My friend just completed a research project on ceramic water filters, and it just made me so thankful to have clean water as a given in my life- even in the backcountry. Here’s the introductory paragraph:

At least 1.7 billion people globally used drinking water sources contaminated with feces in 2022, leading to significant health risks from waterborne enteric infections. According to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study, more than 2.5% of total DALYs [Disability Adjusted Life Years] lost that year were linked to unsafe water consumption – and there is some evidence that this burden can be even bigger.

Upon reading that stat, I called my local wastewater plant and thanked them for keeping my water safe and clean- I hope someone else reads this and is similarly inspired. There are a lot of people out there who we rely on, and a simple two minute thank you call might just make their day. If you’re interested, here’s a summary of their findings on where ceramic water filters might be able to save on average one Disability Adjusted Life Year, a common metric for public health interventions, for as little as $8.47.