UNITED WATER LAUNCHES AQUASSISTANCE NORTH AMERICA TO COORDINATE RESPONSES TO WATER AND SANITATION CRISES

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UNITED WATER LAUNCHES AQUASSISTANCE NORTH AMERICA TO COORDINATE RESPONSES TO WATER AND SANITATION CRISES

United Water announced today that with its parent company, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, it has launched the North American branch of Aquassistance, a volunteer corps of technical experts from the U.S. and Canada who respond to water-related crises.

The announcement coincides with World Water Day, an international day of recognition of the 768 million people who do not have an adequate source of drinking-water and 2.5 billion people who do not have adequate sanitation. Among them are four million Haitians who lack access to clean water and eight million who lack improved sanitation. Haiti is considered the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Aquassistance, an NGO founded in 1994 operates in 23 countries to offer water, environmental and sanitation assistance to disadvantaged populations, providing them with the skills of its members and material resources and is also positioned to respond to major natural disasters, such as the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines November 2013. Aquassistance has been active in Haiti since 1995 and has increased its activity after the devastating earthquake in 2010.

In 2013, volunteers from United Water joined Aquassistance to lead a project in Milot, in the North of Haiti, where the Sacré Coeur Hospital water supply had become contaminated with E-coli. The project to replace the existing treatment system, train local operators to run the water system and identify opportunities to expand the treated water distribution network is done in partnership with Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, NJ.

The launching of Aquassistance North America will streamline technical missions to Haiti and other areas that face water and sanitation difficulties. "With a problem so endemic and a scope so large and so close to home, we are dedicated to lending expertise and training local people to position Haiti for a sustainable future," said Bertrand Camus, CEO of United Water.

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