chemical use and environmental impacts.
Operation Community Water Footprint:
Operation Community Water Footprint (OCWF) allows students to analyze how efficient the process of converting fresh water to treated drinking water is in their communities. Then, they can “place their community on the map” on the Safe Drinking Water Foundation’s website (www.safewater.org) and compare their community’s water footprint to that of other communities and take action if their community’s water footprint is too large.
A donation of only $3.00 from each person who visits would help to ensure the delivery of our popular education programs OWD, OWP, OWF, OWS, OWH, OWB and OCWF to teachers across Canada. Currently, Canadian teachers are waiting for over 1300 sponsored Operation Water Drop and Operation Water Pollution kits to be sent to them. Donations will also allow our AAWTT to make it possible for water treatment plants in First Nation communities to produce safer drinking water.
Individual members will receive their choice of the DVD "Downstream" or the DVD "Crapshoot". If individual members provide a donation of $20.00 or more in addition to the minimum $20.00 amount then they will receive both the DVD "Downstream" and the DVD "Crapshoot".
Community and Corporate members will receive both the DVD "Downstream" and the DVD "Crapshoot".
Thanks to our corporate sponsors:
SM Blair Foundation
* We are non-profit, non-governmental, registered Canadian charity #868384892 and we issue official receipts for income tax purposes for donations of $10.00 or more.
About Us
