Low cost water filter systems, although are easy and cost effective to maintain in urban and suburban areas of developing countries where many citizens are able to utilize the systems, they are quite costly to those who reside in rural areas or less populated villages.

Relief efforts and organizations are diligent to implement water filtration systems in densely populate areas or within high need developing countries that have been struck by a major natural disaster, however, citizens in developing countries who continue on day to day without access to clean water and have yet to gain access to a water filtration system within distance of their village or home, are still suffering.

Luckily, a new water filter technology recently developed by Sanford University could bring clean water to these rural areas.

This highly inexpensive water filtration technology has found to kill up to 98 percent of disease causing bacteria found in water in just seconds and all without clogging the system. Unlike standard water filtration systems that trap and contain harmful bacteria in drinking water, this technology kills them instantly. This aspect alone could allow this new technology to bring clean and safe drinking water to nearly one billion in need.

The standard water filtration process requires a highly effective filter where all harmful and disease causing bacteria are contained. The filters are replaced on schedule yet for some developing countries, the price for these filters alone are too costly to purchase. The development of this technology would remove the filter entirely, allowing for an inexpensive filtration process.

With hopes for continued development and eventually release of this new water filtration technology, money originally spent on implementation of more costly standard water filtration systems could hopefully go toward food, medicine and first aid supplies.