Utah researchers working for life-saving water in Pakistan
(KUTV) University of Utah researchers are working to improve water conditions in Pakistan.
The United States Agency for International Development has reported that more than 600 Pakistani children die each day from waterborne illness, but now the University of Utah is leading a national team of researchers to change that.
“Water is a very critical issue for Pakistan,” said Tariq Banuri, an economics professor at the University of Utah.
Banuri grew up in Pakistan and knows about this problem firsthand.
“I cannot drink the water over there,” Banuri explained. “If I drink it, I grow sick the next day.”
Banuri and Steve Burian, an associate physics and environmental engineering professor, are leading a national team of researchers. The University of Utah team is partnering with the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology to solve water problems in Pakistan.
The United States Agency for International Development is funding a $127 million program to improve water security.
“It's a major issue, a major problem, and it's something we're capable of addressing,” Burian said.
He explained that waste water treatment only became a normal practice in the U.S. within the last 50-60 years, and now the University of Utah will bring those solutions to Pakistan.
But university officials say this doesn't just benefit Pakistan.
“It’s benefit will be far reaching, not just in Pakistan but globally,” said Michael Hardman, chief global officer at the University of Utah.
“This is the most important project I’ve worked on and I will work on for my entire career,” Burian said.
Dignitaries from Pakistan are coming to the University of Utah for a formal signing ceremony with university officials on August 11.
