Drinking water safety: Lessons Ohio and Dayton can learn from other states

The Mara River that runs through Tanzania and Kenya is used as a significant resource by 1.1 million people throughout the surrounding communities. For years, artisanal miners have also used the river to clean their gold, but this has polluted the river and increase chances of mercury poisoning. One community has created a gold refining pond to simultaneously continue promoting the importance of washing the gold as well as keep the pollutants out of the Mara River.

In response to the growing concern about the world's water supply, a movement known in the United States as "One Water" has taken shape and is gathering momentum on a mission to halt floods, droughts and water pollution.

Bangladesh's water is poisoning its residents with arsenic, and several plans to address this problem have stalled. Unicef has installed water facilities with a central filtration plant in some communities in order to provide safe water to its residents, however, much more areas need to be addressed and maintenance plans will be reliant on each community.

For years, campaigns to clean Nepal's polluted Bagmati River resulted in failure. Now with police and government backing, the organization Safai Abhiyaan is in its third year, attracting hundreds of volunteers who are willing to brave the polluted waters to collect trash. The program's unique approach to organizing community volunteers has been a success, but the problem will not subside until greater perceptions about litter and water pollution are tackled.

The Central Himalayan Rural Action Group, an NGO based in India, is restoring special Himalayan freshwater springs known naulas. Since 2008, the organization has been involved in the restoration of more than 6,000 springs.

The Network of Water Rights Initiative (NWRI) works with local organizations to improve access to safe water through education and awareness campaigns aimed at enlightening people about the health risks of contaminated water. NWRI has led water clean-up efforts, helped locals establish security measures to prevent people from dumping waste in water and even helped get a water bill signed into law that would improve water supply and sanitation services across the state.

The Lerma river in Mexico is one of the most polluted rivers in the country. Water from the river leaves behind yellow stains and causes headaches and dizziness. To help bring clean, drinking water to the community a scientist and a resident in Lerma co-found the H2O Lerma With Charm collective. One of the things the group does is create filters from eggshells they install in the local wells. Eggshels, which are high in calcium, combined with magnesium can reduce heavy metals in water by 80 percent. The collective has close to 70 members and have installed filters in seven local wells.

A community-based water testing and lead-education pilot program aimed to rebuild confidence and trust among Flint residents, who are skeptical of state-affiliated testing. Trained students collected water samples that were tested by University of Michigan labs. Educational materials provided with results included how to install, maintain, and use filters. While most samples didn't show issues, households with dangerous lead levels were given bottled water, filters, and other services. Once the pilot ended, the Mckenzie Patrice-Croom Water Lab secured funding to continue free community-based water testing.

After experiencing a high rate of drownings among children due to the number of rivers and ponds in the country, a non-profit organization in Bangladesh has been offering swim lessons to children in rural areas that are more susceptible to encountering dangerous waters. Since the program started, the rate has decreased nearly 50 percent while the confidence of the participants has increased.

Chicago has thousands of miles of lead pipes supplying water to homes and business, and they all need to be replaced because of the risk of contaminating drinking water. Although this task is difficult, three other cities in the nation have projects underway that are providing a model for Chicago to consider.