Safe Water for Communities in Crisis
In 2018, the State of Michigan ended bottled water distribution to the city of Flint.
The Flint water crisis began in 2014 when the State switched the city's water source without the required protections and poisoned the city with high levels of lead. By 2018, city residents were left dependent on community organizations to purchase and distribute millions of single-use plastic bottles of water.
We imagined a better response to the water crisis than single-use plastic.
Working in partnership with universities and a local church, we developed a portable water filtration system that was fast enough to replace bottled water distribution and simple enough for community organizations to operate and maintain. The first Water Box went online in March of 2019.
Today, there are 40 Water Boxes in communities across the U.S. They are operated by community organizations that serve low-income and at-risk residents in urban and rural areas.
You Can Help Support Communities In Crisis.
If your community is facing a water crisis or can help keep our Water Box program running, we would like to hear from you. We partner with organizations that want to distribute clean water to their communities and with donors who are looking to help communities in crisis.
You can find out more about our program and Water Box locations on thewaterbox.org
