Smith: The MadiDrop is a silver-ceramic tablet that releases silver ions into water at a controlled rate.
Dusseau: In general, one MadiDrop serves a family’s drinking water needs for six months, so you could say 20,000 families.
Smith: I began working in South Africa with silver-ceramic water filters.
They work well for local production and local distribution.
And of course, that is the MadiDrop.
The cost for each tablet, when distributed through a humanitarian organization, averages just $5.
Are you working on any additional new humanitarian technologies that might someday reach the market through MadiDrop PBC or other companies?
Courtney is also working on a human health study of the MadiDrop in South Africa that involves 400 families.
How many people does the company employ in Charlottesville, as well as in other countries?
The overwhelming message is that people like using the MadiDrop for their safe water needs, and most importantly, their health is improving.

Tests find no detectable levels of toxins in drinking water.
Tests on drinking water revealed no detectable traces of arsenic and lead after the toxins were found in groundwater at a coal-fired power plant in Tennessee, a utility company said Thursday.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said in a statement that tests conducted by an independent lab on 10 wells that supply water to a pumping station near the Allen Fossil Plant came up below detectable limits for the toxins.
The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation asked the utility to test water at the pumping station after excessive levels of arsenic and lead were found in wells that monitor pollution from coal ash ponds at the Allen plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said initial test results had some traces of lead in two of the 10 wells at the pumping plant.
Spokesman Scott Brooks said the TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, doesn’t know the source of the toxins and is cooperating with state’s instructions.
The Sierra Club demanded for tests to be done after high levels of toxins at the Allen plant were revealed last week.
The Sierra Club and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, have expressed concerns about the deep aquifer wells the TVA plans to use to cool the new gas plant.
"The operation of these high-powered wells in such close proximity to these materials that are contaminating our shallow aquifer could lead to contamination of the Memphis Sand, should there be any holes or breaches in the clay in the vicinity, which we just don’t know," Banbury said in a phone interview.
Never miss a local story.

Tests find no detectable levels of toxins in drinking water.
Tests on drinking water revealed no detectable traces of arsenic and lead after the toxins were found in groundwater at a coal-fired power plant in Tennessee, a utility company said Thursday.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said in a statement that tests conducted by an independent lab on 10 wells that supply water to a pumping station near the Allen Fossil Plant came up below detectable limits for the toxins.
The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation asked the utility to test water at the pumping station after excessive levels of arsenic and lead were found in wells that monitor pollution from coal ash ponds at the Allen plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Memphis, Light, Gas & Water said initial test results had some traces of lead in two of the 10 wells at the pumping plant.
Spokesman Scott Brooks said the TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, doesn’t know the source of the toxins and is cooperating with state’s instructions.
The Sierra Club demanded for tests to be done after high levels of toxins at the Allen plant were revealed last week.
The Sierra Club and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, have expressed concerns about the deep aquifer wells the TVA plans to use to cool the new gas plant.
"The operation of these high-powered wells in such close proximity to these materials that are contaminating our shallow aquifer could lead to contamination of the Memphis Sand, should there be any holes or breaches in the clay in the vicinity, which we just don’t know," Banbury said in a phone interview.
Never miss a local story.

A simple innovation is changing the way we fight drought.
It is not uncommon for new mothers to struggle to adjust to the challenges of motherhood.
After her husband left her, she became the sole income earner in her household.
With increased demand from both people and livestock, water sources have been stretched, and now 2.6 million people require life-saving aid, including clean, safe water.
To cope with the effects of drought, Oxfam is providing conditional cash via an E-wallet mechanism, which allows beneficiaries to regain some control over their lives.
Through financial support from European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), we are reaching 1,000 households (or 6,000 people) with cash transfers, including cash that is disbursed through an E-wallet mechanism used specifically to buy clean, reliable water.
Then, the agent issues a receipt for that amount of water.
The vendor draws a volume of water that is equivalent to the amount taken off the card.
The system allows for flexibility and better planning so Catherine, and others in Turkana, can address their most immediate needs and cope with the drought.
Despite Oxfam’s work, drought in Kenya continues to push people to extreme hunger.

Smith: The MadiDrop is a silver-ceramic tablet that releases silver ions into water at a controlled rate.
Dusseau: In general, one MadiDrop serves a family’s drinking water needs for six months, so you could say 20,000 families.
Smith: I began working in South Africa with silver-ceramic water filters.
They work well for local production and local distribution.
And of course, that is the MadiDrop.
The cost for each tablet, when distributed through a humanitarian organization, averages just $5.
Are you working on any additional new humanitarian technologies that might someday reach the market through MadiDrop PBC or other companies?
Courtney is also working on a human health study of the MadiDrop in South Africa that involves 400 families.
How many people does the company employ in Charlottesville, as well as in other countries?
The overwhelming message is that people like using the MadiDrop for their safe water needs, and most importantly, their health is improving.

A simple innovation is changing the way we fight drought.
It is not uncommon for new mothers to struggle to adjust to the challenges of motherhood.
After her husband left her, she became the sole income earner in her household.
With increased demand from both people and livestock, water sources have been stretched, and now 2.6 million people require life-saving aid, including clean, safe water.
To cope with the effects of drought, Oxfam is providing conditional cash via an E-wallet mechanism, which allows beneficiaries to regain some control over their lives.
Through financial support from European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), we are reaching 1,000 households (or 6,000 people) with cash transfers, including cash that is disbursed through an E-wallet mechanism used specifically to buy clean, reliable water.
Then, the agent issues a receipt for that amount of water.
The vendor draws a volume of water that is equivalent to the amount taken off the card.
The system allows for flexibility and better planning so Catherine, and others in Turkana, can address their most immediate needs and cope with the drought.
Despite Oxfam’s work, drought in Kenya continues to push people to extreme hunger.

Customer portal improves utility – customer relations water utilities.
In addition to detailed information about household water usage, Dropcountr also provides a channel for communication between utilities and their customers: alerts, rebates, billing information, FAQs.
Starting this month, families that primarily speak Spanish will have access to their personal data and communication in their language of preference.
"Having this option helps us better reach our diverse customer base and provide the same benefits and services to everyone."
This is a strategy long adopted by brands and service providers, but largely new to the water industry.
"Dropcountr helps manage over one million residential customer accounts spread across 26 unique cities," said Dropcountr founder and CEO Robb Barnitt.
"We assist dozens of staff members with customer support inquiries and send thousands of water usage reports, leak alerts, and utility messages to our end users every week.
In cities we serve like Denver, Austin, and Los Angeles, you must provide Spanish as a language of choice, and this move helps us achieve our goal of making water usage more accessible and coherent to the end customer."
About Dropcountr Dropcountr delivers simple but powerful water analytics and customer engagement software that is compatible with all meters, regardless of manufacturer or read interval.
Learn more at www.dropcountr.com/spanish.

DOJ, EPA reach agreement to prevent sewage discharge to Lake Erie.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
"Today’s settlement will protect water quality and prevent the spread of disease-causing bacteria and viruses."
Other required steps include cleaning, inspections, enhanced monitoring and computer modeling as part of a comprehensive study to assess the sewer system’s overall capacity.
The city estimates this work will cost about $12 million.
By June 2021, the city must submit a master plan to eliminate sewer overflows to EPA for approval.
At that time, EPA and Cleveland Heights expect to reach a second settlement to implement the master plan.
The United States filed a simultaneous complaint in federal court against the city and the State of Ohio.
A Clean Water Act provision requires naming the state as a plaintiff or a defendant in such actions.
The proposed consent decree is available for public review and comment for 30 days.

Studies by water utilities, engineers, and advocacy groups estimate [PDF] that making all the needed investments in U.S. water infrastructure would add $220 billion and 1.3 million jobs to the U.S. economy annually.
Public consumption makes up 11 percent, while mining and industry comprises another 5 percent.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the country will need to spend $632 billion over the next decade on infrastructure including pipes, treatment plants, and wastewater management facilities.
At the same time, federal support has dried up: according to Congressional Budget Office numbers, the federal contribution to national water infrastructure spending has fallen from 63 percent of the total in the 1970s to just 9 percent in 2014.
How is supply regulated?
Under both laws, the federal government, through the EPA, sets pollution limits and regulations for all discharges into drinking water supplies, including surface waters and wastewater treatment output, while states are responsible for day-to-day implementation and enforcement.
The Colorado River, in particular, has become a major source of concern.
A primary role is to authorize financing for water projects through what are known as the State Revolving Funds.
Since its creation in 1987, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund has provided states with over $111 billion in low-interest loans.
Some in Congress have proposed various mechanisms for increasing federal contributions to the water system.

Clean water services aimed at addressing injustice: VP Kalla.
Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla (left) witnessed the construction of the Umbulan Water Supply System in Umbulan Village, Winongan Sub-District, Pasuruan District, East Java, on Thursday (July 20, 2017).
(ANTARA Photo/Umarul Faruq) Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Fulfilling the clean water needs of the general public is one of the governments efforts to address injustice, Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla stated.
In fact, urban well-to-do families that have clean water connections can buy it at Rp6 thousand, while residents living on the outskirts of the city and having no clean water connections pay Rp40 thousand for it," he pointed out.
For its part, the government will constantly strive to give the general public wide access to clean water services at affordable prices, he emphasized.
"That is why the government must subsidize drinking water, regardless of how much it will spend.
As the poor have no access to clean water services, they have to pay economically more than the affluent families do, he said.
"The second issue is related to health.
The lack of clean water will lead to several health problems and diseases, thereby posing a problem to the nation in the long run," he added.
(Reported by Muhammad Arief Iskandar/Uu.S012/INE/KR-BSR/A014)